Over the next 30 years, the plant-based good industry alone is predicted to grow 100 times over, reaching a massive US$1.4 trillion by 2050 [1]. And that doesn’t even account for strong industry leanings towards cruelty-free cosmetics, vegan tattoos, animal-friendly fashion, and even ethically-manufactured household cleaning products.
It’s a growth market, but even in fruitful times good marketing, brand awareness, and plenty of promotion are essential. Also, despite this popularity and a similarly impressive period of increase, vegans in the US still only account for somewhere between three and six percent of the population [2].
Pitching to the minority can be hard. Plant-based media outlets and social media target marketing are effective, but they can be expensive and often don’t account for the veg-curious. So what is an easy, cost-effective way to expand your reach and increase your business’s brand awareness? The answer is with a plant-based directory.
In this digital world, we demand all of your information in the palm of our hands. Social media, Google and apps make it possible to find almost anything, anytime. Mostly, this is a huge benefit, but it can also be restrictive.
Without taking a significant amount of time to work on your website’s SEO rating, maintain and strong and consistent Instagram feed, regularly update your Google My Business listing and much more, you can either be lost in the miasma or pigeon-holed into a vegan-exclusive marketplace.
The benefits of a plant-based directory are fourfold:
For minimal cost, if anything at all, you can showcase your business
You are featured in a search engine specifically for vegans, plant-basers and, importantly, the veg-curious
Your target audience can directly search by location or business type
The directory focusses on your company’s promotion so you don’t have to.
There is an app for everything these days. You can find love in a couple of swipes, order almost any meal directly to your door, discover the ethics of your food and clothes and cosmetics, and gain access to almost every word ever written. When people need information, they reach for their phones. But where information is a good thing, too much information can be mind-meltingly confusing.
Unlike conventional serach engines, a plant-based directory offers precisely what your audience is searching for, with no extraneous results or information. A plant-based directory is like a dog whistle - it allows you to shout out to the world, but only those interested will hear.
Marketing 101 says you should always be searching for new audiences, reaching new customers and converting minds to your way of thinking.
Though the lines are bllurring, the chasm between the initiated and the deniers of aplant-based lifestyle is immense. Often, screaming and shouting - even in terms of well-executed marketing - can fall on deaf ears, or even make meat eaters more adamant in their carnivorous ways. You can’t lead a steak addict to Native Foods and make him eat! Though influence is always important, it is the gentle approach that works best, and many people adopt plant-based living incrementally and of their own volition.
This can be hard, as it is with beginning anything new. You need to learn the ropes, discover your options and find out the best ways for you personally to fulfill your new lifestyle.
A plant-based directory is the perfect portal to this world, allowing you to browse at leisure, not pressure, no obligation, until you find the right choice for you. Without being introduced, you may never know of that awesome gourmet vegan cafe right around the corner, you may forego your favorite caramel latte because you can’t find a nearby plant-cased alternative, you may choose to mail order your cosmetics without knowing that a locally-owned business has a vast range of better options.
And this is where the true strength of a plant-based directory shines. Whether born vegan or freshly-initiated plant-baser, your audience wants to find you, but in a sea of Google results, you can often be overlooked, with wealthy businesses pouring in the big bucks yet offering only one vegetarian option - still enough to rank in the search terms well above your dedicated vegan eatery. On a plant-based directory, however, these big companies that exploit search engine optimization through large marketing budgets are relegated, leaving only you and your peers on an even playing field.
Of course, if there are 50 vegan eateries within two square blocks, competition will still be high, but your audience will be presented only with the information it needs, with none of this red-washing from meat-based businesses looking to cash in on the green revolution.
With low fees, if any at all, a dedicated plant-based directory can far outweigh the benefits of investing in social media algorithms and search engine advertising.
VegReg is a free* plant-based directory offering vegan, plant-based and vegetarian companies of all kinds an informative way to reach the audience that matters the most.
Find out more today at VegReg.com.
[1] https://vegconomist.com/studies-and-numbers/plant-based-industry-projected-to-reach-1-4-trillion/
[2] https://www.plantproteins.co/vegan-plant-based-diet-statistics/