In a recent article for The Packer, NST’s CEO Kerry Tucker and Bill Bishop, chief architect for Brick Meets Click, highlight a recent Food Foresight trend: an increasing numbers of shoppers are making more intentional decisions to buy food that is healthier and supports the environment.

Tucker and Bishop explain that consumers are looking for more detailed information about the food they buy, such as what it is, and how and where it was produced. Two consumer segments are growing and creating great opportunities for produce marketers, in particular:

• Those who have difficulty affording to put food on the table but still want and need to get the most nutrition for the money.
• Those who define food as part of a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle, with cost remaining a consideration, but not the only one, as they are more open to paying extra for something that is better.

Read the complete article for more details and insight on how produce companies can take advantage of this emerging trend.

Food Foresight provides trends intelligence for anticipating, planning for, and managing trends/issues likely to impact the agri-food chain. It is a collaboration of NST and the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research at University of California, Davis.

Tags: produce, retail, grocery, Food Foresight, Kerry Tucker, Bill Bishop, The Packer

Building a website, updating content, running social media profiles and optimizing for mobile can be daunting tasks for a company to take on. But in this day and age, it’s not an option to let these items fall by the wayside if you want to create strong relationships with customers. We recently stumbled across some statistics from eMarketer that shed some light on why digital is the way to go.

Consider the following:

• People under the age of 35 spend 11.9 hours connected to technology each day. Assuming everyone gets eight hours of sleep, this means they spend 74% of their waking hours connected to technology.
• When comparing the first half of 2012 to the last half of 2011, the amount of Americans opening email on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) jumped from 27.4% to 36%. So, don’t forget to optimize for mobile when developing e-newsletters and linking content to mobile sites.
• A research study found that TV viewers multi-tasking with their tablets is great for advertisers – 28% of research participants reported using their tablet to look up more information about a product advertised during the show they’re watching.

If you need help getting your company tapped into online opportunities, give us a call. Our digital team is eager to get you online, into inboxes and ready for mobile.

Facebook has given new meaning to words and phrases not previously associated with the Internet and social media, including: news feed, tag, poke and like. Soon we may be able to add other words to the Facebook repertoire: want and collection.

Facebook is testing a new feature with some big name brands, including Victoria’s Secret, Pottery Barn and Michael Kors. The concept is simple: brands create “collections” of their products in fashion similar to Pinterest; each item in the collection has a “want” button and a “buy” button linking back to the point of sale on the brand’s website. When a user clicks the “want” star the action goes onto that user’s timeline. (NOTE: When NST tested the “want” feature, we didn’t see the action appear on the news feed of friends. This could be a potential downside, because if users have to go hunting to see their friends’ wants, there are ultimately less impressions for the brand than if it appeared in news feeds automatically.) Facebook users also have the option to add a comment to the “want” action and are prompted with the question “Why do you want this?” These comments can give brands valuable insight into what customers like about their products.

When perusing the Victoria’s Secret Facebook page, I noticed the brand’s collections didn’t appear in the tab portion of their pages. Instead, the collections were only visible as news items on the wall. Facebook may be holding off on integrating collections into the tab until the testing phase for “want” is over. It would be a logical next step to give collections a permanent home on the profile so fans of the brands can find the feature as quickly and as easily as they can now browse photos, videos and other branded features.

The addition of a “want” button has enticed companies for some time as it adds another layer of brand engagement to the “like” factor already in place. But the “buy” feature is what intrigues me and it’s something Pinterest lacks. If Facebook analytics can shed some light into just how many people are purchasing a product after first engaging with the brand’s Facebook page, marketers may be able to more clearly delineate the ROI of social media.

Until this feature is rolled out to more brands, we’ll have to cross our fingers and hope one of the brands implementing “want” and “buy” right now will share some of their insight. In the meantime, be sure to check back to stay updated on the latest social media happenings.

According to The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism report, how people get their news has changed. The State of the News Media 2012: An Annual Report on American Journalism states:

[T]he majority of Americans now get news through at least one digital, web-based device. While the desktop or laptop computer remains the primary digital platform for news (54% of Americans get news there), the number of consumers who get news on multiple digital devices is growing. Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, 23%, now get news on at least two devices.

As people get more of their news online, news organizations are also making adjustments. Twenty percent of U.S. newspapers require a paying subscription for full digital access – a number that has doubled since last year. For those going online to get news, what better way to bring readers to the heart of the action as it happens than video?

The Wall Street Journal created a hub called WSJ WorldStream, on the video-sharing site Tout, for mobile video shot via smartphone by more than 2,000 journalists around the world. According to the Wall Street Journal, their video viewership has more than doubled in the past six months so it makes sense for the paper to expand video creation.

Video storytelling was also used during New York Fashion Week by ”… several fashion reporters … turning to Viddy and other forms of mobile video distribution to compliment their coverage.” Many felt video brought the clothing to life in a way still images couldn’t, and the format was perfect for short interviews with designers and fashion show attendees.

What can brands learn from these examples? Share the latest news about your brand, details about events as they happen, and provide how-to videos. When Apple released iOS 6, Mashable shared a hands-on how-to video about the new features, which brought the information to life and made the changes easier to understand.

Creating videos to share information with customers is not a new concept for many brands. However, with the advent of video sharing sites like Viddy and Tout, brands don’t need to – and are not expected to – create long, edited, fancy videos. Instead, information can be shared quickly and in easily digestible, 15-second clips. Bring brand stories to life with video, make your blog posts and social media updates more interactive, and give customers an authentic feel for what your company is doing. Social media has created platforms for closer connections between brands and customers, and video can only help strengthen this connection.

One of our clients, Markon Cooperative – a produce provider to the foodservice industry – does a nice job of providing timely produce updates to their customers and buyers via a weekly “Live From the Fields” video series. Markon’s Aug. 30, 2012 episode focused on the elevated insect pressure in the Salinas Valley at the time and what harvesters were doing to address the issue.

What do you think about companies integrating video into their communications? How could your company use video? What are the benefits?

It’s no secret public relations professionals aim to create content that elicits an action, especially through social media channels. It’s called “social media” for a reason – we want people talking about, engaging with and sharing our client’s content and messages.

Nuffer, Smith, Tucker co-hosted the “Content Marketing Insider Secrets” webinar last Tuesday with Social Fresh, a social media education company, that discussed content creation in-depth. The webinar gave attendees a glimpse of the dialogue that will take place at the Social Fresh WEST conference in San Diego on September 27-28, and featured conference presenters Anna Lingeris of Hershey’s and Zena Weist of Expion along with NST President Bill Trumpfheller.

The lively discussion focused on the importance of knowing your brand’s voice, prepping your content with appropriate research, and being an engaging participant and curator. Here’s a recap of some key points:

• Content shouldn’t repeat your traditional ad copy. Figure out what voice will resonate with your target audiences and tailor it accordingly per social media platform.
• Identifying a focused brand voice helps all employees within your company understand social media goals and activity. It also makes it easier for people to participate.
• Listen and respond to the needs of your audience.
• Create content, but also let others’ (your audience) voices and opinions come through.
• Metrics and data are available – use statistics and data to create a plan, and see what’s resonating with your audience.
• Cross-pollenating content per platform can increase the shelf life of your campaign.
• You want people to trust your brand – engagement helps build trust.
• Listen first; talk later.
• Create content that your audience can easily share on and offline.
• Engaging content must have a personal relevance. Find out what matters to your audience and create content that sparks a discussion around those topics.
• The top three types of engaging content are: personal questions, loyalty questions and call-to-actions with photos or links.
• Figure out how to make a local tie to your audience for increased interaction.
• Content marketing research is critically important and should be a large part of the resource pie.
• What experience are you trying to deliver? Use this to drive content creation, but realize in the end it, your content may not be all brand focused.
• Don’t succumb to “shiny object syndrome” each time a new platform emerges. Do your research before diving in.

Did you join “Content Marketing Insider Secrets?” What were your takeaways?

Digital engagement, in particular social media, has given marketers an unprecedented new way to participate in a two-way dialog with consumers. As we often coach our clients, with earned media channels such as PR and social media, a company needs to be comfortable giving up a certain amount of control of its message to be able to have authentic conversations online.

Recently, our newsfeeds have been rife with a number of examples of companies relinquishing control of their brands’ message and the outcomes have been somewhat mixed.

Performer Pitbull and retail behemoth Walmart recently earned kudos for rolling with the punches when a contest didn’t go quite as planned. The promotion offered a visit from Pitbull to the store location that received the most new Facebook likes, but Facebook users rallied to send the artist to perform in Kodiak, Ala., the most remote Walmart in America. The company and performer responded with enthusiasm and made good on their promise.

Mountain Dew recently asked consumers to select a name for its newest soft drink flavor. Instead of clever, feasible options, the top trending name suggestions were at worst disgustingly inappropriate and at best simply unusable, with entries such as “Diabeetus.” An online hacking group also established inappropriate banner messages throughout the brand’s microsite, which was later taken down.

The branding/PR world has erupted into debate on how to view these types of situations. Some warn against performing any crowd-sourcing campaigns, saying they put too much control in the hands of the public. Others say marketers should loosen their controls on such sites to encourage tinkering with the hope these antics could potentially provide the campaign with more media exposure.

While it certainly depends on the clients’ overall goals, I think with a solid understanding of the public perception of your brand, a good grasp on current issues/challenges facing the industry, the right technological safeguards in place, and a plan for if/when things change course, crowd-sourcing is still an opportunity worth pursuing.

What are your thoughts on the future of crowd-sourcing? Will brands see this as an opportunity to extend their reach or as a canary in the coalmine for digital campaigns gone awry?

We at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker believe it’s important to give back – it not only helps those in need and sets an example for other organizations, but it also encourages us a team.  Last Thursday, several NST’ers spent the morning downtown waving signs and collecting money in big red shoes in support of the third-annual Red Shoe Day.  Our team represented a few of the more than 1,200 volunteers who took to the streets to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego (an NST client) and the great work they do to provide a “home away from home” for families with critically ill or injured children in local hospitals.

It was inspiring to watch the creativity of some of the volunteers, some donning wigs, costumes and hula hoops to get attention, and it was even more special to see firsthand the generosity of those choosing to give back on their daily commute.  All in all, Red Shoe Day raised an estimated $150,000 for the charity, so thanks to all who donated!

What’s a creative way you or your professional team have helped make your community a better place to live, work and play?

As communications professionals, we’ve all heard the “Content is King” adage, and as I was recently reminded: not just any content will do. Segmenting your content by audience can make or break successful marketing campaigns. Although research on your target audiences may be a lengthy and costly step, it’s crucial in order to build credibility and turn consumers into loyal customers or brand advocates.

Jay Baer, notable social media and content strategist, presented the webinar “‘Sorta Interested’ to ‘Hell Yeah’: Using Focused Content to Convert Customers with Nuffer, Smith, Tucker’s fellow WORLDCOM Public Relations Group partner firm Off Madison Ave. Baer reminds us that “content doesn’t win just because it exists,” and offers the following ways of content segmentation:

1. Persona: Whom is your content for? Make sure you are creating content that directly pertains to your target audience.
2. Life Cycle: Where are these people in their life cycle or the buyer’s journey? Different ages, lifestyles and perceptions will require different calls to action.
3. Channel: Where – through what medium – will your content exist? And if you’re segmenting your content by audience life cycle, don’t forget to take into account how people consume content in different stages of their life.

It’s not just about creating content, according to Baer, but rather the right content, for the right person, at the right time, through the right channel.

That’s an intricate puzzle to effectively put together, but that’s part of the reason we enjoy our jobs so much, right?

A lot of companies place emphasis on ensuring their organization or brand “looks good” online – and that’s important – but they often focus only on the graphic, visual elements of a website or social media platform.  More importantly, who’s the voice of your brand online?  Who’s communicating with people via social media on your behalf?  Is there a consistent tone?

I recently sat through a Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) webinar that explained what things companies should want in an online community manager and helped paint a picture of what he/she should look like.  Below are seven qualities you should look for (or develop) in your online community manager:

1. Articulate:  An online community manager should be able to communicate effectively in a variety of media.  He/she should be capable of clearly expressing the organization’s messages in a language your community members like and understand.

2. Social:  He/she should be able to easily engage in authentic conversations online.  In other words, just because your I.T. guy knows about computers doesn’t mean he’s automatically the right fit – this person needs to be comfortable participating in online discussions and come across as natural.

3. Professional:  Having a personality is great, but coming across as professional is equally, if not more, important.  The person should act as a responsible ambassador for your organization and carry an appropriate, consistent tone across multiple mediums.

4. Adaptable:  An online community manager should be able to make decisions quickly during crisis situations.  This often involves knowing where to look for information, working across multiple departments, understanding the company’s values, and not getting frazzled easily.

5. Enthusiastic:  It’s easy to tell when the person “behind the post” actually cares about the brand and about helping or informing others.  Your online community manager should be energetic, passionate and engaged in relevant topics.

6. Connected:  Key members within your community can come to your defense and/or be your best ambassadors, so the person you choose as a community manager should have ties to the right people within the community, or at least be able to identify them.

7. Organized:  When managing a community, staying organized is key.  A community manager should be able to keep track of data, relationships, content calendars, and a variety of assets essential to maintaining your community.

WOMMA is a fantastic resource for social media newbies and experts, as it puts together case studies, ethics guidelines, and online and in-person educational seminars.  You can follow the organization on Twitter and keep checking back to the NST blog for more information on best practices, trends and updates related to social media.

You may have noticed some numbers appearing under each of your Facebook Page’s posts. Facebook now shares post metrics at the bottom of each status update, and for many brands, those numbers are low.

Coincidentally, (read: likely not coincidentally) Facebook recently announced the launch of Promoted Posts. Brand Pages can now pay to have posts seen by more fans.

To create a Promoted Post, write a status update. Then, select the Promote button at the bottom of the post to get a list of prices. Each price point has an associated estimated reach – the percentage of fans who will see your post.

Facebook's Promoted Posts

After you make your price selection and post your status update, Facebook also recommends you Pin the post to the top of your page to make it more visible and accessible.

Per Facebook, promoted posts will show in the news feeds of the people who like your Page. If the people who like your Page interact with the post, it can show in the news feeds of their friends. These posts will be labeled as “Sponsored” in the news feed. Unlike ads and sponsored stories, Promoted Posts will not be shown in the right-hand column of Facebook.

We have been told Facebook fans are more likely to purchase, consider and recommend brands to friends. But since Facebook has admitted using an algorithm to rank content based on the likely interest to a user to deliver the most relevant content – a non-paid status update may not reach a large number of your fans.

The new Promoted Posts – and the growing inability to organically interact with fans to grow your Brand Page – shouldn’t be a surprise. Once Facebook went public, it had to keep investors satisfied through significant and continued revenue growth, which means Facebook needs to focus on advertising dollars.  The article 5 Ways Facebook’s IPO Affects Brands from Mashable points out,

…with a greater focus on ads, it will become increasingly more challenging for brand managers to fuel organic growth. Valuable, engaging content will always be vital, but without content working hand-in-hand with Facebook advertising, your brand will be unable to keep up in the social space. The days of brands getting significant traction on Facebook organically are over.

What does this mean for you and your brand’s Facebook page? Pay attention to Facebook’s ad offerings. Read case studies about what’s working for companies on Facebook and what’s not, and keep up-to-date on the latest Facebook changes by regularly reading NST’s blog. Create engaging content and try some of the different ad platforms including Promoted Posts, but watch the analytics carefully to see what is increasing engagement. What works for one brand may not work for another.

Will you try Promoted Posts? What do you think about the future of Facebook advertising and what it means for brands?