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Going from a 0 to 300+ influencer marketing program in < 1 year
As warm weather approaches, many health, wellness, and fitness brands are poised to attract new customers online. Marketers often turn to health and nutrition creators to help them connect with audiences making New Year’s resolutions to improve their quality of life.
Health and nutrition influencers are often certified dietitians, fitness instructors, former professional athletes, wellness enthusiasts, and more. Their goal is to help people get healthier and inform consumers about safe and effective methods for being fit and healthy.
Many health and nutrition influencers deal with toxic mindsets like body shaming, eating disorders, and unrealistic expectations on how society defines attractiveness. Others are more concerned about reversing poor-diet-induced conditions like diabetes, IBS, and food allergies or using nutrition to reduce symptoms for disease, auto-immune disorders, and mental health issues.
Health and nutrition influencers often prefer to serve niche audiences. For example, some nutrition influencers focus on keto diets, while others serve the paleo community.
Similarly, most health influencers promote an active lifestyle and favor a particular workout philosophy. You can find fantastic influencers that promote weight training, yoga, running, hiking, crossfit, and more.
As you build a shortlist of wellness creator prospects, the following questions will help you identify the right influencers for your next campaign:
Most health and nutrition influencers have two things in common.
First, each of them has a unique story where they grew to take care of their body rather than treat it like a hindrance or enemy. They’ve learned that an altered lifestyle results in a drastically improved quality of life.
Second, they built their online communities by effectively confronting misinformation regarding diet, nutrition, and body image.
As a result, health and nutrition influencers work hard to empower others by preaching holistic health and informing their audience about what is safe and effective in the world of nutrition and fitness.
Brands that partner with health and nutrition influencers should pay close attention to how their values may or may not be compatible with the influencers that they recruit.
Hannah Aylward is a certified holistic health coach with a focus on gut health and mindfulness. She loves to offer keto and gut-friendly recipes for those seeking to improve their overall health through better eating. In addition to her Instagram, Hannah connects with her audience through her Pinterest and blog.
Gene Hamshaw is a registered dietician with a massive social media presence, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Food52, and, of course, Instagram.
With a focus on vegan cooking, Gene posts thousands of recipes easy enough for people of all skill levels. In addition to her social media activity, Gene is a published cookbook author and moderator for her vegan website, TheFullHelping.com.
Bobbi Banks is a neuroscientist and therapist from the UK who specializes in informative memes to promote mental health. Though she is most active on Instagram and Pinterest, she recently launched a blog from her business website.
Krista Tagaras is a fitness trainer, holistic wellness coach, and founder of All Boobs Are Cute Co., an apparel brand that raises awareness for the health dangers of breast implants. She is passionate about sustainable dieting and exercise, as well as accepting one’s body type. You can find her on Instagram and her website.
May Zhu is a registered dietician from Chicago. Her goal is to make Nutrition Happens be a space “where being a health lover and food lover are all inclusive.”
May’s popular Instagram feed features tasty (and picture-perfect) dishes of all kinds. Every recipe uses only “whole foods, nourishing, and nutrient-dense” ingredients. May also maintains her blog at NutritionHappens.com.
Amanda Hernandez is one of the leading nutrition product reviewers, and she hosts them all on her blog, NutritionistReviews.com. She also holds a Masters degree as a Detroit-based dietician.
Amanda is a credentialed authority on nutrition, and several health/wellness periodicals have published her work, including Women’s Day Magazine. Her Pinterest account averages 4 million viewers a month. Amanda is also active on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Vegetarians Wendy Lopez and Jessica Jones became friends while working together on their Masters degrees in nutrition. They actively participated in the New York City Department of Health’s Stellar Farmers Markets campaign in 2010.
After the campaign, Wendy and Jessica decided they wanted to keep working together, and Food Heaven was born. Together, they “nerd out” on delicious and exotic vegetarian meals and share them with fans on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and FoodHeavenMadeEasy.com.
Karla is a storyteller, and the stories she shares are of travels, yoga, and diet.
Originally from Europe, Karla practices health and wellness coaching in Seattle. She’s also a prolific blogger at InKarlasWords.com and LifeSavvy.com. Karla engages fans on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
You’ve probably already heard about Cassey Ho. She’s been featured in Forbes, Health.com, and Time Magazine. Both a pilates instructor and nutrition advocate, Cassey is one of the fastest-growing health and wellness influencers on both YouTube and Instagram.
You can also find Cassey engaging fans on LinkedIn and Blogilates.com.
Nicole Ferrier is a competitive bodybuilder. Her main drive in life is fitness and nutrition education. During adolescence, Nicole was a competitive gymnast with an eating disorder.
When she grew tired of shame and the “yo-yo of crash dieting,” Nicole applied herself to health science and fitness programs focused on physiology. Soon after, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. Today, she is a certified personal trainer and diet coach.
Nicole engages her audiences on YouTube, Instagram, her podcast (Beyond the Bikini), and NicoleFerrierFitness.com.
Doctors diagnosed Christel Oerum with type I diabetes. In 2015, she began Diabetes Strong after feeling frustrated with the pitiful amount of accurate information available about diabetes health.
Focusing on nutrition and fitness, Christel informs audiences through her blog and engages fans on Instagram.
McKel Kooienga is author of the Nutrition Stripped cookbook, a popular mind and body wellness recipe journal for those seeking to improve their health.
“My mission,” McKel says, “Is to guide others to use nutrition as the catalyst to become more in tune and aware of their wellbeing by practicing small daily actions that nourish their bodies.” She engages audiences on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and NutritionStripped.com.
Kelly LeVeque is a popular guest for media brands like USA Today and Talks at Google. Her passion is nutrition philosophy, and Kelly first entered the spotlight after the release of her book, Body Love.
As an influencer on Instagram, Kelly offers advice on wellness habits for diet, exercise, and daily routine. She also shares health insights on her website.
Mariah Elizabeth’s life turned upside down when she found out at age 19 that her many health problems originated from food sensitivities. Since then, she’s learned that the right diet could not only improve her physical health but could also transform her mental and emotional wellbeing.
On Instagram, Mariah shares delicious and creative gluten-free recipes with her fans. She also curates content on her blog, FreshWaterPeaches.com.
Sonya is a health and fitness coach with her own apparel brand, Avictia. She promotes nutrition, fashionable activewear, and yoga-style workouts for her fans on Instagram.
Working alongside health and nutrition influencers is one of the most effective ways to promote your products and services. Not only will you enjoy plenty of user-generated content and sales, but you’ll get a closer look at how your brand can impact your customers’ health and wellness.
Improving the quality of life for each audience member is what these health influencers live for. If you’ve selected your creator team carefully, you can lean on them to help you build the kind of campaign that will scale your business and transform the lives of others.
Not sure how to find the right creator for your brand? Identify the right influencers in just a few clicks with GRIN.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
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