Digital marketing strategies for America's rapidly growing home sauna sector

Intro

The home sauna market in the US is getting everyone steamed up. Not just those who enjoy sweating it out after a hard day in their own back yard, but also the businesses in the US who manufacture and supply saunas and the service providers who help them out along the way.

America’s home sauna market is currently worth around $40 million in annual sales. That number is expected to be closer to $60 million by 2030. With that sort of growth potential, it’s little wonder that this is a sector that is extremely appealing to American entrepreneurs. A growing market that features plenty of new entrants demands a robust digital marketing strategy. Here are some key points that need to become a mantra for anyone wishing to thrive in this exciting and trending sector.

Research the sauna market

In 2022, around 2.25 million US consumers searched online for a sauna or sauna stove for sale and that figure is increasing at a rate of 40 percent every year. The first and most fundamental step is to understand who these people are and what they want.

Yes, that means a lot of keyword research and analysis. But even before you do that, some demographic data research is in order. 30 years ago, the only people in the market for a home sauna were millionaires and movie stars. Today, saunas are within the financial reach of the middle classes.

Those searching for saunas online will include health-conscious millennials who would prefer to spend $10,000 on a home upgrade they can enjoy and benefit from every day than a vacation that will be over and forgotten after two weeks. But it will also include boomers and retirees who crave a sauna for relaxation and to ease aching or arthritic joints. These are just two examples, and the point is that while they might ultimately purchase identical products their buyer journeys are likely to take very different paths.

When you understand your main audience, you can identify its needs and preferences, and just as importantly, its pain points. These will then inform the messaging you deliver through your website and other channels, to strike a chord with the needs and wants that have led them to search in the first place.

Local marketing for national reach

Most of today’s US sauna companies market their services online and ship nationwide. But don’t make the mistake of thinking this means local SEO doesn’t matter. If you have followed the first step and become attuned to your market, you will know that for a big ticket purchase like a home sauna, people tend to assume that they need a local company.

This needs to inform your keyword analysis and your digital marketing focus. Establish the areas that see more sauna sales – to give you a head start, northern states including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan have an established Sauna culture. But even more importantly, research areas that have strong potential, such as Florida or California.

**Get social with your messaging **

We mentioned “other channels” a moment ago. What we predominantly mean here is social media. About seven out of ten American adults regularly use at least one social media platform. You might assume that this is predominantly a medium for reaching younger generations, but that is only partially true.

As suggested a moment earlier, the sauna market encompasses all age groups, and all of these can be reached through social media. Granted, a higher concentration of millennials are on social media – about 90 percent of those in their 20s and 80 percent of Americans aged 30 to 50. But about 50 percent of over-60s are also on social media, so this is a channel that needs to be prioritized for all target age groups.

Influencer partnerships help to establish your brand

For new businesses in particular, gaining brand recognition in the sauna market can be a challenge. After all, prices might not be stratospheric as they were 30 years ago, but a five to 15 thousand dollar investment is still a major purchase, and it is understandable that buyers might treat an unknown brand with suspicion.

This is where partnerships with recognized influencers and sales affiliates can make a huge difference. When an independent third party endorses your product, it carries significantly more weight than any form of self-promotion. In years gone by, people would rely on personal recommendations and word of mouth over any form of advertising. In the digital age, an endorsement from an influencer is tantamount to a friend’s recommendation, so this is a hugely effective way of putting your brand on the map.