Team AdfluenceThe pandemic has heightened our universal focus on health and wellness. We are seeing more and more content creators tackling the various ways we can keep fit. Both legacy brands and start-ups in the health industry are actively promoting their products through influencers. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) itself leveraged the power of influencer marketing to promote coronavirus safety guidelines and other information.
People are spending record amounts of time online, leading to traditional marketing channels being replaced by newer, more efficient means like influencer marketing. For instance, HealthOK supplements by Mankind Pharma, which launched earlier this year, focused only on influencers to get the brand going. MamaEarth multiplied its operating income 6.5 times in 2020 while keeping a marketing and advertising budget of 39% of all expenses and actively focusing on influencer marketing. It’s remarkable to see how brands are using influencer marketing as their primary means of marketing communication.
The World Health Organization itself leveraged influencer marketing to spread the word about Coronavirus Safety Guidelines. Health industry brands haven't been far behind in leveraging influencer marketing to reach their goals. Click To Tweet
What’s In It for Influencers?
Influencers regularly address social issues such as body shaming, eating disorders, public perception, gender stigma, and the like. Most influencers also promote physical and mental health for their audiences. Thereby arises a most natural integration between products by health industry brands and social media influencers.
Take a look at the different influencer campaigns by health industry brands:
Influencer-Based Contests: User Generated Content
MuscleBlaze came up with the campaign #TumNahiSamjhoge, a contest for fitness enthusiasts to share their fittest photos. The contest got 8000 entries and was a big hit on social media. It collaborated with fitness influencers like Thakur Anoop Singh and Tarun Gill to promote the contest.
After the success of #TumNahiSamjhoge, MuscleBlaze started another campaign called #ZiddiHoonMain. Though this campaign was run on social media, the entries were submitted on MuscleBlaze’s own website. For this one, big names like Tiger Shroff and Shikhar Dhawan were brought in.
Muscle Blaze's campaign #TumNahiSamjhoge was aimed at fitness enthusiasts and garnered over 8000 entries. The contest was not only a branding masterstroke, but also worked wonders at producing User Generated Content (UGC). Click To Tweet
Premier D2C Brand Campaigns
Amway is one of the pioneers of D2C brands around the world. It had first started operations in India about 2 decades ago and has led the way for the Indian D2C industry to swell to about 600 brands today. Amway India has marketed its variety of products actively via influencer marketing.
After being a major player in the health supplements industry, it has also started offering beauty and lifestyle products. To promote Nutrilite, their range of health supplements, it brought in popular sportspeople like Sangram Singh and Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu.
Legacy Brands Leveraging Influencer Marketing
Dettol is an age-old health brand that has had its marketing deeply rooted in traditional channels such as TV and print ads. The company doesn’t actively indulge in influencer marketing, but it leaves a lasting impact when it does. Dettol brought a new disinfectant and roped in mothers popular on social media, including renowned actress Soha Ali Khan, playback singer Geetha Madhuri, and actress Chhavi Mittal. The campaign used young mothers to help create a feeling of trust and invoke the importance of keeping a baby’s environment germ-free.
Micro Social Media Influencers and Health Industry
Micro social media influencers usually have a follower base of anything between 10k-100k followers. They’re seen as humble, relatable, and approachable. Brands are actively leveraging this to increase engagement and get desired results.
Micro-influencers are the next big thing. Nutrova, a health brand, has actively communicated through influencers. Micro-influencers can ensure a brand has grassroot level awareness with the public. Click To Tweet
Nutrova is one such brand. The health and wellness provider often involves micro social media influencers to promote their plant-based pea protein powder. Nutrova also enrolled iconic TV actor and microinfluencer Vaibhav Talwar to promote their whey protein isolate. This is an interesting move for a health industry brand, as it works incisively and trickles down to the ardent followers of their chosen microinfluencers.
Kickstarting Innovation with Influencer Marketing
Paree Girl launched a new sanitary pad that is ‘ultra soft’ and ‘breathable’ and took a clever approach to get word out. In this well-written video, famous influencer Kusha Kapila lays out the everyday troubles and despairs of women while menstruating.
The influencer goes on to creatively promote ‘Paree Girl’ while keeping true to her iconic humorous brand of content. This is a clever way of reaching out to an audience, first disarming them with humour and then introducing a new brand.
Kickstart innovation with influencers. In a video, Kusha Kapila, with her iconic humour, talks about menstruation related difficulties. She then integrates the brand ‘Paree Girl’ and promotes their innovative sanitary products. Click To Tweet
Indian Doctor Influencers Doing it Right
Doctors, too, are foraying into the world of influencing, producing entertaining and empowering content. During the pandemic, social media feeds were filled with encouraging videos of doctors around the world dancing, singing, and applauding each other and their patients. Here are some doctors who produce exceptional content while keeping up with their hectic schedules:
Dr. Siddhant Bhargava
A charming, funny and learned doctor, Dr. Siddhant Bhargava has an MBBS, with expertise in wellness, lifestyle, and weight management. Besides, his sharp humour and accurate recommendations make his content simply captivating.
Dr. Richa Negi
It is phenomenal that doctors are able to don multiple hats as they help society with their service. While words fail to do justice to Dr. Richa Negi’s dancing fortitude, it is her message, positive attitude, and bright demeanour that truly sets her apart. During the pandemic, Dr. Richa’s PPE kit-clad dance on the song ‘Garmi’ went viral and she hasn’t looked back since.
Dr. Vishakha
An author, teleconsultant, nutritionist, and content creator, there is little that Dr. Vishaka cannot do. HarperCollins published her book Covid and Post-Covid Recovery: DoctorVee’s 6-Point Plan earlier this year. Dr. Vishaka deals with medical issues such as Chronic Diabetes, Obesity, and PCOS. Needless to say, her expressive style of talking and insightful tips make her a favourite with her audience.
Dr. Rashmi Shetty
Dr. Rashmi Shetty is a globally acclaimed dermatologist who has worked with several Indian celebrities. Her content is elaborate but not boring, informative yet approachable, and never overwhelming. She takes in a lot of feedback and conducts Instagram live sessions to engage with her audience. She has also started her own skin, hair, and health brand called SólSkin Corp.
Dr. Tanaya
With a smile as bright as the sun, Dr. Tanaya believes in breaking stereotypes one reel at a time. She deals with issues related to female reproductive health and sexual wellness in a way that is fun to watch and extremely informative. Her unique humour makes us laugh as we learn. What could be better?
Who said doctors can’t be influencers? Indian doctors are taking social media by storm with their content. Dancing, singing, humour, editing skills, they have it all. And all this while maintaining their practice! Click To Tweet
Health products are usually meant for physical application or ingestion, and customers are naturally wary of fraud and contamination. Brands in the health industry have begun to actively collaborate with influencers, which has rewarded them extensively. The reliable touch of an influencer helps brands develop credibility in the audience and obtain real-time feedback. With influencer marketing, the possibilities for the health industry are truly endless.
