The influence of Social Media in the growth of Veganism

When it comes to increase brand awareness and engagement with customers the best way to do that is through social media. With the creation of Social Media platforms since the early 2000s, the internet has brought people even closer and now we are more than ever gathering online to share contents and thoughts and connect to each other. As people are more and more connected through these channels, Marketing has developed strategies to reach them, interact with them and make them engage with your brand, building a solid relationship between company and customer.

Today there are nearly 4 billion users on social media, that is a massive number if we consider that these platforms only emerged about 15 years ago. Virtually every business can now find their customers active on social media. Through social media now companies can reach targets globally and increase their range of potential customers. Define and categorise their target audience, utilising the big data these platforms hold from their users, companies can create personalised content for specific location and gender and also segment it according to more specific information like demographic, interests and behavioural. In the infographic you can find how social media channels are segmented by different audiences and purposes.

Social media uses algorithms to determine how your content will reach their users. So if you work strategically you can reach your potential customers without spending a cent on paid ads. The organic reach can vary between social media channels. Creating relevant content that makes people engage with it, by liking, commenting and sharing it, will make the algorithm reward that content with more reach. But as the market on social media has increased, the competitiveness for organic results is also higher. Therefore, companies can still have the opportunity to reach a huge audience and boost their range of views by sponsoring posts about new products or services.

The use of social media is becoming vital for companies nowadays. A particular sector of the health and wellness industry that were benefited by the use of these channels are the vegan or plant-based food companies. It has been a while that the word “Veganism” is a trend on social media channels. But the industry has grown immensely offline as well. The Vegan Food market size was valued at $14.2 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $31.4 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10.5% from 2019 to 2026. (alliedmarketresearch.com)

Veganism has become a mainstream movement that has made even big food brands like Pizza Hut and McDonalds rethink their menu and create new products to meet the demand. Some celebrities like Natalie Portman and Ellen Degeneres have also changed their eating habits and adhered to this movement, influencing many people. But one of the reasons veganism has become trendy on social media is because it is still a controversial topic. There are loads of people talking about the benefits of veganism online but also there are a bunch of other groups sceptical about the benefits and impact of the diet, and advocate against it. The infographic below shows the three main communities that are most likely to get involved with this movement.

Source: Linkfluence social data research into the rise of veganism and plant-based diet in 2018

In conclusion, if you are starting a business related to vegan and plant-based food. Now is the moment to start surfing this wave and think of strategies to reach your audience. Considering that most social media users are between 18-34 years old, any movement popular among young people is going to feature heavily on social media. The use of influencers might be a good start, we can easily find contents from influencers on youtube and Instagram talking about their diet and answering questions about their Vegan lifestyle. Associating your brand with an influencer can rapidly increase your followers and consequently convert them into sales.

Osnei Pereira