Social media has become a critical business component and something that CPG brands cannot survive without. Consumer shopping behavior is changing, and brands that aren’t on social media are missing out on opportunities. 32% of people turn to social media when looking for more information about a product or brand, according to Ignite Social Media, and Adaptly says Millennials are 1.6x more likely to learn about a new product on social media.
For CPG brands, social media is an easy way to reach consumers and promote your in-store demos and increase foot traffic. You should let people know that you’re on social media at your demos so they can follow you when you get home, allowing your brand to stay top of mind even after they leave the store.
With so many social media channels to choose from, you’ll want to decide which on channels your presence is most important. Here are a few channel recommendations to help you get started:
Facebook:
2.7 billion people are on Facebook, making this an easy way to get in front of virtually everyone you want to reach. Facebook has Business Pages that allow brands to communicate with consumers and place marketing content in consumers’ newsfeeds, right there with their friends’ baby photos and engagement updates. Business Pages allow for contact info, photos, videos and even coupons. Consumers have the option to follow a business page, meaning they can opt-in to have your content automatically appear in their newsfeeds. Consumers can also write reviews on your Facebook page for others to see. Facebook has advertising options as well if you want to explore the digital ad space.
Instagram:
Similar to Facebook, Instagram’s Business Pages allow brands to post pictures and video in a simple way to keep consumers in-the-know about your products. Instagram Stories are quite popular and are another way to get information out to your followers. Stories disappear after 24 hours but consumers are digesting content in this way and often engage with stories more than they do regular posts.
Twitter:
Twitter is a great channel for brands to join conversations and perform customer service. Often, when a consumer has an opinion or complaint, they take to Twitter. Twitter is an easy way to communicate directly with consumers while also getting brand and product updates out to the world. You may also use this channel to keep track of industry news.
LinkedIn:
While LinkedIn is a social media site for professionals, every brand should have a LinkedIn page. This way, your employees can list you as their employer and link to your page from their profiles. This is a great channel for recruiting as well as allowing potential job candidates to find you. Consumers and potential investors can also follow you on LinkedIn, making it a great place to share company updates and news.
If you don’t already have social media pages set up, you can check out these guides for getting started. It is recommended that each channel has your logo, a banner photo, a brand blurb or mission statement, contact information and link to your website.
- Get Started with Facebook
- Get Started with Instagram
- Get Started with Twitter
- Get Started with LinkedIn
How to Promote Your In-Store Demos
Be Visual
Now that your channels are set up, you’re going to need content to get you going. It is recommended that you add photos or videos to every post.
- Photos
Design graphics that promote your in-store demo. Include the date, time and location in the graphic. Images should be eye-catching with clean, modern designs and contain your logo. If someone shares your post, you want to make sure you logo is visible for brand awareness. Canva.com is an easy way for anyone to design graphics on their own – no graphic designer required! You can also post pictures from the demo while you’re there, encouraging people to visit your brand ambassador. You might consider giving your brand ambassador access to your profiles so he/she can easily post on your behalf.
- Video
Videos drive most interactions on Facebook, according to Unmetric. Try taking video from your demos and posting them to your Facebook and Instagram stories. You can also go “live” on social media, which means you can stream video live from the store to show off your display and attract customers. Millennials seek benefits in the products that they consume so you might try a video that explains the health benefits of your products. Keep in mind that you will always need captions on your videos. Many people watch videos with their sound off and captions will help them to understand that content.
Utilize Tagging
When adding a hashtag to your post, you increase your posts’ visibility by making it searchable. For example, a mom looking for healthy snacks for her kids might search on Instagram for “#healthysnack.” If your post used this hashtag, she is more likely to come across it. Be sure your hashtags are relevant to your product and don’t use too many. On Instagram, use as many as you’d like but stick with two or three on your other channels. To promote your demo, you might include a hashtag of the city the grocery store is in.
Additionally, some channels allow you to tag a location in your post. You should tag the location of the store you will be demoing. When a person clicks on the location, he/she will be brought to a map where they can get directions to the store.
You should also tag the page of the store where you are demoing. This increases the chance that the store will promote your demo on their page which could significantly boost your visibility. Tagging is done by using the @ symbol before the name of the brand’s page. For example: “Stop by our table at @StopAndShop this weekend!”
Join Local Communities
There are often Facebook groups set up for local communities. Search Facebook for groups in the town where you will be demoing and join them. In those communities, you can post your demo flyer and get in front of your target audience for free.
Build A Content Calendar
Your company may be demoing in many different cities and posting on social media can get overwhelming. If you have several events going on throughout the week, having a calendar can keep you organized and helps you to ensure that your posts always go out on time. Hootsuite is a tool that allows you to schedule your social posts. Hootsuite is free but there are also plans for teams that want to share a login for a monthly fee.
Try Social Media Advertising
If you’re new to social media, you may not have a large following of people. Facebook and Instagram ads can be a cost-effective way to reach new people, if done properly. Here are a few ideas on how you can use paid advertising:
- Saved Audiences: Facebook and Instagram have detailed targeting options that can help you reach people that live within a certain mile-radius of the store that you’re demoing in. For example, if you know your target audience is primarily women between the ages of 30 and 45 with an interest in health, you can target them specifically. Take a look at the plethora of targeting options and don’t be afraid to keep testing until you find what works!
- Custom Audiences: If you have a large email list, you can upload the list to Facebook Ads Manager. Facebook takes the list after hashing the data for security purposes, and matches your list to its’ users. You can then serve ads to people who are on your email list, letting them know about an upcoming demo on a new product.
Additionally, a custom audience can also target people who follow your Facebook page, have engaged with your Facebook page or have visited your website. Interest is always higher with custom audiences because you know these people have already heard of your brand or product. Consumers that haven’t tried your product yet, may want to jump at the opportunity.
- Lookalike Audiences: Similar to custom audiences, you can upload a list of emails to Facebook Ads Manager and Facebook will build a list of people with similar demographics and interests. This allows you to get in front of a new audience but consumer interest should be higher with this audience thanks to Facebook’s AI.
With 3.5 billion social media users in the world, it is possible to capture the attention of any audience you’d like to reach. Consumers are forming brand opinions based on social media content and product reviews, making it more important than ever to have a social presence in the CPG industry. If you have any questions regarding how you can improve your in-store demos, please contact us. Be sure to follow us on social media for up-to-date content!
