The health and wellness industry is growing, and fast. Before COVID-19 hit, health and wellness was already a top priority for consumers but has since come into a sharper focus as a result of the pandemic. Research from McKinsey suggests that the global wellness market is currently worth $1.5 trillion and is still growing at a rate of 5-10% per year. A rise in consumer interest along with purchasing power offers huge opportunities for businesses, especially since self-care is now viewed as a ‘necessity' rather than a choice.
Conversations on social media around the subject are experiencing exponential growth due to consumers becoming more health-conscious. When looking at raw data, ‘health’ as a keyword on social media platforms accounts for 210 million conversations. Out of these conversations, wellness accounts for 40% of them. So what conversations around health and wellness can we expect on social media?
Here are 4 social media trends to watch out for in 2022:
Emotional Wellness: Adaptogens and Natural Remedies
Emotional wellness is defined as ‘the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times.’ These challenges can include managing emotional reactions, e.g. anxiety and depression and their frequent companion, stress.
We can expect to see emotional wellness as a trend in the upcoming year with consumers seeking stress-relieving products and practices following the past two years of unprecedented turmoil. The hashtag #emotionalwellness is currently tagged in 395k posts, while #emotionalwellnessmatters has been tagged in 10.6k posts, this is something we can expect to rise over the next year.
Here’s what we can expect to trend on socials:
- Natural and alternative foods and technology forward solutions
- Adaptogens e.g. herbs and mushrooms as a tool to support the body’s natural ability to deal with stress. Supplements with ashwagandha have seen a 3.995 increase in sales in the US in 2021, let’s see what 2022 holds…
- Products containing magic ingredients e.g. ‘holy’ basil, reishi, maca, ginseng and turmeric that help to reduce stress and aim to provide an overall feeling of wellbeing.
Immunity-Boosting
Unsurprisingly, immunity has been a hot topic in light of the recent pandemic and its lasting effects. Search trends suggest that interest in immunity and related areas are significantly higher than before the pandemic suggesting that immunity (and boosting it) is no longer the remit of the ultra-healthy conscious or medical professionals, but is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
We are likely to see an increased focus on sleep, regular exercise and gut health as a means of boosting our immunity.
Mindfulness and the Accessibility of Meditation
The global pandemic has inevitably caused stress and uncertainty resulting in an increase in conversations around how to manage stress. We can definitely expect to see more of these conversations, which are likely to take a focus on mindfulness exercises and breathing techniques, as well as the incorporation of nutrition and supplements into our daily routines.
The accessibility of meditation and mindfulness is only going to become easier, and it may be that these practices become incorporated within social platforms without the need to download an external application.
We have already seen Snapchat preview The Headspace Mini, a mindfulness and mediation in-app tool, which looks at encouraging friends and family to take part in the activity as a collective rather than as individuals.
It won’t be long before Instagram and Tik Tok jump on the mediation and mindfulness bandwagon, making it more available and accessible than ever. We told you here first…
Mental 'Fitness'
If there’s one good thing to take from the pandemic, it’s how it has helped to grow the conversation and remove the stigma off conversations around mental health. A growing conversation on social media has normalised people speaking out when they’re ‘not okay’ and communicating their struggles publicly or more open privately. This has meant that it is now seen as more acceptable and understandable to reach out for mental health support including therapy, coaching, or taking a day off work for mental health. Licensed therapists have taken to Tik Tok to educate the younger generation about mental health and to encourage those who are struggling to talk about their symptoms.
Users are taking issues into their own hands and are using self-care as a way of coping with their mental health. We can expect to see more of an open conversation around mental health including anxiety, depression and burnout, and it is likely that there will be further discussion around the treatment and natural/homoeopathic ways to improve mental health.
What can brands do to tap into these trends?
There is a field of opportunities for brands and there are many ways that they can leverage off these trends. Examples include:
- Establish your brand around wellness values
- Provide holistic experiences for consumers
- Utilise data from social media to build online communities around physical and mental well-being topics
- Elevate customer experience through tech and services
- Innovate and collaborate with wellness brands to stay relevant
Interested in learning more? Get in touch with our team today
