Exactly two years ago, we launched our blog with an article about marketing tips for dietitians. Since many of our clients are just starting out or are looking to build their own personal brand—a key marketing trend not only for creatives, but also for service providers and, why not, medical professionals such as dietitians and nutritionists—we decided to follow up on that. So, what changed in these two years? What marketing and personal branding strategies work best? How much do I need to invest in order to build a client base and maintain a constant flow?
While this may sound like a very business-y approach for something that has to do with improving people’s lives, changing them for the better, you will realize—if you haven’t already—that it does take a bit of management, planning and marketing to get things done. In 2019, this type of approach is an essential layer for those who want to be sure that they are making the most of their skills, passion and years of studying, training and hard work.
Before we get started, we want to point out a few ideas about the traits that a successful dietitian should have and which should be reflected in the marketing strategy he/she will implement. Today, more than ever, it’s about authenticity, honesty and common sense. These principles might not sound like they have anything to do with sales or marketing tips, but they sure make up the largest part of what people are looking for when it comes to what they decide to buy or get for themselves. If you still feel this is not really happening in the (online) community where you are active, be sure that it will, so the sooner you get into it, the better.
What do we mean precisely? Well, first of all, in order to be able to offer people really good quality services, you need to make sure your skills come atop a strong foundation of human values. This, basically, makes up the first and most important step in any marketing campaign—being a good, well-intentioned, empathic human being. In fact, there is more and more talk in the industry about the role of empathy and the fact that it is making a comeback. But this might very well be the topic for another discussion. Until then, let’s get down to business and our marketing tips.
Speak up
Initially, we were planning to call this section “Events & conferences,” but we quickly changed our minds as we did not want to add any limitations to the opportunities you can find in order to speak about what you do and share your knowledge. Whether you decide to become a speaker at one of the hundreds and maybe thousands of international events on dietetics and nutrition or you just start creating other circumstances to do some #publicspeaking and #knowledgesharing, this is a great way to help people get acquainted with who you are and what you do.
Start with local organizations, companies or schools that would be interested in offering nutrition talks or workshops. Get out there and speak up! Your goals and results should help eliminate any challenges you might have when it comes to speaking in public.
E-mail newsletter campaigns
A classic marketing approach that is making a comeback due to its effectiveness. The thing with e-mail is that it is an easy and versatile tool that can come in quite handy as you try to build your community. The challenge here is collecting the contact details for the people that could become your audience, as there are more than several ways to do this. The most simple and natural one would be just adding a pop-up window on your website inviting people to sign up for a daily/weekly dose of a better life. The events that we mentioned above are also great ways to get this going. Of course, you can get creative with this and see what works best. E-mail campaigns can be used to keep your community informed, engaged and, at the same time, built that community up. You don’t even need to provide a great amount of content, just keep it interesting, fun and catchy.
Get podcasting
Another trend that is vigorously making a comeback is podcasting. So many celebrities and experts in various fields have turned to audio to share their knowledge and interact with audiences. Today’s tools, apps and platforms make this such an easy way to obtain really great #evergreen material that your listeners can come back to. Of course, as with everything, unless you’re already familiar with the field, it will take a bit of trial and error, experimenting and even training to get things going, but it will all be worth it in the end, especially if you feel drawn to this medium. In the image below, created by WebpageFX, you can find a few of the advantages of starting a podcast.
Don’t forget about Spotify, iTunes, Anchor.fm and all the other great platforms that you can use to share your podcasts. If you want to take it a step further, video is your game. This is also a great way to create content, make a name for yourself and go viral—a key episode in any digital marketer’s world.
Stay social
If in our previous article, we invited all dietitians and nutritionists to get social, today we just want to update them on the importance of having a presence on online social media channels, whether it’s Twitter or LinkedIn. As you’ve probably experienced these channels by now, you must surely prefer one over the other. Whether for functionalities or engagement, just keep going and make sure you are present for your community. Yes, the keyword here is community, which is what you want to focus on creating and maintaining. Maybe this actually deserves a separate post, so if you do have any questions on this, make sure you hit us up via email or our social media pages.
While staying on top of the marketing game can be quite challenging, the best things do come when you step out of your comfort zone. So it may be necessary that you put in some extra effort to maybe get more than you expected.