Interview with Wellness Marketing Expert Sarah Hjorthol

When @itslyfe_inc started following my @mindwellmarketing instagram account, I admit, I was excited. I immediately did a little digging. Who was this cool NYC marketing company following my brand new business? When I discovered Lyfe Inc. shared my similar mission of wellness +  social media marketing, I slid right in to their DM. Sarah, the founder of Lyfe, was quick to respond and happy to connect. Luckily, Sarah shares my view of collaboration over competition and graciously agreed to the following interview. I knew her knowledge would be a great read for my audience and I'm thrilled to share her story and her marketing tips with you. 

Photo Credit: Danilda Izquierdo

First of all, tell us how you started LYFE and what your vision for your company is.

As a child I was always passionate about Wellness, but I took a serious leap into that world in 2008, when I started having severe anxiety. My doctor’s first reaction was to medicate me, and though I understand that many people need medication in order to deal with their mental wellness, that course of action did not resonate with me. I started researching, and discovered an energy healer near my town and she changed my life. I dove headfirst into the world of healing through alternative modalities -  breath work, energy work, nutrition and movement – and eventually came out the other end of it a lot stronger. After my undergrad, which was journalism, I landed a job in social media and here I fell in love with this incredible tool that, when used for positive outcomes, can be life altering. So when my understanding for this tool began to merge with my passion for wellness and helping others I knew it was time to create a company that does both. ​My future vision for LYFE is help clients reach their full potential, while also providing a trusted source for those seeking recommendations for practitioners in the wellness space. A fully integrated experience where I utilize my expertise, curiosity, and my own journey to wellness to deliver personalized experiences that showcase the heart and vision of my clients. It's two fold in the sense that I want to help wellness practitioners reach more clients, and for the clients to be able to get the holistic help they need.  As LYFE continues to grow, we’ll be creating additional marketing exposure for clients on the Wellness Collective, a searchable hub of vetted members in the wellness sector. This will allow wellness seekers to discover vetted members of, and practitioners in, the LYFE community, and will introduce brands with co-collaborators in respective industries. It’s one more way for clients to help raise their brand’s profile while providing a needed service to those who are looking to connect with wellness practitioners.

What has been the biggest lesson you have learned from starting your own business?
Nothing will ever be perfect, and you need to trust your own intuition and guidance. If you let the opinion of everyone else guide you, the business ultimately wont be yours, will it? Some people will love what you do, and others will not. And that’s ok! What I find has become more and more important to me is authenticity and honesty. Looking at what others are doing will only confuse you and make you more insecure, because there is only ONE you. What you offer, no one else can. And I feel in the wellness industry we need more healers, because there is so much work to do. To me, there is no such thing as competition, only collaboration. If everyone would put their ego aside the world would be a better place.
 
When working with wellness brands that want to put more of a focus on marketing their business through social media – what do you see as the biggest challenge for these businesses? How do you help them to overcome this challenge?

I find social media and wellness to be perfect complements to each other. Social media is such a strong visual tool, and the wellness industry is ripe with beautiful things to photograph: vibrantly colored foods, beautiful personal care products, nature, crystals, props and inspiring objects. I love the creativity that the two embody—stepping out of the box to heal others, or to market a client to their full potential. The challenges I've faced with my clients is they don´t quite understand how this can help them attract clients. Building a following and getting engagement takes time, especially when you do it organically, which why I always tell them to be patient and trust me.

My favorite part about working with my clients is seeing results—and watching them see the results. Whether we’re growing your social media following organically and creating a brand that’s top-of-mind to consumers or watching someone have a “Holy Sh!t! This is actually working!” moment when they see improvements in their health, there is nothing so satisfying as experiencing joy right alongside clients when they’re moving in the right direction. Success to me is when they see the shift.
 
 What are your top three tips for a wellness business looking to grow their online presence?

1. Know the visual aesthetic and the voice of your brand, then 50 percent of the work is already done. I always tell my clients to look at their feed as a mood board. What’s the story they want to tell? What is the message they want to give? Social Media is a lot about story telling and captivating an audience, if you're lacking the thread in your feed then growing an online presence will be more difficult.
2. Patience. This might be the hardest thing to practice. Because clients want to see results right away, and I don´t blame them. But in that “world” there are millions of accounts and finding one with a fewer following rate or a brand new account is more challenging. Which is why I always execute a three-month aggressive brand strategy. We make goals for each month, and I make sure every goal is reached. But again, it takes patience.
3. Have fun! It´s not life or death, and social media can be so much fun. You can be as creative as you want in terms of video, pictures, memes, gifs. There is no limit on how you want to present your brand, you just have to get up and do it. Don’t be intimidated by what “everyone else” is doing, because that has already been done. Be authentic and be real, I've experienced faster and better results that way,
   
   

How do you balance the rigors of being an entrepreneur in New York City with your own self-care?
I need to get out of the city from time to time, and I make that a priority. Connecting with nature and shutting my phone of is the best thing for my over all wellbeing. I meditate and move every single day, even the days I don´t feel like it. Just by moving my body for 10 minutes followed by breath work, I immediately feel better, especially days where I am under a lot of stress. I also practice to actually listening to my body and being in whatever emotion comes up instead of trying to ignore it. There is a reason for this emotion, if I keep rejecting it, it will only come back more intense. So on the days where I have negative emotions I stop what I am doing and I sit. I feel. I listen. Whatever comes up during those moment of silence gets to come up. This release method has been so clearing and cleansing for me I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner. Which is why I am focusing a lot on anxiety and depression in the holistic part of LYFE. I curate every single program based on my own experiences, and what worked for me. It took me 10 years to figure out by body, mind and spirit – and it was hard work. But I know I went through it for a reason, because now I can help others. And to me, that is also self-care. Because you also help yourself through helping others.