Wellness marketing is not new. From #MeatlessMonday to #SelfCareSaturday, marketers have been tapping into healthy lifestyle messaging to drive conversation around their brand. This approach has been tremendously successful for many—especially beauty and food brands that have developed entirely new categories of wellness-oriented products to attract healthy lifestyle consumers.

As consumers have shifted to online shopping to avoid trips to the grocery store, brands such as Pepsi and Clorox have begun investing in direct-to-consumer sales. But, to do it well, big CPG brands will have to master e-commerce and the myriad logistics that come with it. While diversifying channels is an essential part of growing business, they have to ask themselves, “If we build it, will they come?”

Coming at a time of collective unease and jarring disruption, Mental Health Awareness Month feels particularly crucial this year. As mentioned in our latest infographic, 44% of Americans say their mental health has worsened since March, and 90% are looking for ways to improve their wellbeing. So, how can brands help? Below, we share three ways to genuinely connect with consumers and provide solutions throughout this month:

Between heightened anxiety and newfound isolation, working from home during a global crisis can be difficult, especially for those who are new to being away from the office. Below, our Social Media Coordinator and remote work aficionado, Jade Axman, shares ten ways to manage your wellbeing within the confines of your makeshift home office.

Most marketers would agree that they’ve never faced as many challenges as they do today. Amazon, direct-to-consumer brands, and shifts in consumer behavior are making it more difficult for CPG brands to break through or retain market share. In fact, of the thousands of creative new product launches that occur each year, about 85% of them fail. Today, products are not just competing for space on the shelf; they’re competing for space virtually everywhere.

Influencer marketing has seen massive growth within the past few years, and it’s no secret that brand deals have proven particularly lucrative for social media stars. However, deceptive practices and fraudulent behavior have led the industry to be dubbed the “Wild West” when it comes to compliance. In fact, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2019 Benchmark report, only 11% of influencers are fully compliant with FTC guidelines.

Brands started to heavily invest in influencers about five years ago. At that time, it was all about the mega-influencer, the creator like Huda Kattan or Aimee Song who had millions of followers and could launch - and sell out - a product on Instagram in a matter of minutes. But, as influencer marketing has evolved, brands have learned that bigger isn’t always better. In the years that have followed, micro- and nano-influencers have played a key role in generating buzz for brands.

Back in July, Instagram shocked users in several countries (including Australia, Canada, and Ireland) by running a test that hid like counts from other users. Since then, testing has expanded and parent company, Facebook, has considered doing the same. However, in a world where likes have served as social currency and careers have been launched on “Instagram fame,” these tests have been met with mixed emotions. In fact, a Russian influencer reportedly threatened to sue the platform if they move forward with hiding likes. Meanwhile, other users took to Twitter to express their praise, voicing that it’s a step in the right direction that will preserve the mental health of younger generations, specifically.

Last year, Instagram reached one billion active monthly users, surpassing that of parent company Facebook and once-competitor Snapchat. But. between constant algorithm alterations, experimental changes, and a surplus of daily content, it’s becoming more difficult than ever to create engaging posts for your audience on “The ‘Gram.” And, with more than 80% of businesses considering engagement to be their most important metric, this poses a major concern for brands and influencers alike.

Between frequent ads, an ever-changing algorithm, and an influx of new posts, getting your brand’s content seen in the Instagram feed has become more and more challenging. Enter Instagram Stories, the feature that is now being recognized as another powerful channel for reaching your audience.