Social Media: Amplify Your Brand with Hashtags

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Why are all the young folks using the pound sign?

First off, the kids are calling it a hashtag and not a pound sign. While pressing pound helps you get to the operator quickly when placing a phone call to a large corporation, the hashtag in social media is a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) that is used to identify messages on a specific topic.

Hashtags were made popular by Twitter in 2007, and have since been embraced by social networks including Instagram, Vine, Google +, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Facebook, according to top marketing firm Offerpop.

So, how does it work? When you click on a hashtag, you will be transported to a feed of all of the posts that are also using the hashtag, updated in real time. The World Cup just finished last month. If you saw #WorldCup2014 trending, you could click on that hashtag and see what people around the world were saying about the World Cup.

But, how is this information valuable to you as an emerging or established brand in the natural products industry?  The hashtag is one of the new ways to communicate with your customers to establish brand loyalty. When you use social media tools and your customers use those tools as well, you increase your brand visibility to all of the people your customers interact with on social media. So, not only are you talking to your immediate customer, you’re also talking to the their Facebook friends, and their Twitter and Instagram followers.

There are different ways that you can use a hashtag. Do you want to introduce new or current customers to products? Consider providing a #coupon hashtag that gives information about a new promotion. Here’s some great advice from the folks at Offerpop:

“You should add a hashtag to all of your brand messages, whatever the medium: email, TV, paid search, print, even Jumbotrons. They encourage people to respond to your advertising. They help you spark conversations, get feedback, give answers and move consumers down the sales funnel. And their hashtagged posts appear in their friends’ feeds, helping you spread word of mouth.”

Search Engine Watch suggests using hashtags to drive engagement with your customers. "When compared to Tweets without a hashtag, tweets with hashtags showed 12 percent more engagement (RT, favorite or @ reply). Tweets that included a link and a hashtag, showed the highest engagement rate of any other type of tweet."

So, now you know what a hashtag is. The next step is creating the ideal tag that will get your customers engaged and talking about your product. That’s where Compass Natural can help. Our team of seasoned public relations executives and social media savvy team members will help you connect to your customers in this new language. Email, tweet or Facebook message us for a consultation to explore ways to develop loyalty among your consumers.

The Natural Scene: Will these Food Trends Shape 2014?

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As a former food editor and evaluator of the natural products scene, many times I've wished for a crystal ball to help me determine the next big food product. While there have been plenty of surprises (who could have predicted chia would make its way from infomercial novelty to functional food?) through the years I've landed on a formula for helping me determine what will stick around and what will likely fade away.  It seems when innovation meets a market need, a brand is on to something. Sprinkle in quality ingredients at a fair value and success is nearly guaranteed. Based on my not-so-scientific analysis, here's a look at the some of the trends I'll be following this year. Insect protein. Beetles for breakfast anyone? Ten years ago, this idea was total yuck. Fast forward to tomorrow and I won't be surprised if we're sprinkling crushed crickets on our cereal. Think I've missed the mark? Consider that most of the world eats insects in one form or another and the reasons are simple:  they're nutritious, sustainable and cheap. I know of at least one innovative company that's experimenting with cricket meal for use in a nutrition bar (think of it like cricket flour). This may be the perfect entry for American consumers who are likely not ready to bight down on bits of antennae or hindlegs in their food snacks—at least, not before noon!

Hyper convenience. On-the-go consumers have long fantasized about the perfect meal in a pill. Pop it, and keep going. While I'll never totally understand this mentality since meal times are built in excuses for taking a break, who's not been hit with hunger pangs and nowhere to turn? Airport terminals, malls, suburbia—these are common danger zones. Convenience foods save the day, and we're learning that the more portable and nutritious a product, the more likely consumers will give it a try… even if it doesn't entirely deliver on flavor. Any early Power Bar fans out there? Manufacturers are experimenting with convenient ways to deliver nutrition that break out from the now boring bar.  I've seen fortified ice cream cups, and yogurty push pops, but what's catching my attention is the pouch.  Similar to the bar, pouches are great for on-the-go, and can be filled with just about anything. Offerings currently are primarily fruity but I see protein-fortified formulations and possibly even savory options in the horizon.

Pale-eee-ohhhhhh! Blame Crossfit Boxes or simply consider Paleo a rebound from the high-carbohydrate low fat days of our past. Consumers are experimenting with this entirely new style of eating, and I think it will stick around. Why? Much about the Paleo diet is based on sound wisdom. The eating plan emphasizes sustainable meat sources such as buffalo and grass fed beef and encourages consumers to look to whole food sources for daily nutrition.

Big brands appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach before marketing to the Paleo crowd, but smaller companies aren't holding back. Snack formulations emphasize transparency, better-for-you ingredients and minimal sweeteners. Who doesn't like that? Expect more convenient food products such as cereals, cookies and bars made with just nuts, seeds and berries that are Paleo ready even if they're not ready to call out their primal appeal.

Kelsey Blackwell is former Senior Editor of New Hope Natural Media, publisher of Natural Foods Merchandiser and New Hope 360, leading print and online trade publications serving the natural and organic products industry. She is currently based in the San Francisco Bay area.

Social Media: an Image Speaks a Thousand Words

The rules of social media marketing are rapidly evolving. Businesses are constantly strategizing how to best reach current and new fans while generating new content and staying ahead of technology trends. What is the most effective way to engage fans in a cost effective way?

The answer is images. According to a 2012 study by ROI Research, pictures and videos accounted for 49% of the most enjoyable content for social media users. Attention spans are short; people are on the go; and social media engagement is increasingly accessed through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Readers want instant gratification and easy-to-digest information. A good image is eye-catching, always ties back to the ethos of the brand and is not necessarily product-focused.

Triumvirate: Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest
With Facebook’s multimillion-dollar acquisition of Instagram, those two entities now share the top-tier with Pinterest. What do they have in common? Ease and popularity of sharing images on the go. Facebook has the upper hand due to its structure of free newsfeed content paired with sponsored content such as ads. However, Instagram’s simple user interface cuts through the noise of Facebook and focuses on the image as the source of content, as opposed to an accompaniment to a lengthy status update. Pinterest is unique in that it allows users to view multiple images at once in an attractive, organized screen layout.

As of now, Instagram and Pinterest do not have advertising options for brands, like Facebook, however, integrating instant shopping capabilities directly on the social media site is an upcoming trend, according to Gideon Lask, CEO and founder of BuyaPowa.

Make Your Fans Drool
In the ROI Research study, 43% of social media users said they “like” or follow anything relating to food. Food brands have a large opportunity to share and interact with their fans due to the highly photographable and interactive nature of their products.

Where a food company may have posted recipes on their blog in the past, now they can use Pinterest and Instagram to share pictures of their products and recipes and still link back to their main blog pages. Fans can now instantly gain access to that information instead of having to wait for a new blog post to arrive in their inbox or go to the company’s actual website. That immediate access lends to spontaneous sharing of posts and that is how a brand can go viral. Even traditional media like food magazines are embracing digital social media by giving their editors Instagram and Twitter handles to post pictures of meals at trendy new restaurants and food events.

"Visual social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr are fantastic for publications like Food & Wine because we have so many gorgeous, delicious-looking food photos to share. On Instagram, we love to post images from the F&W Test Kitchen, restaurant outings and parties to give fans insider access to our brand. Food does incredibly well because it's enticing and a topic that inspires such enthusiastic engagement," explained Alex Vallis, Digital Features Editor at Food & Wine.

The 80/20 Rule
If you have ever tried to create an ad on Facebook you have surely run into the myriad of rules relating to choosing demographics, setting a per click budget and now, how much text is allowed alongside an image. In part due to the rise in image use in sponsored posts and ads in the newsfeed, Facebook has imposed an 80% image, 20% text policy that your submission must pass in order to be approved for posting.

Using a grid tool to assess the image, Facebook can either approve or reject your image on the spot. Text overlay on a photo (below) counts towards the 20%, but logos on your products do not. To learn more, click here.

While the 80/20 rule can be frustrating, Facebook may be on to something by trying to keep images from looking too ad-like. They know their users’ habits better than any other website, so they understand how long people spend on each post and what type of content earns ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ and what does not.

Remember, “Visual fantasy sells product,” according to a recent Fast Company article. “Brands can use visual content on their social media to increase engagement and inspire sharing and viral marketing.”

-- Shoshana Romer

Facebook Provides Cost-Effective, Targeted Advertising Solutions

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Taking advantage of Facebook advertising and a network of active fans can provide a relatively inexpensive yet targeted way to communicate your brand’s message and broaden your reach in a friendly environment. Through display ads and sponsored posts, marketers can use Facebook ads to promote product sales, increase likes on your Facebook page, drive traffic to your website, and communicate information to your fans—educational and product specific. According to surveys conducted by Facebook, people who like your business’ Facebook page spend an average of two times more as your customers than people who aren’t connected to you on Facebook.

Facebook offers three types of ads to help crack the conversion code. The tricky part is knowing what type of ad suits your company’s needs, and further, how to navigate the ad creation process to ensure you are reaching your greatest potential audience. The great thing about Facebook is it provides advertisers with the flexibility to alter their ad campaigns in real time.

Will Dean, CEO of Tough Mudder, a company that produces obstacle course events and posted sales of $60 million last year, suggests, “Try anything once. People often ask how we do our advertising. The answer is word of mouth, but first, you have to build momentum, and we got that momentum through Facebook," he told Inc. Magazine.

Three Types of Ads Sponsored Stories – Do you want to tell a story with photos or let your fans know about an upcoming event? Sponsored stories are in fact status updates on your business page that you pay to run in your fans’ newsfeed more frequently, ensuring greater visibility. Your fans can like, comment on, and share sponsored stories, and in turn, their friends see that they like your page. This is one of the fastest and most effective ways to simply increase page likes and create a conversation about your brand.

If your product or service is time sensitive or seasonal, sponsored stories are a way to build page likes during slower times. When you are ready to run an ad during peak times, your fan base will ideally be robust and more effective in creating sales.

Right-Side Display Ads – If one of your objectives is to reach people you are not yet connected to, ads are most effective. They are the small square boxes on the right side of the user’s display that direct traffic to your company’s external website or Facebook page. While this does not automatically convert to a sale, it introduces fresh faces to your brand. By filtering for geographic location and or topics and interests, you can choose a highly targeted audience for your ad.

Coupon Offers – If your goal is to achieve sales through Facebook, create a coupon that runs in your fans’ newsfeed. When fans click on the coupon, Facebook emails the coupon to the user to redeem on your external website. Coupons are shareable to users that are not yet a fan of your brand.

Take a moment to read some case studies to stimulate ideas for your advertising strategies.

Adapted from Compass Natural Winter 2013 News.