Three Ways Packaging Can Make an Impact on Social Media
For marketers the online world of social media presents an increasingly thrilling platform to connect with and sell their products. Brand presence via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter is now
a necessity rather than a choice, therefore a brands’ packaging matters just as much as the product inside. Social media brand presence presents new challenges as well as opportunities, and it’s essential that companies integrate it with the more conventional elements of brand strategies – including printed packaging.
This week's blog takes a look at three ways packaging can make an impact on social media.
Scalable Imagery
We live in a mobile world. With consumers spending over three hours a day on their mobile devices and the e-commerce sector soaring, packaging must stay digitally connected and encourage return to the brand online. Images on social media are overwhelmingly viewed on mobile devices, and it’s crucial for designers to take this into account when making packaging decisions.
Designs need to grab attention from the thumbnail. This means that before designers finalize the packaging form and the brand design of the creative components, they need to add a step that tests the image on social media platforms and views them on a smartphone, not a desktop. Brands must optimize for the e-commerce channel. This means pro-social brand messaging and simplified, colorful designs that look good on social media.
Unboxings
Unboxing is the unpacking of products by a consumer, where the process is captured on video and uploaded to the internet— specifically social media. Websites, like YouTube or shares on social media platforms, have created a new forum experience via the unboxing phenomena, with video bloggers (vloggers) generating an audience for videos showing them unpacking a product
For younger shoppers this trend is most pronounced – over 58% of Millennials (aged 25-38) have
watched an unboxing video, and almost 80% of consumers from Generation Z (aged 24 and under).
For a the business, the priority is to create a story with their packaging design, which requires several steps that leads to the eventual unwrapping of the final product. It’s all about the suspense! The best unboxing includes little surprise components that lead to an eventual WOW moment at the final unveiling. Then it’s customary to end with the product and packaging shown in a single Instagram-shareable image.
The future goals for businesses are to continue to innovate in the design phase to present unboxing hosts with new surprises to engage their audiences with; as well as ensuring these align with an individual product’s persona.
Influencers
Brands have traditionally pursued celebrities and sports stars to promote their goods, but there’s a new group of low-key celebs on the block, who consumers have started to follow – social media influencers. An influencer is an ordinary person who has built up a following online – don’t mix up influencer marketing with celebrity endorsements. Influencers can have a widespread appeal or specialize in a niche topic. Once they have the power to influence their audience and impact their purchase decisions, they are considered an influencer. Influencers tend to have the greatest pull with younger female consumers, for products like clothing and personal care items.
Word-of-mouth has been an effective marketing strategy for ages and influencer marketing is a digital form of traditional word-of-mouth. Unlike traditional celebrities, influencers enjoy a strong rapport with their fans. This makes influencer marketing work like a charm for creating brand awareness and achieving other marketing goals. However, because the entire activity happens in a digital realm, you can measure audience response accurately using indicators such as number of likes, shares, etc. Influencers can promote a brand in a number of ways from photos or videos promoting a product, or becoming a named brand ambassador; to the use of specific hashtags to spread interest in a product. They can also leverage their network with other social media influencers to rapidly expand a brand’s social media profile.
For this to happen effectively branded packaging has to be photogenic enough to capture interest in a single photo and align with the persona of the social media influencers. Raising brand awareness and generating new customers is just one benefit to the added value of social media-based packaging. It can also prove a vital research method, brands can learn about their customers social media and buying habits and it can tailor how you present your products in the future.
With over 30 plus years in the packaging industry, we can help make your social media packaging memorable. our team is prepared to support you and guarantee you choose the right printing solution. To learn more, contact us today at (904) 263-2804 or sign up for a free consultation.
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