In today's digital era, content creation for social media platforms is as important as salt is to your food. Without a Social Media presence and Interactive Content Creatives, the marketing strategy of any kind of brand tastes bland, not that it is completely tasteless, but rather that it is limiting its full potential.
According to a census, there are approximately 4.1 billion active social media users, or more than 50% of the total population on earth.
Social Media provides you with the largest and most diverse pool of audience at a relatively lower cost, or, if you are skilled and brave enough, for free
There are food brands that completely rely on Social Media Marketing that are still successful and growing rapidly. Rage Coffee is one example of such a brand.
Rage Coffee runs paid promotions on social media platforms, and it partners with social media influencers who promote its products. Today, Rage Coffee is a name that almost any young millennial or member of Gen Z knows. In just two years, regular advertising and exclusive campaigns have made the brand more well-known and helped it grow.
Creating interactive content for social media is just like creating culinary masterpieces for your customers and potential customers.
You have to be able to craft the dishes properly, and you then need to plate or present them in an alluring and appealing manner. This is sure to get people's attention and make them want to buy your product.
To understand how to create a proper strategy and ensure flawless execution of the plan, one must keep an eye on what other food brands have done and are doing.
Make content that looks good and makes people want to share it with their friends and family.
It is extremely important to incorporate the tactics that favor you as per your brand requirements and craft the perfect Content Creation Strategy to maximize customer engagement.
To make things simpler, we have studied the Marketing and Content Creation Strategy of a variety of food brands and curated a list of six steps that all these food brands have taken in order to stay relevant and, as a matter of fact, stay on top of the social media marketing game!
We have also included examples of food brands that hit the bulls-eye and executed their respective strategies in the most efficient manner. If you are a brand, you can put these steps into practice to boost your reach. So without further ado, let us get started with the list!
Broadening your presence across different social platforms
The very first step you should take is to broaden your social media presence. This does not mean creating an account or a page on absolutely every social media platform and posting the same stuff everywhere—that's a recipe for disaster!
Every social media platform is different, and it runs on a totally distinct algorithm and has a set of distinct features that make it stand out from others.
For instance, a poll that you run on Instagram Stories might not work on Pinterest, as it just does not have the feature to conduct polls yet.
Instead, what you would want to do is list out platforms that you think will help you reach your target audience and prioritize content creation for those particular platforms: Let us take another example - LinkedIn might not be as effective as Instagram in reaching out to new customers, but it helps you strengthen your connections and firm your roots as a business.
One brand that has broadened its social media presence recently is Kraft.
Kraft recently began its activities on Instagram, and as a result, it has become the top food brand with a digital IQ of 157, surpassing Betty Crocker. Kraft Heinz does have a very active and loyal consumer base, which has definitely helped its Instagram blow up the way it did.
Kraft also attracted a huge amount of customers just through their Instagram marketing campaigns.
Kraft has been heavily using Instagram reels, which is a short-form video content-sharing feature on Instagram. This is a great example of how to use the features of your platform to help your business grow.
Source: Kraft Social Media
User Generated Content (UGC) fuels Community Building
What is User Generated Content (UGC)?
User Generated Content (UGC) refers to the content that relates to your brand or business but was not created by you. Rather, it is the content that is posted by your customers or someone other than your business-related people.
This "content" could be in the form of reviews, pictures, videos, ideas, feedback, podcasts, or any other kind of social media post.
If you are looking for a hassle-free solution, then we have got you, Look and Cook Studios is a one-stop store for food-related content.
As a specialized culinary content studio, we deal with customers on a monthly or project basis to assist them in developing user-generated content. Content can include recipes, cooking shows, demos, or simply entertaining videos.
Why is User Generated Content (UGC) important?
The very first objective of a marketing strategy is to increase reach and exposure.
User Generated Content helps increase reach by involving consumers in the mix. Social Media Platforms are run by a complex algorithm that favors the posts on which user engagement is comparatively greater.
In other words, if a customer posts a picture of your product/service and talks positively about it, it is likely to reach more people than a comment that has nothing to do with the product/service.
A brand that utilizes User Generated Content well is sure to have technically unlimited content that is diverse and creative. Not only this, but UGC also acts as a highlighter for the brand's product or service.
Again, to save you time, we are here, Look and Cook Studios is a full-service culinary production company dedicated to making its clients' recipes valuable and delicious while keeping the look and feel of its brand uniform across all its content production.
How can you get started with User Generated Content (UGC)?
A great example of a brand that involves its customers in the marketing mix is Hellmann's. They encourage their customers to use #hellmanns whenever they post a Hellmann's product or a recipe that uses any of their condiments.
The hashtag #hellmanns currently has over 52.8k posts on just Instagram and is growing at a very rapid rate. The content here is a mix of photos, videos, recipes, and much more.
Source: Hellmann's Social Media Campaign
You can get started by simply encouraging your customers to post about your product/service and tag your brand.
In addition to that, you can create and publicize a unique hashtag, then thank customers for their contributions by offering prizes and discounts, or just by highlighting their postings on your social media pages and content hub.
Keeping the Good Old Recipe Newsletters alive
Some things are just too good to let go! Recipe pages and newsletters are one of them! People like to experiment with food and, of course, share their creations on social media.
People want to learn or just simply cook a meal for themselves. Your recipe newsletter can make their lives simpler. And nothing sells better than things that make people's lives easier.
Pillsbury is a brand that utilizes the recipe page and newsletter to their complete potential. They have uniquely crafted recipes right on the home page of their website and a dedicated recipe page for interested people.
They also have the option to subscribe to their newsletter and be updated with all the new and trending recipes right on the home page.
Pillsbury also actively promotes recipes on YouTube and Instagram, where they have 55.7k subscribers and 556k followers, respectively. Their most popular type of content is their short, firm recipe videos, which include videos like "10 Second Recipe Videos" and "5 Ingredient Recipe Videos." These videos and their archives are saved as public playlists, which can be easily viewed on their YouTube channel.
Source: Pillsbury website
Trend is favorites
Another thing that people like to see in their favorite food brands is how they are up to date with the latest trends and how they put their own spin on the latest trends.
For instance, Wendy's put a spin on the recent "They are a 10 but…" trend by tweeting out "They're a 10 but they say they're lovin' it 🧐" this is not only their version of a popular trend but also a witty shot at their competitor as they posted this tweet with the caption "immediate no".
Wendy's is pretty active on social media, and they also follow many social media trends. This has made Wendy's a consumer-favorite fast food brand, where "consumers" refer not only to the people eating at Wendy's but also to the people who consume their content on social media.
Source: Wendy's Twitter
You can also create content around current trends to boost your brand's competitiveness and reach. The easiest way to get started is to just mold the ongoing trend to be in line with your product or service and post it.
It is all about getting started, once you get on board with trends and they start blowing up, there's no looking back because newer trends won't ever stop coming, and as long as you are creative, your reach is sure to increase with every trend.
As a specialized video production studio, we specialize in producing food and beverage content for companies and agencies, including recipes, films, food photography, and food styling. We can help you follow the latest trend while maintaining your branding uniformity.
Sharing behind-the-Scenes Clips with the Consumers.
Your customers tend to feel more welcomed and assured when you take them behind the scenes. What the cooking process looks like? Where are the products made? Who is beyond the idea? What are the ingredients used? From where are these ingredients sourced?
If you want to build a trusting and loyal consumer base, you will inevitably need to answer these questions. This helps you in interacting with your customers on a personal level and build a level of trustworthiness among them. This trust, in the long term, translates into brand loyalty which gives you an edge over all your competitors.
Beyond Meat is a brand that loves to take customers behind the scenes. And for sure, their customers too love this side of Beyond Meat.
Beyond Meat has a detailed ingredients guide right on its website. These are the ingredients for their plant-based meat alternative. Not only do they share the ingredients that go into the creation of the product, but they also provide a relatively vague recipe that simply informs the consumers how their burger patties are made.
And after they are done familiarizing the customers with the ingredients, they plug in their products, which makes it irresistible for the viewer to just ignore them.
Source: Beyond Meat website
Being True to Your Company's Values and Mission
The current generation tends to really lean into learning about the motives and ethics of a brand. The values matter just as much, if not more, than the product or service itself.
This means it has become easier than ever before to discard brands that do not stand true to their values and do not follow proper ethics.
The cancel culture is a great force that can ruin a brand within just days. Therefore, it has become extremely important for food brands to stick to their values and practice what is morally correct.
Chipotle is a brand that sticks to its values very well.
They maintain the perfect amount of transparency with their customers. All the ingredients and condiments used by them are listed on their website. They maintain the appropriate animal welfare standard for raising animals for meat, their employee retention rate is on the higher side, and their pricing is also reasonable.
Chipotle is a brand that knows the importance of values and adhering to them. This has made them an absolute favorite of the customers.
Source: Chipotle Social Media
There's absolutely no looking back for the food brands, as social media content creation will be an ever-growing concept and more users will be added every passing day.
Food brands should see this as an opportunity to grow among a global audience, as social media is open to all.
Look and Cook Studios can help your food brand or restaurant maintain its consistency and maintain a uniform brand look. We produce entertaining cooking videos for industry bloggers, food brands, and stores.
In conclusion, having access to the internet and social media has made content creation extremely easy. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have just boosted the palatability of the content created.
One just needs a phone with an internet connection to be a content creator. In such times, food brands must also create content that trends among the competition and helps them stand out.
We offer everything you need to make amazing videos of your recipes for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even television. All you have to do is provide us with the recipe.
An in-house team of art directors, producers, food stylists, and camera operators knows the best way to present each sort of food.
We have it all: food branding, food photography, food stop motion, food video, food styling, recipe creation, recipe development, and recipe video production.
We can be reached by phone. Contact us, share your ideas, and let's create some cooking videos that will inspire your customers to switch on their burners.
We are here to curate and make it happen!
Cheers to foodies and the great creators of such food!
Look and Cook.