Digital CPG Blog

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Here are three ways brands can leverage Pinterest now:

1. Add Pinterest Content to Your Existing Facebook Presence.

Images are more effective than text at encouraging engagement, and an effective technology platform will allow you to surface visually appealing content on one or more Facebook Tabs. This content can be presented as a simple pinboard, as part of a game, or even in the News Feed.

2. Optimize Your Web Properties to Draw People to Your Pinterest Content.

You can always put a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on your website. But remember, a user’s choice to “Follow” may not be brand-specific, but rather board-specific. This gives you an opportunity to segment your followers in ways relevant to your business. Lowe’s does a nice job of this and has seasonal boards (the Big Game, Valentine’s Day), themed boards (Craft Ideas, Unique Pet Projects), and boards that tie to specific merchandise areas (Lighting, Bedrooms, Bathrooms).

3. Make Your Pins Work Harder For You.

This means using a URL shortening and redirection strategy, preferably one that aggregates your Pinterest analytics (views, Repins, etc.) in a central location. This will allow the metrics to be combined with, and compared to, those from your othersocial properties. You also need to combat the link rot that can occur when the source image feeding your Pin is removed from its website.

Lastly, the pinned images themselves can be set to click through to a variety of sites. Imagine a Pin of a product that, once clicked, takes you to a flash sale where the product is sold at a discount after a minimum purchase threshold is met. All of this is possible now!

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According to a Booz & Co. estimate, social commerce will grow to $30 billion globally in the next five years. But consumers still have security concerns about making purchases via social networks. More than half (55%) of social media users aren’t comfortable giving credit card information via social networks, according to a new Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Digitas.

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Pinterest – which technically is still in closed, invitation-only beta — drives more sales to retailers than YouTube, Google + and LinkedIn combined and is nearly equal to Twitter’s referral traffic.

How moms are using Pinterest:

Women currently dominate Pinterest making up nearly 70% of their active users. Moms are using Pinterest in a variety of ways to organize and learn more about their interests. They follow experts to be in the know about trends on a variety of topics from parenting, to fashion and design, to cooking. They’re also following friends and finding Pinners with similar interests to share and be inspired by.

They’re also following brands. Retailers like Nordstrom and West Elm have significant followings on Pinterest – similar to on Facebook, moms want to connect and interact with their favorite brands.

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Facebook commerce has taken a lot of flack lately. So, does that mean social commerce overall is a bust? Probably not.

“Facebook’s role in ecommerce is currently in flux,” says eMarketer analyst Kristia Garcia. “Brands are beginning to realize its capabilities, while users are growing accustomed to mingling with companies online and sharing shopping activities with friends. Even though social media is still more of a marketing tool than a sales vehicle, Facebook’s influence on shopping behavior extends beyond triggering conversions on the spot.”

Retailers are still in the early stages of using social media as a sales vehicle, but the channel is poised for growth. Booz & Companyestimated that $1 billion in goods would be sold through social media in the US in 2011. That figure is expected to triple in 2012 and reach $14 billion by 2015.

Here’s an interesting report via E-Consultancy regarding Axe and Facebook:

As part of the launch of a new fragrance called Anarchy, Axe is to use Facebook to create a graphic novel that fans will help to write.

A far cry from its usual – and often controversial – creative, the brand is for the first time launching a scent for women as well as men, and hopes that this campaign will appeal to both genders.

The plot will follow the exploits of the ‘Anarchy Girls’ as they unleash chaos around the world. In an interactive twist, fans will be able to direct the characters, plot and outcome of the story.

But appealing to women could be difficult. Axe and its UK counterpart, Lynx, have until now promoted the brands with campaigns agressively targeted at a male demographic.

Not only that, but will this send a confusing message to an already well-defined audience?

David Vinjamuri, author of Accidental Branding and an adjunct professor of marketing at New York University told New York Times that historically a teenage boy would look at Axe’s advertising and see: “the girl that you want and the guy that you are”.

What was brilliant about Axe is they said make the girl hunt you based on your smell.”

However, he warned that when when you start talking to those outside of your core audience, you lose credibility. “The moment you start talking to girls, you lose credibility with teenage boys.”

As a creative idea, Axe’s use of Facebook is interesting. The graphic novel market has been enjoying a renaissance for perhaps the past decade, thanks in large part to Hollywood’s continuing love affair with an array of superhero characters.

“I pinned it.” Chances are if you are a mom you have heard this phrase in reference to Pinterest, a self-expression engine powered by its users. Members post images to the site that inspire them, as well as create and share collections across endless categories. The social-sharing site then collects the images, or pins, on “boards” that other users can follow and comment on. For example, a search for “playtime ideas” results in pages of pins including 101 things to do with your toddler to DIY craft ideas.

“Love it [Pinterest]! There are tons of pictures of anything and everything. I love daydreaming about future houses, finding new recipes (and trying them out), finding craft projects, finding school projects (we homeschool).”

From emotive aspiration to functional inspiration, Pinterest empowers moms with their user-generated content by saving them time, money and hassle—all commodities that mothers run scarce on. According to Comscore, there was an 1100% increase in unique mom visitors to Pinterest from May to October, 2011. On top of which, moms spend an average of 13.7 minutes per visit.

Tapping into our social listening dashboard and online communities, we discovered what moms really think about Pinterest…and it seemed that the site was all the rage among moms as a source for ideas, ideas and more ideas.

So, is your brand on Pinterest? It probably should be!

Mobile commerce sales will reach $6.7 billion this year. Wowsa!

If 2011 was a year of apps, commerce and analytics, what does 2012 have in store for mobile marketing? Here are five trends:

1. Your Site, App And Brand Will Be Mobile-ized

Half of all mobile phones currently sold are smartphones. By the end of 2012, we may see eight of every 10 phones sold being a smartphone.

To keep up with the growing market, mobile-optimized content becomes the standard.

Brands will also move rapidly to deploy “tablet-specific” applications that better utilize the form. In 2012, app mania will be as much about tablet apps as 2011 has been about smartphone apps.

2. More Attention – and Dollars – Shift To Mobile

A recent eMarketer CMO survey revealed that more than 80% of all CMOs are prioritizing digital — and specifically, mobile — as two areas of focus for 2012 and moving forward.

3. You Will Buy More Stuff Via Mobile (and Social)

According to new research from comScore, 38% of smartphone owners have used their phone to make a purchase at least once. While digital content purchases like music, ebooks and TV episodes were the most popular items bought in September, clothing, accessories and event tickets were also purchased. There’s a place in the mobile commerce sphere for retailers across all verticals.

4. App Mania Continues — But More Meaningful Ones

In 2012, branded apps will be more about loyalty and commerce and less about awareness and engagement. They will deliver value. They may provide special deals or coupons or exclusive content, but they will be stickier and more meaningful.

5. Marksmanship Marketing: Segmentation, Targeting And Optimization

Insights will allow marketers to create personal level profiles for mobile users, tracking attributes and insights into mobile customer behaviors both within the mobile channel and in relation to a brand’s other digital properties. It will also mean more personalization in terms of advertising and content, and exciting new possibilities with geolocation.

Yesterday, we discussed how CPG brands are winning! with social media. Here’s how you can connect with your social media fans and keep your streak going:

• Social Couponing is Highly Effective: One of the major reasons why people visit a brand’s social media webpage is for discounts and coupons. By offering discounts and giving away coupons, brands a) make their customers feel valued and b) give them a good reason to revisit their webpages. Although some brands are worried that coupons may reduce the premium value of the brand, most agree that social couponing offers unique benefits, one of them being building a loyal customer base. According to a survey from Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods, the second most important reason why people visited a CPG brand’s website is to obtain coupons. This explains why the likes of General Mills and Unilever, after partnering with Groupon, have had a solid customer base and a loyal fan following.
• Being Best Friends: It is every CPG brand’s wish to be best friends with their customers. Although coupons and discounts contribute towards making the social consumer feel special, moving up the relationship ladder is all about being available when they have something to say. An overload of sales talk won’t solve your customer’s problems; being best friends is all about listening and responding. Listening in and engaging with your customers online shows that they are important to you and you care enough to be there to soak in the suggestions, act upon complaints and interact with them.
• Going That Extra Mile: When the packaged goods industry ventured into the world of online marketing, it was all about creating interesting online promotional material, offering the occassional discounts and resolving customer complaints when required. This, however, is slowly changing. There are those companies that monitor conversations pertaining to their brands and meet customers’ needs as they arise; and then there are the others that go the extra mile to give their customers much more than they have asked for. General Mills, which has a well connected online customer base, is one such brand.
• Besides marketing their regular range of baked products online, the company also offers gluten-free products aimed at 2% of the population with Celiac disease as well as the additional 10% interested in avoiding gluten, a demographic that was otherwise dismissed as too small and insignificant to target profitably. When the word about General Mills’ gluten-free range was out in 2009, the news spread like wildfire across Twitter and Facebook. Now that’s what we call making customers feel valued!

We’ll finish up the CPG and social media week with do’s and don’ts from real campaigns tomorrow.

It’s been awhile since we featured an infographic. Here’s one on social media based on AdAge data:

• Auto-posting to Facebook decreases likes and comments by 70%
• B2C Facebook results go up by 30% on Sundays
• 34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter and 20% have closed deals using Twitter
• 55% of people access Twitter via their mobiles
• 40% of bloggers consider themselves professionals
• 56% of college students said that if they were offered a job by a company that banned social media use, they’d turn it down