How to Take Your Wellness Program Messaging to the Next Level

Remember writing notes on pieces of paper, folding them into airplanes and tossing them across the classroom to the delight of a friend? As any grade schooler knows, that level of personalized messaging is incredibly powerful. And it's often missing in today's internal company communications, especially when it comes to employee wellness programs.

Of course, you're now working with digital tools, not pen and paper. But it's possible—and, I'd argue, essential—to deliver personal and creative content that captures your employees' attention and inspires them to take action.

Here are two ways to boost engagement with your wellness program:

When were you ever excited about an email that you knew was also sent out to hundreds, if not thousands, of other people? Never. So why are you still sending your employees mass emails about their wellness program?

Sure, it's quick and easy, but a batch-and-blast approach typically does little to incite action. To improve results, personalize your email experience and monitor your efforts using an email marketing tool. Some, like Mailchimp or ConstantContact, offer free services and are fairly intuitive.

There are multiple benefits to using an email campaign tool. For example, if you were promoting an on-site employee biometric screening event, you'd be able to create a mobile-friendly campaign, track when emails are opened and send automatic follow-up messages to recipients who haven't yet read the original message.

According to a 2016 survey conducted by Whyzowl.com, 79 percent of consumers say they'd rather watch a video to learn about a product than read text on a page, up from 69 percent last year. The same preference for video content applies to wellness programs.

Creating video content may seem like a daunting task, but even a novice can now be a videographer, thanks to smartphones and computer webcams.

But not every message needs to be scripted and edited—in fact, a quick, impromptu video message can feel more authentic, as long as it's relevant to your audience.

For example, one of our Health Coaches recently recorded a 30-second video voice-mail using her computer's webcam. She then sent it to employees via text message, which typically results in a higher response rate than an email blast.

Here's the video message that was sent:

Check out this other recent video we created using an iPhone 7 and video editing software by Camtasia:

Some other useful video editing tools include:

Still not sure how to get started? Check out Wistia for how-to guides that tackle everything you need to know about creating business videos, and breathe new life into your employee wellness program.

Photo: Creative Commons