Digital CPG Blog

Users are more likely to follow a business that answers their questions, at 59% versus 29% who are just as likely and 12% who are less likely.

The inboxQ survey results are filled with “other lovely ‘well duh’ info nuggets like how users with high follower accounts are more likely to receive answers to their questions, at 41% respondents with more than 100 followers receiving an answer from a business versus 21% with less than 100 followers (Maybe brands don’t think its worth the effort? Or maybe the questions from low volume accounts get lost in whatever social media monitoring service businesses are using?),” reports Tech Crunch.

It’s not enough to have a presence on social media. You actually have to be engaged. I also think businesses should respond and thank tweeters who spread the word about their product or service. When I talk often about a business I like and they never say thank you, I’m much less likely to talk about them again.

“Consumer packaged goods giant P&G has indicated a desire to source 10% of its sales online. Given that it currently sources less than 1%, that sounds like an aggressive goal but one that it is putting its formidable resources against delivering. Many other CPG companies from Kraft, J&J and General Mills to Pinnacle Foods are placing a strategic imperative on the etailing selling space,” reports Chief Marketer.

With the numerous options to sell online through retailers and the ability to sell direct to consumers through other platforms, it shouldn’t take P&G that long to reach their goal. Etailers are well positioned to deliver on convenience “and selection (the online shelf set doesn’t have to adhere to the space limits of the brick and mortar shelf).”

“Etailers can also provide a experience, enabling consumers to customize the online “shelf” in a wide variety of ways, such as by size, product feature, price, brand and manufacturer. In this way, online is not just an incremental sales channel but also strategic marketing medium that engages consumers.”

As a result, customers are responding. “Close to 50% of online shoppers have purchased personal care products online within the last six months and 40% have purchased food items, according to an etailing solutions CPG eCommerce Study developed with Catapult Marketing.”

Online video is hot. We talked before about how video has doubled within a year, Now, brands are shifting their ad dollars from television to online video. Representatives of Zenith Media and Aegis Media at the Streaming Media East conference in New York noted the trend, particularly among consumer packaged goods clients.

“CPG clients will continue to spend a lot on video to replace the erosion of audiences for TV,” said Gina Smilyansky, digital strategy director at Aegis-owned Carat, in reference to users’ increased use of devices such as laptops and tablets. Carat currently works with CPG giant Procter & Gamble, with Smilyansky focusing on the Gillette brand.

CPG brands are now spending more on ads for online video, but they should also be looking to create their own content.

Just because you have a “like” button doesn’t mean you have a social marketing strategy.

“The rapid adoption of the ‘like’ button and the rise of the Facebook ‘homepage’ are indications that marketing on Facebook has become a necessity for businesses large and small,” said Kimberly Maul, eMarketer writer/analyst and co-author of the new report, “Facebook Marketing: Strategies for Turning ‘Likes’ into Loyalty.” “Yet the fact that some companies have made Facebook the primary way they engage with consumers online raises serious questions about the risks and rewards of marketing within another company’s structure and rules.”

“‘Like’ is only the beginning,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst and co-author of the report. “It is much harder to sustain the relationship post-click than it is to get consumers to make that first click. A brand’s Facebook fan base is only as strong as the effort put into managing it.”

So, what else do you have in your social strategy besides like?