Tom Sneddon, head of social at House of Communication, looks at how social channels have democratised brand discovery – and what FMCG brands can do to ensure they make a genuine impact on these channels.
Social is reshaping the FMCG retail journey after being on its own voyage of maturity. It’s 22 years old now; it can drink, it can drive and has more than earned its place as a key retail channel.
Only a few years ago, social was seen as somewhat wayward, unpredictable and unruly. Sure, it could deliver spikes in attention, going as far back as 2013 and Oreo’s ‘dunk in the dark’ viral tweet at Super Bowl XLVII when the brand’s social team leapt on the power outage moment.
But it has evolved to become an essential part of the complex retail ecosystem. It drives behaviours, tastes and demand before people walk into a store or shop online and reflects the overall shape shifting of the once linear shopping funnel. Emarketer’s survey of food and beverage buyers last year showed 53.3% of respondents said they had discovered new products on social media.
The on and off ramps for consumer engagement and conversion have multiplied. Including social in the mix is a smart and strategic way for brands to orchestrate interest, intrigue and inspiration. Social touchpoints and the communities that form there can help customers navigate the fractured, non-linear journey while building confidence in their choices.
To put it another way, social has pulled the rug from under the old order of retail. It has democratised brand discovery, removing the choke point where brands compete for preference at the point of purchase.
Social can tap into new, unexpected audiences
FMCG is well-suited to the agility of social. Outside of grocery staples, purchases are not based heavily on predetermined choices and, while the cost of living is a consideration, most brands are still not a big investment. People are willing to experiment, and social is having an astronomical impact on preference and persuasion.
If your friends or favourite creators are talking about Dubai-style pistachio chocolate or ‘hot honey,’ chances are you’ll be willing to spend on a small treat.
The speed and scale of Little Moons’ success is a great example of this. The brand used TikTok to build out an ecosystem of organic owned content, UGC and paid-for advertising together to drive discovery and engagement. This strategy connected the brand with a constituency of “affluent 30-plus year olds with the disposable income to habitually purchase a premium product.”
Mining social conversations for inspiration
Many entrepreneurial brands are digging into social to find interesting areas of engagement and new food spaces. Here, social is both driving demand and creating shelf space as more brands tune into social conversations and sentiments.
Lifestyle trends, such as Health & Wellness, are being embraced in a fast, dynamic way. For instance, the UK rehydration brand Sult is leveraging TikTok and Instagram with founder-led storytelling, behind-the-scenes clips and interactive content encouraging fans to help with new product development (NPD).
Another example is Borough Broth, which put bone broth on the map and is now stocked by big players and niche food lifestyle outlets alike. The founder’s research into potential demand supported the product development and the retailers’ stocking decisions.
Deliver experiences that offer value and build mental availability
To use social effectively means being strategic with the content and experiences you devise and distribute. Brands need ideas that drive discovery within their ecosystems, and these ideas need to add value for the customer.
The focus should be to create mental availability and build distinctiveness for your brand in the minds of your customers. We know that most consumers are not in the market for purchase at any given moment, but you want your brand to be top of the consideration list when they are.
Social closes the loop. If the brand experiences are engaging and helpful, then consumers will interact and advocate on social with reviews, sharing and participating. The flywheel will kick in. People will want to both talk about and hear more about the brand, shoppers see their purchase decisions validated and their curiosity becomes preference and propensity to buy.
Making the mindset shift
Social data enables marketers to figure out what the most meaningful messages, moments, and parts within the ecosystem are, so they can keep fine-tuning activity to make it better, sharper and more impactful. The effects are compounded over time by constant optimisation, and the result should be bigger baskets and more purchases.
This kind of focused activity led to Little Moons tripling its revenues to £27 million in just one year and provided the social proof that forced the major supermarkets into listing the product.
More recent research shows that 66% of UK shoppers have bought FMCG products after seeing online recipes, while 43% have bought FMCG products through social (source Greenpark Digital).
Ultimately, embracing social is about making a mindset shift. The three guiding principles to make a genuine commercial impact are:
always be relevant
always challenge yourself to improve
and lean into social as a means of bringing the customer closer.
Consistently and continuously implement these steps, and the results should follow.
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You are in: Home » Guest Comment » GUEST COMMENT Social: the retail channel FMCG can’t live without
GUEST COMMENT Social: the retail channel FMCG can’t live without
Tom Sneddon
Tom Sneddon, head of social at House of Communication, looks at how social channels have democratised brand discovery – and what FMCG brands can do to ensure they make a genuine impact on these channels.
Social is reshaping the FMCG retail journey after being on its own voyage of maturity. It’s 22 years old now; it can drink, it can drive and has more than earned its place as a key retail channel.
Only a few years ago, social was seen as somewhat wayward, unpredictable and unruly. Sure, it could deliver spikes in attention, going as far back as 2013 and Oreo’s ‘dunk in the dark’ viral tweet at Super Bowl XLVII when the brand’s social team leapt on the power outage moment.
But it has evolved to become an essential part of the complex retail ecosystem. It drives behaviours, tastes and demand before people walk into a store or shop online and reflects the overall shape shifting of the once linear shopping funnel. Emarketer’s survey of food and beverage buyers last year showed 53.3% of respondents said they had discovered new products on social media.
The on and off ramps for consumer engagement and conversion have multiplied. Including social in the mix is a smart and strategic way for brands to orchestrate interest, intrigue and inspiration. Social touchpoints and the communities that form there can help customers navigate the fractured, non-linear journey while building confidence in their choices.
To put it another way, social has pulled the rug from under the old order of retail. It has democratised brand discovery, removing the choke point where brands compete for preference at the point of purchase.
Social can tap into new, unexpected audiences
FMCG is well-suited to the agility of social. Outside of grocery staples, purchases are not based heavily on predetermined choices and, while the cost of living is a consideration, most brands are still not a big investment. People are willing to experiment, and social is having an astronomical impact on preference and persuasion.
If your friends or favourite creators are talking about Dubai-style pistachio chocolate or ‘hot honey,’ chances are you’ll be willing to spend on a small treat.
The speed and scale of Little Moons’ success is a great example of this. The brand used TikTok to build out an ecosystem of organic owned content, UGC and paid-for advertising together to drive discovery and engagement. This strategy connected the brand with a constituency of “affluent 30-plus year olds with the disposable income to habitually purchase a premium product.”
Mining social conversations for inspiration
Many entrepreneurial brands are digging into social to find interesting areas of engagement and new food spaces. Here, social is both driving demand and creating shelf space as more brands tune into social conversations and sentiments.
Lifestyle trends, such as Health & Wellness, are being embraced in a fast, dynamic way. For instance, the UK rehydration brand Sult is leveraging TikTok and Instagram with founder-led storytelling, behind-the-scenes clips and interactive content encouraging fans to help with new product development (NPD).
Another example is Borough Broth, which put bone broth on the map and is now stocked by big players and niche food lifestyle outlets alike. The founder’s research into potential demand supported the product development and the retailers’ stocking decisions.
Deliver experiences that offer value and build mental availability
To use social effectively means being strategic with the content and experiences you devise and distribute. Brands need ideas that drive discovery within their ecosystems, and these ideas need to add value for the customer.
The focus should be to create mental availability and build distinctiveness for your brand in the minds of your customers. We know that most consumers are not in the market for purchase at any given moment, but you want your brand to be top of the consideration list when they are.
Social closes the loop. If the brand experiences are engaging and helpful, then consumers will interact and advocate on social with reviews, sharing and participating. The flywheel will kick in. People will want to both talk about and hear more about the brand, shoppers see their purchase decisions validated and their curiosity becomes preference and propensity to buy.
Making the mindset shift
Social data enables marketers to figure out what the most meaningful messages, moments, and parts within the ecosystem are, so they can keep fine-tuning activity to make it better, sharper and more impactful. The effects are compounded over time by constant optimisation, and the result should be bigger baskets and more purchases.
This kind of focused activity led to Little Moons tripling its revenues to £27 million in just one year and provided the social proof that forced the major supermarkets into listing the product.
More recent research shows that 66% of UK shoppers have bought FMCG products after seeing online recipes, while 43% have bought FMCG products through social (source Greenpark Digital).
Ultimately, embracing social is about making a mindset shift. The three guiding principles to make a genuine commercial impact are:
Consistently and continuously implement these steps, and the results should follow.
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