We all know keeping a healthy lifestyle not only does wonders for our waistlines, but for our minds and overall well-being. Marketers are picking up on this fact and are pulling out all the stops on creative marketing strategies — particularly social media — for their healthy food brands.

In fact, social media marketing is a big win when it comes to promoting healthy eating habits and generating awareness of serious health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Social networks create communities and connect people on a global scale in such a unique way that more traditional marketing methods just can’t accomplish on their own. From fun, visually driven Facebook posts to creative Twitter campaign hashtags, there are a lot of different ways healthy food marketers can get their messaging out to their core customers. These brands cannot ignore the power of a strategic social media marketing campaign.

One study of 500 healthy snackers found a few interesting things:

36 percent of snackers follow healthy food brands on social media

Women are twice as likely to follow these brands on social media

38 percent have received a free sample as a result of following healthy food brands on social media

Understanding the habits and preferences of healthy eaters is important in forming the basis for an effective social media marketing campaign. For example, many healthy eaters value qualities such as taste and calorie count in making food and snack choices. In addition, terms such as “all natural” and “organic” used on packaging are also valued when making purchases.

It is more apparent than ever that social media marketing campaigns are a must for healthy food brands. Check out this Dole “Go Bananas Every Day” social media marketing campaign from 2012 promoting greater consumption of fruits and vegetables. This social media marketing campaign was supported by other initiatives such as PR and traditional advertising campaigns, as well as in-store promotions.

Learn more about EDK’s social media marketing services and how it can help your brand connect with its core customers.