How to Build a Marketing Strategy for Healthcare & Wellness

The wellness industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, with the global wellness economy reaching a record $6.3 trillion in 2023 and projected to soar to nearly $9 trillion by 2028 . This surge underscores the increasing consumer focus on health, well-being, and holistic lifestyles. However, as the market expands, so does the competition. To stand out, wellness brands must craft a marketing strategy that resonates deeply with their target audience and reflects their core values.

Here's what distinguishes effective wellness marketing strategies:

• Authenticity Over Hype
  Wellness consumers seek genuine solutions. Your marketing efforts should mirror your brand's commitment to holistic health, avoiding fleeting trends in favor of lasting value.
  
  

• Educational Engagement
  Providing insightful content through blog posts, email marketing, and other channels positions your brand as a trusted resource, fostering deeper connections with potential customers.
  
  

• Strategic Outreach
  A well-rounded wellness marketing strategy leverages various marketing channels, social media platforms, search engines, and more, to reach potential clients effectively without overwhelming them.
  
  

• Consistency Builds Trust
  In the wellness journey, trust is paramount. Consistent messaging across all platforms reinforces your brand's reliability and dedication to wellness consumers.

Let's explore eight actionable steps for developing a wellness marketing strategy that will reach and resonate with your audience. 

Why Wellness Marketing Needs Its Own Playbook

Marketing for wellness brands isn’t just about selling products or services, it's about earning trust and supporting someone’s health journey. That means your marketing efforts have to do more than convert. They need to educate, inspire, and connect with wellness consumers personally.

You’re not just pitching a product. You’re becoming part of someone’s mental or physical well-being.

Here’s what makes marketing for wellness different:

You’re not a trend, you’re a guide.
Wellness consumers aren’t impulse buyers. They’re looking for trusted partners in their wellness journey, so your content marketing must be consistent, credible, and supportive.

Trust takes time, but content builds it.
Social proof, user-generated content, and educational content are key tools. You can’t rush trust, but you can accelerate it by being practical and honest.

You’re balancing science with soul.
Effective health and wellness messaging walks a line between being medically sound and emotionally resonant. It has to be clear, compliant, and human at the same time.

Your audience is highly personal.
Each potential customer has unique goals, such as better sleep, mental wellness, weight management, or holistic health. The better you understand your target audience, the better you convert them.

Step 1: Define Your Audience & Niche

You can't connect if you don’t know who you're talking to.

The wellness industry is broad. Are you targeting wellness consumers focused on mental health? Biohackers optimizing performance? Are parents seeking holistic health for their families? Each group has different needs, values, and communication styles. Start by narrowing your focus.

Ask yourself:

• What wellness problem do we solve?

• Who benefits the most from our solution?

• Where do these potential customers already spend their time?

Understanding your target audience helps you speak their language and tailor your wellness marketing strategy.

Once you know who you're targeting, define your niche. Maybe it’s:

• Plant-based nutrition for working professionals

• Sleep support for new parents

• Mindfulness tools for Gen Z

The more specific you get, the easier it is to create resonant marketing efforts.

Pro-Tip: Use tools like SparkToro, Google Analytics, or Facebook Audience Insights to uncover where your ideal wellness customers hang out and what they care about most.

Step 2: Build a Brand That Reflects Your Core Values

In wellness, your brand is more than a logo, it’s a belief system.

Wellness consumers choose brands that reflect their identity and align with their values. Before you dive into content or campaigns, make sure your brand is crystal clear.

Here’s how to align your brand with wellness expectations:

1. Clarify your mission.
   What do you stand for? Mental wellness? Preventative care? Holistic living? Write it down—and make sure every marketing decision supports it.
   
   

2. Define your tone and visual style.
   Should your brand feel clinical and authoritative or soft and inspirational? Your tone should reflect your audience’s preferences and your product’s purpose.
   
   

3. Make it easy to trust you.
   Show credentials, highlight social proof, and explain the science behind your wellness products or services. If you're making a health claim, back it up.

A strong brand identity builds the emotional connection wellness customers crave and helps your content stand out.

Pro-Tip: Create a short internal brand guide with your mission, visual references, and tone-of-voice examples. This helps keep all your marketing channels aligned as you grow.

Tools to Help Build Your Brand Guide

You don’t need a branding agency to create a consistent brand identity. These tools make it easier to define your voice, visuals, and values:

• Averi - Build your mission, brand voice, and content pillars with AI that understands wellness consumers.

• Canva - Create visual brand kits, templates, and style guides without a design team.

• Notion - Organize your brand guidelines, content calendar, and assets in one collaborative workspace.

• Milanote - Great for mood boards, tone exploration, and laying out your brand’s visual vibe.

Step 3: Choose the Right Marketing Channels

Be where your audience is, not where everyone else is.

Wellness brands don’t need to be everywhere. They need to be intentional. Choosing the right channels means you’ll get more engagement with fewer resources.

Know Their Daily Flow

Wellness consumers engage with different channels depending on their habits. A yoga instructor might spend time on Instagram. A sleep-deprived parent may be searching on Google at midnight. A professional managing stress might check LinkedIn between meetings. Go where the intent is highest.

Match Channel to Message

Each channel has a strength:

• Instagram & TikTok = Visual storytelling and influencer marketing

• Email = Education and long-term relationship building

• Google & YouTube = Search engine optimization and high-intent discovery

• Blogs = Organic traffic and thought leadership

• Pinterest = Lifestyle planning and product discovery

Keep It Focused

You don’t need five channels. Pick two or three that match your target audience’s behavior and master them first. Consistency is more potent than being spread thin.

Pro-Tip: Use free tools like Google Trends or Ubersuggest to see what wellness-related topics people are searching for, and build your strategy around their real intent.

How to Choose the Right Marketing Channels for Your Health & Wellness Brand

Not all channels work equally well for every wellness brand. The right choice depends on your target, what you're selling, and how your audience consumes information.

Here’s a breakdown to help guide your decision:

If your brand is visual or product-heavy (e.g., supplements, skincare, yoga gear):

• Prioritize Instagram and Pinterest

• Use influencer marketing to build trust and show product results

• Share tutorials, user-generated content, and behind-the-scenes peeks

If your offering is expert-based (e.g., therapy, coaching, diagnostics):

• Focus on LinkedIn, YouTube, and email marketing

• Use content marketing to establish authority through long-form thought pieces and case studies

• Consider webinars or Q&As to connect with potential clients

If you’re targeting high-intent searches (e.g., “best adaptogen for anxiety,” “how to sleep better”):

• Invest in search engine optimization (SEO) and Google Ads

• Create blog posts and landing pages that directly answer common questions

• Optimize for organic traffic that converts

General rules of thumb:

• Don’t chase every trend. Start with what aligns with your audience's behavior.

• Be consistent. The best wellness marketing strategy is one you can sustain.

• Test, then scale. Try different channels in small ways before doubling down.

Step 4: Create Content That Builds Trust

In wellness, content isn’t a campaign, it’s a commitment.

Wellness consumers are skeptical, and rightfully so. They’re bombarded with conflicting advice, questionable products, and empty promises. Content marketing must cut through the noise with clarity, honesty, and usefulness.

Start by creating content that answers real questions and reflects your brand’s core values. You want to be the brand they learn from before they ever buy.

Here are a few types of content that work exceptionally well:

• Educational content that helps demystify wellness topics (e.g. “What Is Ashwagandha?” or “The Link Between Gut Health and Mood”)

• Blog posts optimized for organic traffic from search engines

• Social media strategy built around value, not just vibes

• User-generated content that shows how real people use your wellness products

• Email marketing that nurtures relationships over time with helpful tips, not just discounts

Health and wellness marketing is about being the brand that educates and empowers, not just sells.

Step 5: Use Social Proof to Strengthen Credibility

Wellness consumers won’t just take your word for it, they want evidence.

Trust is everything in an industry built on personal transformation and health promises. That’s where social proof becomes one of your most powerful tools. Whether from influencers, practitioners, or everyday customers, showcasing real-world validation drives confidence.

Here are three keys to leveraging social proof effectively:

1. Highlight Customer Testimonials

Include short quotes on product pages, emails, and landing pages. Whenever possible, pair them with a name and photo to boost authenticity and relatability.

2. Showcase UGC (User-Generated Content)

Ask wellness customers to tag your brand or use a branded hashtag when sharing their wellness journey. Reposting that content (with permission) builds community and reinforces results.

3. Partner with Influencers & Experts

Collaborate with micro-influencers or certified health professionals to lend authority. Their endorsement provides both reach and reassurance, especially when backed by experience or credentials.

Step 6: Optimize for Organic Discovery

Wellness customers don’t want to be sold to, they want to find solutions.

Most people don’t buy a supplement, app, or coaching session when they hear about it. They Google, research, and compare. That’s why showing up in search results is a long-term win.

Here’s how to make sure your wellness brand ranks where it matters:

• Start with keyword research. Use tools like Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, or Semrush to find the phrases your target audience is searching.
  
  

• Create search-friendly content. Blog posts, FAQs, and landing pages should address clear questions like “How to lower cortisol naturally” or “Best vitamins for mental wellness.”
  
  

• Optimize product pages. Include alt text, internal links, and helpful copy that’s easy for people and search engines to understand.
  
  

• Keep things readable. Short paragraphs, bullet points, and clear headers make content easier to consume, and rank better.

Investing in search engine optimization isn’t a shortcut, but it pays off in steady, high-intent traffic over time.

Step 7: Avoid Common Wellness Marketing Mistakes

Even great products can fail with the wrong marketing approach.

The wellness industry is full of passion, but not every brand nails the execution. From tone-deaf messaging to unclear promises, these missteps can derail your wellness marketing strategy and erode consumer trust.

Here are a few things to do—and a few to avoid:

✅ Do:

• Focus on clarity over hype

• Back up claims with data or third-party validation

• Make your marketing inclusive and body-positive

• Prioritize education over persuasion

• Keep your brand voice consistent across all marketing channels

🚫 Don’t:

• Promise unrealistic results (“Lose 10 lbs in a week!”)

• Use fear-based tactics around health or aging

• Forget about accessibility (make sure your site and content are usable for all)

• Post on social media platforms just to keep up with competitors

• Assume what worked for other wellness brands will work for yours

Building a wellness brand is about showing up with integrity, not shortcuts.

Step 8: Use AI to Work Smarter, Not Harder

The best wellness marketing strategy doesn’t require a 10-person team, it requires the right tools.

Wellness brands often have small, overstretched teams that manage content creation, campaign planning, SEO, and audience engagement. AI can lighten that load, streamline execution, and help you focus on what matters most, connecting with wellness consumers.

Here’s how to use AI to make your marketing more effective:

• Averi - Explicitly built for marketers, Averi helps wellness brands plan more better campaigns, generate better content, and tailor messaging to their target audience. It combines strategy with speed so that you can launch with confidence.
  
  

• ChatGPT - Great for first drafts, brainstorming, and writing everything from social media captions to long-form blog content.
  
  

• Grammarly is not just for grammar. Its tone checker ensures that your messaging stays empathetic, respectful, and aligned with your brand voice.
  
  

• Surfer SEO helps optimize content in real time so your posts actually rank and bring in organic traffic.
  
  

• Trello + AI Power-Ups - Keep your marketing efforts organized and automated with project boards that predict next steps, deadlines, and gaps in your content pipeline.

AI doesn’t replace human insight; it enhances it, especially when your brand needs to move quickly, test quickly, and still feel personal.

Pro-Tip: Start small. Choose one area, like blog writing or email automation, and test how AI can save time without compromising voice or vision.

Common Wellness Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Even with a thoughtful wellness marketing strategy, it’s easy to fall into traps that waste budget and weaken brand trust. Watch out for these five common missteps:

• Overpromising results
  Claims like “miracle cure” or “instant transformation” can alienate wellness consumers and damage credibility. Health journeys are gradual, and set realistic expectations.

• Targeting everyone, reaching no one
  The broader your messaging, the less effective it is. Focus your efforts on a specific target audience and tailor your message to them.

• Skipping compliance checks
  Not following legal or regulatory guidance, especially in wellness and mental health, can result in takedowns or worse. Always double-check claims and required disclaimers.

• Neglecting retention
  A first-time buyer is great. A returning customer is better. Build email marketing flows, educational content, and loyalty programs that engage potential clients long after purchase.

• Forgetting to track what works
  If you don’t know where conversions are coming from, you can’t scale. Use UTM links, dashboards, and clear KPIs to guide your next move, not guesses.

How Averi Helps You Execute

A great strategy means nothing without execution. That’s where Averi comes in.

We combine AI tools with human support to help health and wellness brands turn plans into output, fast. From building marketing campaigns to generating content marketing and managing performance insights, Averi enables you to scale without the overhead. 

You don't need a bigger team to get results. You need the right experts, at the right time, with the right AI-powered systems to support them.

It’s like having an extra marketing team, without the extra headcount.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good marketing budget for a wellness brand?

Most wellness brands spend 5% to 12% of revenue on marketing, depending on growth stage and goals. If you're newer or launching a new product, allocate more to high-impact channels like influencer marketing or search ads to test traction.

How do I choose the right marketing channel for a wellness business?

Start with your audience’s habits. Visual, lifestyle-focused products thrive on Instagram and Pinterest. Educational or expert-driven services may perform better on YouTube, LinkedIn, or Google Search. Meet your potential clients where they’re already looking for wellness solutions.

What kind of content works best for wellness consumers?

Content that educates, empowers, and reflects your brand’s values. Think blog posts answering common questions, email tips that guide their wellness journey, and user-generated content that builds trust and authenticity.

How do I build credibility as a new wellness brand?

Use social proof early and often. This includes testimonials, expert partnerships, influencer marketing, and content backed by science or experience. Be transparent with your ingredients, process, or methodology, trust is your currency.

Which KPIs should I track for a wellness marketing strategy?

Focus on customer acquisition cost (CAC), conversion rate, email list growth, repeat purchase rate, and engagement across your social media platforms. Tools like Google Analytics and Klaviyo can help you dig deeper.

How do I market a wellness brand without making false claims?

Stick to evidence-based language if you're discussing benefits, reference studies or customer feedback instead of guarantees. Avoid phrases like “cure” or “instant results.” Being honest builds loyalty.

What role does email marketing play in wellness marketing?

Email is one of the most effective ways to nurture wellness customers. Use it for education, promotions, and reminders that keep your brand top of mind between purchases. Tools like Flowdesk or MailerLite make it easy to segment and personalize.

How can AI help my wellness marketing strategy?

AI tools can generate content, map out campaign timelines, suggest SEO improvements, and streamline repetitive tasks. Platforms like Averi, ChatGPT, and Surfer SEO help you move faster without losing quality or voice.

Ready to Stop Planning and Start Executing?

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