Social media is having a dramatic impact on how consumers eat and source their food, say international marketing director of USA Pears Jeff Correa and Fruitday co-founder Loren Zhao.
Speaking at the 2013 Asiafruit Congress yesterday, Correa opened his talk with some startling statistics about his native country. “In the US, 54 per cent of consumers use social media to find new foods,” he said. “39 per cent use it while eating, 25 per cent post pictures of the food, and 22 per cent use it to document their own cooking.”
On top of that, 69 per cent of consumers are eager to know where their food comes from, and a whopping 91 per cent want retailers to offer nutritional profiles of their products, added Correa.
The US is not unique in its prolific use of online networking sites. In China, the social media landscape is extremely diverse, with dozens of potential platforms through which businesses can engage with consumers. The subsequently opportunity for marketers is enormous.
In their talks, Correa and Zhao showcased their own experiences of using social media to great effect.
“Our company launched its ‘The Time is Ripe for Pears’ tour, which consumers could follow on Facebook and Twitter, as well as on our website,” Correa told delegates. “This resulted in a 68 per cent increase in facebook fans, 117 tweets using the hashtag #RipePears and a 38 per cent increase in website traffic.”
Marketing company Fruitday partnered with online retailers to offer consumers an online cherry order promotion through Chinese social networking site Weibo.
“As well as giving customers the chance to order cherries online for cheaper than retail price, we offered them a lucky draw – forward our microblog to three friends and @fruitday, and have the chance to win one portion of cherries,” explained Zhao. “This resulted in 45,091 forwards and 37,928 comments.”
In the competition’s second phase, which saw five consumers win every day, these figures nearly trebled. “The result was exposure to 12m customers, creative content to promote the event, a viral marketing broadcast and over 200 domestic and international reports on the event,” enthused Zhao.
The promotion saw a total 110,000 boxes of cherries, comprising 218 tonnes, sell out in just ten days.
Zhao is one of many voices drawing attention to the vast amount of power social media wields in China. Creative food founder Xavier Naville previously told delegates at inaugural event Asiafruit Market Insight in Qingdao that social media “can make or destroy your brand in China”.
“Social media in China has broad dissemination power, provides strong market research tools for data mining and classifying followers, as well as interactive transmission analysis,” added Zhao.
Correa pointed out the vast growth in the number of internet users among the Asian population, with particularly marked increases in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and China. “And it’s the young, upwardly mobile population members that are most using the internet,” he said. “These present the ideal target for growing businesses.”
