Internet usage is growing off the roof in India. The number of internet users in India will surpass 65 crores in 2020. Internet has changed people’s lives in more ways that we could have imagined. People nowadays prefer to sit in the comfort of their homes and order things online than go out physically to the stores. Industry reports reveal online consumers spend almost twice than offline consumers on FMCG products. This has paved a huge way for digital marketing to make its mark in current market space in India.
According to a recent report by Google-BCG, digital marketing will impact FMCG consumption by $45 billion in India by the end of 2020. Moreover, 40% of the overall FMCG consumption in India will be based on digital platforms. Let’s look at the digital ad spend of FMCG brands published in Financial Express.
The marketing landscape is changing at a fast pace. Brands need to keep up with the change to sustain and grow. FMCG brands especially need to buckle up because of the cutthroat competition they face in their industry. Let us understand in detail how digital advertising is getting an upper hand with traditional advertising and how social media marketing helps a brand grow.
Brand recognition:
FMCG sector is one of those sectors where consumers have a very wide variety of products to choose from. If you Google “breakfast cereals in India” right now, you’ll get more than 40 brands right away. Those 40+ brands have at least 5 different types of cereals like oatmeal, flakes, muesli, etc. Have a look at big basket’s web page of breakfast cereal.
There are 435 products listed as breakfast cereal. For just one product, a consumer has a long list to choose from. If a brand wants to stand out from the crowd, it must work on building a strong online presence.
Consumer insights:
Traditional advertising like hoardings and newspapers has been the staple of advertising for decades. It is effective in its own way but you can never get how many people have seen the ad and how many conversions have happened. Digital marketing gives you an exact data of above-mentioned things.
It also helps identifying the current FMCG trends, analyzing consumer behavior and tracking the performance of products. You can target a specific demographic for a specific product in a specific region. That way you know you are reaching the right audience without spending extra money.
Consumer interactions:
One of the best things about social media is that consumer directly connects and interacts with the brands. You can’t get that with traditional advertising. If a consumer has an opinion or issue about a particular product, he messages the brand or posts it on their brand page. To elaborate more, let me share something that happened to me. I once got a damaged Kellogg’s wheatflakes box. I got in touch with Kellogg’s immediately and they promptly replaced my product. Because of such pleasant experience, I tell this story to everyone and recommend this brand to them.
Community buildup:
Like beauty blogs or tech blogs, FMCG brands also develop content that adds value to their consumers. The content topics depend on the products. Some of the examples of content are: the importance of breakfast, choosing the right kind of shampoo or soap, etc.
FMCG brands maintain Facebook and Instagram pages to stay connected with the consumers. They use this connection to organize events, share their inside stories and take customer feedback.
By doing such activities, a community builds up which further leads to a loyal and faithful customer base.
Final thoughts:
A brand always needs to keep up with the current trend. If you want to reach the current household, you need to get inside their cell phones and computers. You need to get ahead of your competition. You can’t just stick to the older ways. You need to explore other, newer options of advertising your product.
Take the leap right now. Create an online presence to stay connected with your audience, Connect with the best social media marketing agency in the town and notice the change in a few months.