Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/950112
Julie Gallagher is managing editor of Specialty Food Magazine. Anouk Gotlib, creative director, Belgian Boys We engage in social media as a tool to present our brand, products, recipes, and ideas. It is a platform to interact with our consumers and get our message across. The Belgian Boys brand and product line is authentic and we like to share the same authentic message allowing our followers to share in our journey and better know who we are. They follow our story and become part of our family. One of the most successful campaigns was launched togeth- er with the introduction of our Cookie Butter Cookies aka 'Mini Cookie Stash'. Our cookies combine a single great product with a charitable initiative, offering a way to both share our European treats and engage consumers. Our goal was to find a way to give back in line with our company values. Our customers are encouraged to post a selfie "rocking that stash" with the hashtag #RockThatStash on social media and nominate a charitable orga- nization they like or relate to. Once a month, one picture with a charity nomination is selected and part of that month's Mini Cookie Stash proceeds are donated. Month after month, the entries grow. For more info see belgianboys.com/rock-that-stash. Another partnership that has helped us reach a bigger audi- ence involves our features in monthly subscription boxes such as The Popsugar Must Have Box and Love with Food Box. The boxes have a great social media-savvy customer base and we abso- lutely love to connect with our new fans who are introduced to our product with the box at their monthly Twitter and Instagram parties and giveaways. Overall, as a company we really love what we do and through social channels we get to spread that love. Natalie Meza, content writer and social media specialist, Chuao Chocolatier In an age where platforms are continually decreasing the amount of organic opportunities for business pages and companies, I find that there is more and more importance on engaging with our audiences. That means instead of just trying to get individuals to comment on our posts for the sake of reach, we really try to start conversations with them and get to know their tastes, preferences, and who they are as people. I believe that the quality of our inter- actions is much more important than the quantity of our interac- tions, and I'm happy to say that we get very good engagement from our fans because of this. Alongside that, partnerships are proving to be a key in social media. Whether that means inf luencers or other businesses, we see great results when we team up with others. Giveaways are an obvious key to the puzzle, but I see us going further than that and actually developing deeper relationships with these companies/ individuals to push the boundaries of what partnerships can be. We've had success in the past from doing high-level partnerships, and I'm really excited to dive further into this pool and see where it will take us and our social presence. Hiroyuki Imanishi, president & CEO, Morinaga Nutritional Foods, Inc./Alove Yogurt Alove Yogurt was introduced last summer by Morinaga Nutritional Foods, Inc. Since then, we have received positive feedback from retailers and consumers. We are the first to market Japanese-style yogurt with Aloe Vera gel pieces. We have promoted our brand through several social media channels to grow product awareness and to strengthen brand loyalty. The first goal is to build aware- ness for Alove Yogurt. We are utilizing social media advertising, which has been fruitful thus far, as we get our message out to consumers. In addition, we have increased our followers in a very short time. While we haven't started using social media promo- tions, we are planning and strategizing on how to best implement them, so look for those soon. We strengthen brand loyalty by posting relevant content combined with creating personal connections. The content ranges from being product-focused to sharing the excitement from events, and we mix it up with fun memes, too. This three-pronged approach keeps the content fresh, on trend, and reaches the vari- ous segments of our audience in the ways they like. We also nur- ture connections by responding quickly and personally to every comment, and not just with a "like" or "heart" Communication with consumers is important for Alove Yogurt … every comment is an opportunity to increase the bond with our consumers, which we truly value. "We nurture connections by responding quickly and personally to every comment, and not just with a 'like' or 'heart.' Communication with consumers is important for Alove Yogurt … every comment is an opportunity to increase the bond with our consumers, which we truly value." What are some of the more successful ways that you've promoted your brand on social media? Q: article bug SPRING 2018 73