A quick guide to how food brands can use digital marketing
Almost every consumer searches information on new products online, gets inspiration through social media or tries to find the best recipe for a vegan Sunday roast. But with plenty of different channels available, it can be overwhelming to know where to focus a food brand ́s efforts in the online world. And without a good understanding and strategy for the opportunities, marketing efforts can quickly become costly.
In this article, we will therefore shed some light on the five most important channels to use in digital food marketing to reach your target audience and grow your business efficiently.
1. Social Media:
They allow you to connect with consumers, share mouth-watering images of your food, and promote special offers and events. By creating engaging content, you can build a loyal following, build and strengthen your brand and drive sales.
There are several platforms that are particularly important for our industry.
Facebook is a great channel for connecting with consumers, sharing updates about your business, and promoting special offers, behind the scenes information and events to a slightly older, more classic audience.
Instagram is a visual-heavy platform with high audience growth rates, perfect for sharing mouth-watering images and recipes. On this channel, pretty visual content is key, as it also offers the best opportunity to work with influencers.
Pinterest is a slightly smaller platform that allows users to create pin boards to save and organize images and links and get great inspiration. It’s a great platform for food businesses as it allows you to create boards with your dishes and recipes, making it easy for customers to save and find your content.
TikTok is still a relatively new platform, but it has quickly grown in popularity and is already highly important. It’s a great platform to reach the young audience and for creating short, engaging videos that showcase your food, your business, and some behind the scenes footage.
2. Influencer Marketing:
By partnering with influencers on social media, you can reach a larger audience than your own by using the followers of the influencer. Your brand also gains credibility through the endorsement of a trusted figure, that users also buy from (positive word of mouth & sales recommendations). Influencer marketing works best on the platforms Instagram and TikTok, where they are mostly called (content) creators. A relatively new category are so-called adfluencers, who don ́t focus on building their own audience, but simply create great (ad) content for brands in their name. This can be a great way to outsource costly content production.
3. Website:
the food & beverage industry is getting better at creating great brand hubs and online shops, that brands can use as their digital hub and go-to-place for users. A brand ́s website is often the first point of contact for potential customers, so it’s important to make a great impression in the first seconds and professionalism is key.
4. Digital ads:
A very cost-effective way for food brands to reach a large audience (especially when compared to classic media like print or TV). Companies like Google (with Google display and search ads) and Meta (with online ads on Facebook, Instagram and other channels) allow businesses to target specific demographics and interests, ensuring that their ads reach exactly the right people without scattering losses. This is a great way to generate massive awareness, generate new followers, newsletter-signups or – if an online shop is in place – direct sales at low cost.
5. Email Marketing:
When all other digital tools are in place, email marketing is a powerful tool for reaching existing customers over and over again. A newsletter allows you to stay in touch with customers and keep them engaged with your brand on a running basis. Sending out small “purchase reminders” every once in a while and letting them know your brand is available for them, can drive sales and allow long term brand engagement.
In conclusion, digital food & beverage marketing might seem difficult to steer, but if these five channels are in place, a brand is prepared for long term success.
At SPOONFUL food & beverage marketing, we are a team of specialized experts, focusing on exactly this digital customer journey, branding & online sales activities, that are crucial for the digital success of food & beverage brands in the current times.