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Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Mission: Seek and Target

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

There’s no magic formula to successful food marketing in today’s world of social media. The strategy is the same as it was 20 years ago…keep your brand visible and relevant where your consumers are actively engaged. Certainly the avenues have radically changed and consumers have adopted and embraced mediums where they have a voice and influence.

Some food brands have done a decent job at engaging and marketing to consumers on social networks, but few have it down to a measurable, effective science. Here are two tools that can take your social network marketing to the next level.

First, you have to seek out and find those who are already enjoying your brand or would be likely to purchase it. As well as those who already have an affinity and are sharing with others the wonderful attributes of your product.

One of the tools you can utilize to gather this intelligence is a software called All Access™. It’s the next-generation of social media monitoring and analysis. All Access finds, aggregates, and interprets conversations taking place in ALL social media outlets, by category and brand.

All Access gives you the ability to:

  • Search and analyze web-based conversations around unlimited topics:
    • Product, service, and brand names or categories
    • Pre and post marketing campaign and product launch initiatives
    • Customer service and investor relation discussions
  • All Access has the ability to take a specific topic or category of interest and find EVERY credible two-way conversation on the web.

Now that you know who is consuming your product and who would be likely to, you have to target them with marketing communications. Working hand-in-hand with All Access is a program called AdSlider™.

AdSlider™ has the ability to:

  • INSERT associated content – static or animated banner ads, coupons, videos, blog entries, posts, and sweepstakes entries – into relevant conversations about your brand or category.
  • CONTENT can be part of the actual conversation or in a promotional format.
  • DELIVER content based on consumer sentiment and specific conversations about your brand, category, or competitors.
  • ANALYZE the content, format, number of views, actions performed, etc., allowing you to track success in real time.

Today’s consumers have adopted and embraced these new mediums where they have a voice–where they have influence within an affinity group of peers. This type of marketing approach will allow you to measure your share of voice, know what consumers are saying, join the conversations, effectively target consumers and potential consumer, and much more.

Social media is an incredible avenue available for you to build your food brand–as long as you use a strategic approach with measurable results.

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Posted in Food Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The First 500 Billion Impressions

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Posted by Kelly, Senior Copywriter

We’ve all heard it at one time or another from our mother, “If your friend jumped off a bridge would you?” Of course not. That is unless your friend happens to be in the 6.2% of online adults who generates 80% of the influence impressions on social networking sites, or among the 13.8% of online adults who generate influence posts via a blog or a blog comment. Add all these impressions together and they reach the remarkable total of 500 billion impressions made yearly regarding products and services by influential online users.* Then, yes, you may just find yourself jumping off a bridge. Or trying a new product that you just can’t live without.

Now, let’s couple these impressions with the fact that women, who control 73% of household spending, make up 55%** of active users on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs. These figures reflect two key points for food marketers: one, your most influential consumers are online, they are blogging, they are Facebooking, they are tweeting. They are waiting to be engaged. Two, your influential consumers are actually easier to find and begin a dialogue with in order to gain your share of the 275 billion impressions women make yearly. You just have to reach out.

However, just as you shouldn’t jump off a bridge, you best watch your tone when engaging with these women. Simply put, it isn’t nice to fool Mother Nature and if you try and fool the Real Mom with false promises and a false, disingenuous tone, you’ll be the fool. Dubbed the Real Mom, by marketers, these women range in age from 24-45 and act as the emotional and operational core of her family’s life. These women plan the majority of meals, they do the grocery shopping, and they prepare the meals. All on top of working, very often, a full-time job and having the overwhelming feeling that personal time must be sacrificed for a clean and organized home.

Thus, when the real mom goes to unwind and relax in the evening, they do so, very often, online while chatting with friends or visiting social networking sites and blogs. And, because she is the core of her family’s values, very often she is connecting with friends regarding products that make an impact on her: what foods make her life easier at meal time; what healthy, all natural snack does she feel good about giving her kids; what yummy treat is she craving for a pick-me-up; what are her diet secrets. She is a real person, providing her real opinion, and she expects, in return, from her friends and her brands, Real Engagement. A community.

In recognition that her life is a series of trade offs, the Real Mom is willing to seek a sense of community online. Furthermore, she is seeking out brands that offer a community where she can be both engaged and entertained, as well as have a voice, and she knows her friends and other moms are looking for those brands who get what it means to be a Real Mom. As a food marketer you need to ask yourself: are you targeting the Real Mom? To meet the real mom on her terms, you have to first listen and then act. Respond to her comments, appreciate her ideas, and offer her support – these are actions that speak directly to her needs. These are the actions that will make a real impression - She and her friends will make the other 274 billion.

*Forrester Research, Inc., World Wide Research Center, 2010
** The Rise of the Real Mom, Ad Age White Paper

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Posted in Advertising, Food Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Does Your Brand Need a Makeover?

Friday, February 12th, 2010

There aren’t too many industries that have enjoyed an upswing during the past two years of the downward economy. That is, with the exception of private label food brands. Once akin to the dorky guy no one wanted to date, Wegmans, Target, even Walgreen’s Drug Stores, seeing their chance to woo shoppers with lower costs, improved quality and packaging, and raised expectations in terms of overall use, have created desirable private label products that no consumer is ashamed to take out for dinner – or breakfast, or lunch.

In fact, The Nielson Company, according to an article on Food Navigator-USA.com in December 2009, stated that sales of private label products have increased by 17 percent compared to two years ago – up 12 billion. So how do the name brand products rekindle their relationship with shoppers and compete with the sweetness of low costs and higher quality products?

Kraft, who many consider a staid and true traditionalist when it comes to marketing, have undertaken what many find successful when trying to rekindle the romance. A makeover. A new, modern look. A new, modern attitude.

Taking a holistic approach to marketing, Kraft has recently launched iFood Assistant, an app for the iphone; revamped it’s consumer website, similar to Campbell’s user friendly site; repackaged products giving them a clean more natural look, i.e. Kraft Natural Cheese; revised it’s Food and Family magazine; increased their presence on Facebook; and given fresh attitude to products like Miracle Whip depicting the spread as defiant and quirky to appeal to younger consumers. All while working to create foods that are tastier and more real while reflecting these qualities in their advertising. Advertising that tells a story. The consumer’s story.

The results? Sales have grown to $42 billion from $36 billion.

Looking mighty delicious there, Kraft.

Kelly Gartner, Copywriter

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Posted in Advertising, Food Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized, creativity | No Comments »

Facebook 2.0 for Brands

Monday, December 7th, 2009

By Jamie Allebach

If you’re not personally on Facebook or using it to market your brand—you’re either living in a cave or suffering from some type of technophobia. Facebook now has 350 million users and is a hotbed for marketing (Quick fact: if Facebook were a country, it’s population would rank it as the 4th largest in the world).

For the rest of you, by now you’ve most likely mastered the basics of Facebook and set up Facebook fan pages for your brand or business. It’s now time to take your Facebook marketing to the next level. Here are some practical tips:

  1. Grow your fan base by promoting your brand to your fans and friends, and ask them to pass along information.
  2. Utilize your fans and friends to gather valuable consumer feedback. You can create surveys, quizzes, or questionnaires about your brand or even new product development ideation. Now you’ve gathered valuable consumer data, intelligence, and opinions…for FREE.
  3. Send our special promotions or incentives to your friends and fans, and watch the viral effect of Facebook. There are many ways to get creative with this–think outside the box of traditional promotions.
  4. Utilize behavior-targeted ads to get in front of people who are likely to relate with your brand. (http://alleblog.com/?m=200905)
  5. Join and contribute to the conversations about your brand.
  6. Develop a Facebook App or game for your brand.
  7. Use postings to drive friends and fans to your website or other social mediums.

Why are these tactics so effective on Facebook? One of the primary reasons is what I call the “Sticky Factor” of Facebook. One of the major challenges with blogs, websites, microsites, and other online mediums is driving traffic. Brands spend millions to drive unique visitors and then strive to return incentives. With Facebook, they’re already there, every day, sometimes for hours at a time.

These are just some basic, effective ways to invest your marketing dollars on Facebook. Dive in and give it a try.

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Posted in Social Media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

“Let’s Get Together on a Social Level”

By Jamie Allebach

Wouldn’t it be enlightening to go to a party with your customers? The people who are buying your products? Personally meet them and spark conversation, answer questions, ask questions, share information and pass along value. It would be awesome, and man, would you build your brand and sell more product!

The problem is…how do you personally meet 1,000 customers, or 100,000 or 1,000,000?

Enter social media. Now, you can socialize with your customers, much like a party or social event–except with no boundaries of time, space, logistics, or budget. You can talk and listen to your customers, other people can listen in and become customers, customers can talk about you to others, you can become a real member of their social circle.

You’ve certainly heard of them, maybe you’re even dabbling in them; Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Flickr, Digg, Reddit, LinkedIn, and others.  But the question of the hour is how to integrate these social mediums into a marketing program?  How do you make them effective branding and advertising tools? Who’s doing it–and doing it right?

Here’s the basics:

LISTEN
Prior to joining the conversations, you must listen to what people are already talking about, to determine how you can best engage. This is achieved through monitoring social media venues and discerning applicable forums for your company or brand.

JOIN
Identify and select key networks and influencers to join and connect with. Focus on where you can contribute and grow. From there you can expand to other relevant networks.

CREATE
Develop and manage relevant content. Populate your blogs, sites, profiles, etc., with content driven from a social media creative strategy.

SHARE
Begin leaving comments, uploading images, building a community, sharing relevant information that demonstrates your company’s commitment to fostering your online relationships.

ENGAGE
Ask for comments, post surveys, quizzes, develop viral promotions, responding directly to consumers and customers, on an individual level.

INFLUENCE
Deliver incentives to your fans, followers, and brand advocates. In addition to influencing from the inside out, advertising on social networks with behavioral targeted ads have proven effective in directly influencing trial and sales.

ANALYZE
Did you learn about your customers? Did your customers learn about you? The number of fans and/or followers you have. Increased site traffic. Better optimization. What is your share of voice and chatter? Did it translate to sales?

The world has changed, folks. Informational democracy is the state of the marketplace. Clients, customers, prospects, product enthusiast, information-seekers, and anyone with an internet connection is empowered to help or hinder your brand. They’re all out there, now, in chat rooms, posting on Facebook, Tweeting, and blogging. They’re either seeking information on your brand (or competitors), declaring how great it is, or trashing it to everyone in their network. Your customers are engaged in social media. Are you?

Posted in Social Media | No Comments »