Using content to engage customers

Healthy Living Hub and customer engagement case study

Published: 10 June 2020

The Coronavirus pandemic has created challenges for every business across the UK. With working practises dramatically changing and employee well-being more important than ever, companies have had to adapt. But there is nothing more important than health and there has been a focus on the mental health of the nation. 

Keeping people healthy is the mission at the heart of Simplyhealth, it has been assisting businesses and individuals by providing support, counsel and education on government guidance and processes. 

With this in mind Simplyhealth created the Healthy Living Hub, a place with practical tools and resources from experts to support employees, customers, clients and partners. The focus of the platform is to support customers and communities through reassuring and practical advice. 

The content has been divided into four pillars, each one designed to provide a key area of support for SME during this global pandemic:

Creating content with partners

The campaign launched with Simplyhealth’s guide to ‘Inform’ customers, a content series in partnership with Knights PLC tackling the latest government guidance and help SMEs get their heads around new legislation. 

The key to its success has been utilising current corporate partnerships to enhance and amplify the content. Partners and subject matter experts have offered their expertise and personal experience, to provide engaging video series for Simplyhealth customers. Keen to maintain their role as a service provider Simplyhealth teamed up with subject matter experts who could provide helpful tips and advice. Liggy Webb – a resilience expert; and Charlie Unwin a sports performance psychologist created informative and insightful articles and blogs that underpinned a Q&A series with sports ambassadors Dylan Hartley and Heather Fisher.

The work with Knights PLC was followed by ‘Body’, designed to encourage customers to maintain fitness and use exercise for staying physically and mentally healthy. Simplyhealth engaged former England Rugby Captain, Dylan Hartley, and England Rugby Sevens player, Heather Fisher, providing exclusive video content for the Simplyhealth social channels and hub. The rugby influencers provided valuable insight and tips on resilience and coping with adversity for Simplyhealth during the brands Six Nations campaign. The content hub has provided an opportunity to progress this story taking both their own followers and Simplyhealth’s on a natural journey from workplace to homelife focusing on your mental health.

This leads to the ‘Mind’ section which explored the importance of resilience. Simplyhealth partnered with award-winning author Liggy Webb to develop a content series on building resilience and managing anxiety to boost mental health. This was released in tandem with ‘The Thrive Project’ a step by step guide to unlock your mind’s potential, developed by Olympic Performance Psychologist, Charlie Unwin. 

Focusing on employee wellbeing

To ensure colleagues’ felt supported, Simplyhealth adopted an employee wellbeing strategy that provides regular communication in the form weekly wellbeing emails and webinars with external guests, and the creation of a social group to be better connected.

A new area was created on Simplyhealth’s intranet as a central hub for all coronavirus related news of how Simplyhealth assists colleagues, customers, and communities. This links to a new wellbeing zone too, with all the webinar recordings, as well as healthy recipes, relaxation guides and a series of e-books on wellbeing, resilience, personal development and behavioural agility.

Simplyhealth’s Mental Health First Aider’s also started a weekly “coffee-morning” over Teams. Being connected is more than important than ever and every effort has been made to ensure all colleagues do not feel isolated.

Understanding how colleagues are feeling has shaped Simplyhealth’s communications. Two-way communication has been of paramount importance, with regular surveys, live Q&As, ensuring colleagues feel listened to and supported.

Taking a digital approach

To get the word out about this invaluable resource, Simplyhealth embarked on a digital awareness campaign starting with their core guide to supporting businesses. By sharing the practices, they had implemented, Simplyhealth provided the authority to advise and lay the foundations for an authentic content campaign. 

This has been built on by the ‘body’ and ‘mind’ ambassadors premiering the content on their social channels and taking part in live Instagram Q&As. With raw footage filmed at home or via video conference, the ambassadors have been able to talk about personal experience in a real-life setting, resulting in content that resonates with their fans generating further traction for the Healthy Living Hub.

As the Trusted Healthcare Partner to England Rugby, and when live rugby games postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, content from Dylan Hartley and Heather Fisher was tailored for the England Rugby fanbase to increase awareness of the campaign and the hub.

This has all been supported by a strategic social media advertising campaign to deliver the most relevant copy to customers and Simplyhealth’s wider social media community. 

Looking ahead to the future, from September 2020 Simplyhealth will be launching a wellbeing programme for colleagues, designed to energise, engage, inspire and educate. Created by Sally Gunnell OBE along with Kamwell, providing a unique and holistic overview to wellbeing, offering wellness action plans to support their long-term health goals.