Homeopathy Consumers Are Online. Are You?

Many of today’s consumers are looking for natural, safe, and effective drug products—and that means they’re turning to homeopathy. In fact, at our Summit event last spring, industry consulting firm The Emerson Group shared recent homeopathy sales numbers of $1.1 billion![1]

Would you believe that a full 25% of that growth came from e-commerce?
That’s right—a growing segment of homeopathic consumers want to purchase products online. So, as manufacturers and marketers, we have a new opportunity to engage directly with those who use the internet to find our products. Keep in mind that the promotion of homeopathic products online must follow the rules of responsible product labeling.

Here are a few online marketing strategies and techniques to consider:

Capture an Audience Via Search

More than 397,000 Google searches occur for “alternative medicine” each year in the U.S.[2] It’s imperative for you to ensure that your website ranks high enough to get on potential customers’ radar. Create content and webpages around the right SEO keywords and make sure your website is optimized correctly for search engines. By doing so, you can generate more traffic to your site and build awareness for your brand among your target audience.

Search ads also are a great way to leverage relevant terms that will get your business in front of those interested in homeopathic products. Through a search campaign, you can increase traffic to your site by choosing the keywords your target audience is likely to look up on Google.

Build Trust with Online Communities

Consumers want to trust the drugs they give their families. So, once you capture attention through SEO, direct consumers to social media or sign them up for newsletters. That way you begin to build a relationship with them. When they “know you,” they’re more likely to trust you.

When you deliver interesting content and engage in conversations on platforms like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, you get people invested and coming back again and again. Social media advertising also helps to bring followers to your platforms and can be customized to certain age groups, geographic locations, and specific interests.

Another way you can build a trusting relationship with consumers is through an email newsletter. This allows your brand to stay top of mind with your audience as you demonstrate how your products can add value to their lives. Also, by sharing general facts about alternative and complementary medicine, you can educate people and make your organization a trusted source of health information among readers.

Reinforce the Benefits of Homeopathy

TheAAHP.org is a great resource for sharing content that underscores safety as well as manufacturers’ commitment to best practices. Our Code of Ethics page lays out that commitment while the FAQ page can help you to dispel myths. We also offer a wide range of resources on homeopathy. Feel free to share this content—and your relationship with AAHP if you’re a member—to reinforce the quality and regulatory compliance of your products.

Remember to Measure

No matter what strategy you use for your company’s online marketing, it’s important to make sure you’re getting a good return on your time and money investment. Search ads, social media platforms, and email marketing tools all provide valuable information about how well your marketing efforts are performing, so be sure to take advantage of this data by reviewing it regularly and changing content that may not be performing as well as you would like.

Your customers are online, so meet them there. Try a few of these techniques to figure out what works best for your company. It may take some time, but those online efforts could yield big dividends once you find the right platforms and channels.