Five digital marketing strategies to “grow” your plant-based, vegan brand!

Posted by Anya Sleezer << back to blog

Last Updated on January 30, 2023

Veganism is growing across the globe and right here at home, with the number of Americans who identify as “vegan” going up an astonishing 600% between 2014 and 2017, according to GlobalData. Meanwhile, domestic sales of plant-based products grew by 17% this past year, while overall U.S. food sales rose by only 2%, according to Nielsen and the Good Food Institute.

However, veganism goes far beyond what we eat, and includes what we wear, what we carry, and even how we glam up. More people are ditching animal-based products and turning to a plant-based lifestyle for a variety of reasons, including personal health, protecting the environment, and preferring a meat-free diet.

Whatever people’s reasons for becoming vegan, one thing is clear — vegan businesses can’t afford to skip digital marketing. After all, you’re not just trying to target one specific audience (“vegans”), but any one of many audiences (“vegans because of health”, “vegans because of the environment,” “activist vegans”, etc.)

It’s a lot…which is why we’ve helped make it easier for you. Where to begin? Glad you asked!

Here are five digital marketing strategies to grow your vegan brand!

Make sure people can find you online.

Think of SEO/SEM as the map where people can find you online. While SEO/SEM can be super intimidating for newbies (which is why we’re here to help), here are some pointers to get you started: First, build a list of high-volume, vegan-specific keywords. Again, we can help, but a great place to begin is by researching the vegan brands, messaging boards, and online magazines you like to frequent. What words are they using? Next, include those keywords in your copy. Don’t go overboard or you’ll get on Google’s bad side, which is one place you don’t want to be. You can dive deeper (such as writing landing pages and targeted ads), but again, we recommended talking to us first. You’ll be glad you did.

…and can find you in person too.

Do you have a brick-and-mortar store? Getting on Google Maps maps is a must. Here’s your TL;DR: Check out our comprehensive full guide on how to rank locally. Ranking on search is like a vegan diet for your business; it may take a couple months to show results, but those results are sooo worth it.

Let influencers do their thing.

Influencers are in the business of, well, influencing. Want them to influence their audience to choose your products? Reach out and ask for a review. You don’t have to talk to six-figure celebrities (though if you have that kind of budget, go for it). Touch base with the vegan influencers you like, who are also the ones your target audience probably likes as well. Spread brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and build credibility by sharing the reviews (as long as they’re positive) on your social media channels.

You do have social media, right?

And no, we don’t just mean a Facebook account you haven’t updated since 2017. You need to actively cultivate and nurture an audience in the places where they are. We italicized that for a reason. While your website is super important for making the sale, social media channels are where your audience already is. You don’t have to chase them down; they’re right there! So create a community around veganism using your social media channel. But don’t turn into a overbearing salesperson either. Follow the the 80/20 rule-of-thumb, which says that 80% of your content should be relevant and valuable, while only 20% should be selling a specific product or service.

Pin(terest) for the win!

Yes, Pinterest is technically social media, but it’s important enough that we decided to focus on it specifically. Because Pinterest users are usually shoppers. The three biggest categories are food, design, and fashion. In other words, the prime audience for your vegan brand. We recommending building Pinterest ads, which are less competitive than ads on other social media platforms, so your audience is less likely to be bombarded with messages, and more likely to engage with yours!

So yeah, like we said, it’s a lot. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an agency that knew as much about veganism as it did about digital marketing?

Well, we’ve got good news 🙂

At Levo, we specialize in developing winning digital marketing strategies, with a special place in our heart for vegan brands (it helps our founder and CIO is a vegan).

So if you’re ready to grow your plant-based vegan brand, level up with Levo and get in touch today!

Be conscious about vegan conscientious consumers

Now more than ever, customers care less about your brand value — and more about your brand’s values. We call these people conscientious consumers, and engaging them isn’t easy or intuitive. Let Levo show you how! Visit our page: An Introduction To Vegan Conscientious Consumerism and download our free guide.

Anya Sleezer

Anya Sleezer is the owner of Levo, a full–service marketing agency, focused on helping companies from all industries who are concerned with their marketing results, traffic, branding, advertising, or websites.

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