Almost every food producer or processor will tell you they are on social media. It is one thing to be on social media, it is another thing to do it well and drive sales. One challenge when everyone is using the same tactics is that you need to be really good to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately every category manger has heard from every supplier how their ‘social strategy’ will be the best and incredibly effective. It does water it down and they start to ignore those claims because everyone says the same thing.
An effective social media strategy needs to start with the consumers who buy your products. Who are they and where do they hang out online? There are many platforms and they are all populated with different people. Go back to your target market and really focus on their profile and determine the best apps to find them. You can't cover them all so find the right ones to communicate your message.
You also need a strategy with some objectives before you just start telling the world about your products and your business. If you want to get the attention of your customers remember to include selling products as an objective. From past experience on the retailer side of the desk, there is nothing more frustrating than a supplier talking about building a brand and awareness. You should do those things but when you talk to retailers tell them what you are doing to drive sales.
Last week, Shaun Whynacht from Blue Cow Marketing shared some interesting facts about mobile phone usage and apps. According to e-marketing 90% of smartphone time is spent on apps. People are not talking and typing emails, they are consuming content on social media and other apps. He also told us that according to Lyfemarketing 91% of social media users access the apps on their mobile device. You can find most of your target market on their social media channels on their phone. Remember to make your posts very attractive on a smartphone and if they are long they need to be very good to get them past the first glance.
Every product and every business is different. One thing that is common is consumers buy for benefits, not features. Focus your content and posts on how your product benefits them. It surprises me how many established food businesses miss this point. So much of the content they share is ‘about’ the product, not how it helps the end user. This is one great opportunity to separate your social posts from the crowd.
Your social media strategy must include analysis. This is one of the biggest benefits of social media, you can actually tell who is looking at it and how often. Mass media tried hard but they never really could explain who was watching or looking. Invest in your own resources or an external expert to determine what the response is to your posts and what you can do to keep improving.
Join us on Wednesday June 17 for our next Recipe for Success, presented by FCC when Brent Martel from Balance Creative will join us to share insights into social media. Brent has great experience building and maintaining social media campaigns. This is not an IT session; it is an Internet Marketing session for food & beverage.
Join us Wednesday at 2 pm Atlantic (1 pm Eastern)
To help you figure out how to build the best Internet marketing plan for your food or beverage business our Recipe for Success, presented by FCC, in June will be dedicated to Internet marketing.
If you are like me a lot of this can be a challenge. This will be focused on food and beverage and designed to help you get it done. Join us for the next 2 Wednesdays presented by FCC:
June 17 Social media – We will discuss how to promote your business on social media through posts and ads.
June 24 Influencers – More and more people buy because someone tells them it is a good decision. Influencers do just that, they influence people to buy.
Do you really understand what is selling in stores?
If you are in the bakery category check out the free webinar on June 23rd sponsored by FCC in association with Nielsen, the Bakery Showcase and the Baking Association of Canada. They will explore the impact of COVID-19 and share insights where the category is going. Front-end data is so valuable and you really do need it to make decisions.
At SKUFood we have changed our model to address the changing priorities of producers and processors in the food industry. All of those great conferences and events are not happening so I will not be able to travel across the country with my shopping cart. I will miss those events but we are making changes to allow us to deliver virtually. If you would like more information about that just send me an email at Peter@SKUFood.com or give me a call at (902) 489-2900. There are many great opportunities to interact virtually with your audience.
We made the decision to make our SKUFood content available online too. It was/is a lot of work and success does not come overnight. In our case the product is information, processes to help you deliver better results and a community of people in the food industry.
We are also doing all of our consulting and coaching online. With the technology available now we can talk while you are wherever you want to be. It takes less time and you can be very focused and effective from your own chair. If you have a challenge with a customer or need some advice just send me an email at Peter@SKUFood.com or give me a call at (902) 489-2900. There are many great opportunities to interact virtually with your audience.