Women’s health marketing can be frustrating sometimes. You’ve got to deal with gender bias in medicine. And then there’s the fact that many people don’t know how a woman’s reproductive system even works. Plus, even if you’re a legitimate, licensed women’s health professional…many times you can’t even use correct anatomical terms without getting your content shadow banned from social — or your emails landing in the junk folder.
So what’s a women’s health brand to do? Because I know you want to get in on this market that’s expected to rise to $41.05 billion by 2030, right?
Just follow these 3 simple rules, and you’ll be on your way to sidestepping the pitfalls most other women’s health marketers face.
1. Educate First, Sell Second
There’s a HUGE learning curve that has to be addressed when you’re trying to sell a women’s health product.
Did you know that nearly 25% of respondents to a survey in the year 2020 couldn’t find the vagina on a diagram — and this was a survey of American women!
Things aren’t better for the British, either.
Over half of the population across the pond (men and women combined) can’t correctly identify the urethra, vagina, or labia.
And that’s not to even mention the confusion around the menstrual cycle, menopause, and fertility.
So when you jump into talking about the ovarian-adrenal-thyroid axis or the fertility awareness method…welp, you’ve already lost a lot of people.
It’s not fair — but we’ve got to assume that when selling products related to women’s bodies we need to educate them first.
How?
Use clear, easy-to-understand language.
Speak like you’re talking to a friend.
No confusing doctor-jargon, ok?
2. Don’t Use The Wrong Words To Talk About Your Product
Speaking of what type of language to use, you’ve got to remember that the internet is a place that has historically objectified women.
So when you use words like sex or breasts, the algorithm assumes you’re trying to do the same.
Which means you’ve got to be exceedingly careful when trying to stay out of the spam folder.
Again, this is totally unfair, but this is the reality of the world we’re marketing in.
Facebook has a history of rejecting legitimate ads for legitimate women’s health products while allowing downright explicit content in ads that either marginalize women or cater to men’s health and sexuality.
Don’t use any words — even the anatomically correct ones — to describe a woman’s body parts.
Things like ovaries and fallopian tubes are usually fine.
And you have some more latitude with blog posts (although Google can be a bit finicky too).
But you’ll have to try creative ways to get around talking about certain things in your emails and your Facebook ads.
Here are some things I’ve used that worked well:
Instead of breasts, say mammary glands or chest
Don’t say vagina. Instead try lady parts, down there, or even va-jay-jay
You can’t say clitoris, but you can say cl!tor!s (most of the time)
Orgasm is off-limits, but O usually substitutes just fine
Using the word sex will send you straight to junk folder jail. Try things like s+x or bedroom fun, lovemaking, and sesh with your partner
3. Remember, Women Are Dynamic
At this point, it’s dangerous to assume that all women like the color pink.
It’s silly to think that all women:
Obsess about what’s for dinner
Like to get their nails done
Have children
And, if it makes sense for your product, be sure to remember that not all women have ovaries, or menstruate. It’s so much nicer to be inclusive and make everyone feel welcome when you can.
When you really and truly understand your target market, it makes more sense to hone in on their pain points (rather than these superficial characteristics) in your marketing.
In general, try to avoid lazy and stereotypical kinds of messages.
4. Remember, Women Are Frustrated
Western medicine was developed by and for men/gender-medicine-history/.
Gender bias in medicine is real, and it affects women every day.
And when it comes to women’s reproductive health:
There are women who wait 10+ years to get properly diagnosed with endometriosis or hypothyroidism.
Vaginal infections are misdiagnosed and dismissed repeatedly.
Menopausal women are pretty much just left out in the pasture to die. No one cares about their very real struggles.
Try to really channel some of these struggles and adopt some empathy when it comes to your marketing messages — trust me, it works!
Show women that you really understand them - that’s our true love language.
Need A Women’s Health Marketing Professional?
I’m here to help you help more women!
If you need an expert opinion on your latest campaign — I’d love to take a look and see if there’s anything you’re missing or help you find the perfect messaging strategy.
Just fill out this short form and I’ll get back to you in a jif.