Take Advantage of Social Media to Build Your Brand

3/8/2012

People all over the world spend hundreds of billions of dollars on groceries per year, but how are they deciding which products and brands to purchase? By selecting products from brands that they know.

To tap into the minds of today’s grocery buyers, you need to be savvy, creative and up to date with the tools now available, including social media and SMS advertising.

Dealing with a diverse array of food and grocery clients, and placing several million ads online per month has given me a good idea of what works and what doesn’t when trying to build your brand online. Based on that experience, I’ve compiled the following six tips to help increase brand awareness in an exceptionally crowded field:

- Analyze and take into account the dynamic nature of today’s grocery buyer. Consumers aren’t passive; they respond to energetic and exciting ads which are relevant to them. Get to know your ideal consumer, tap into their psyche, understand what makes them tick and you will be able to create some very effective ad campaigns.

- Appeal to the grocery buyer’s sense of humor! Life isn’t all serious, and all consumers appreciate a bit of a joke. A family theme or a general sense of informality can be a great way to establish your brand as a reliable, family-friendly brand that’s here to put a smile on the face of the customer.

- Brisk and chic advertisements also can be very effective in grabbing audience attention. Although some may see it as abrupt, a short, straight to the point ad with a snappy message promoting your brand instantly denotes a slick image and an overall sense that you’re in control.

- Branch out and try to eliminate stereotypes from your advertising campaigns. By broadening your mind, you can reach out to even more customers, and a more diverse group of grocery buyers than ever before.

- Appeal to the health-conscious public. People are more aware of calories and saturated fat content these days, so if you’re offering products which promote good health, potential customers and other grocery buyers will be affected by your advertising campaign and consider your brand as a healthy alternative to other products. Placing importance on the nutritional value of your products is likely to draw in the grocery buyers who are conscious about their family’s’ well-being.

- Get with the times and utilize social networking to its full potential to promote your brand and products. You will reach customers where they are, and communicate with them on a more personal level, which makes them feel a closer connection with your brand.

Benjamin Christie, a former chef and author, is founder and managing director of Gourmet Ads, a global food advertising network.
 

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