6 New Ways to Use Social Media Analytics for FMCG Companies

USING SOCIAL DATA TO SOLVE MARKETING, PR AND PRODUCT HEADACHES

FMCG brands in the household and personal care sector are some of the most recognizable in the world. Gillette, Colgate, Pampers, we seem them every day when we brush our teeth, do the laundry and take care of our children. The fact that we see theme everywhere makes these brands powerful but the every day nature of their products means that breaking customer habits poses unique challenges.

“FMCG products are often seen as essential items, that people need to buy frequently, and that they often purchase on autopilot. Finding a brand they can depend on, and that’s available at a reasonable price, is often enough to prompt them to continue purchasing that brand out of habit.”Emoderation, FMCG: Social Media and the Consumer, May 2015

Social media is increasingly seen as a new way for FMCG brands to differentiate themselves from competitors as Always did memorably with their #LikeAGirl campaign. However, the applications of data from social networks goes far beyond simply improving social media marketing strategy.

This report will explain how analysis of online and social data about FMCG brands can help marketing, PR and product teams get a deeper understanding of the challenges they face and provide them with insights that can make a genuine difference to business outcomes.

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In this report we examined social data from over the last 6 months and used examples from brands like Johnson & Johnson, Always, the P&G portfolio and more to provide a variety of ways that brands can get an edge by using social intelligence across multiple departments.

DISCOVER:Why Johnson & Johnson’s negative social mentions spiked by 400% when the baby powder crisis hit in February 2016

How P&G can know that Pantene has the biggest brand presence in California but not in Florida

Why Pampers & Huggies should focus on comfort and quality over price

How the revival of Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign reached over 40 million people on the back of social brand advocates

How social data can help brands tailor their messaging to match each market

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

1. UNDERSTAND HOW A CRISIS SPREADS: JOHNSON & JOHNSONBACKGROUND

Around the evening of February 23rd Johnson & Johnson were on the verge of a significant crisis. A US jury awarded damages to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer which she said was caused by using Johnson & Johnson baby powder and other products . The impact online and on social was significant, far in excess of anything Johnson & Johnson had experienced over the last year.

Understanding a crisis in a global, social media age is difficult for organizations large and small and as noted social media influencer Jay Baer explains, “It’s hard to deal with a crisis you can’t find. You need some sort of social media listening software in your organization.”

A key element of understanding how a crisis spreads is being able to separate general levels of “negative noise” - a common problem for most companies of a certain size - from an actual crisis.

The Talkwalker Virality Map shows how the article which received the most engagement on the topic spread across social media and online (Data from Feb. 10 –March 10, 2016)

HOW DID THE CRISIS SPREAD ?

• The crisis spread to a variety of media channels from Twitter and Facebook, to blogs and forums.

• It then continued to make waves throughout the week spreading independently of the original article.

• The most influential publications and authors above the chart show who was most influential in helping this news spread.

• By understanding how a crisis spreads online, FMCG brands can prepare more targeted crisis communication plans that will improve the way you protect brand reputation.

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

2. PREDICT & MANAGE AN ONLINE CRISIS: JOHNSON & JOHNSON

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1 - HOW SIGNIFICANT WAS THE CRISIS?

• The graph on the left gives a clear indication of the scale of the crisis with 39,946 mentions on the first day of the crisis, a spike of 400%.

• In the 6 months leading up to the crisis, negative attention towards Johnson & Johnson remained at a relatively low, steady level.

▶ Social listening can help brands understand the true scale of a crisis, allocate the necessary resources and improve future planning.

2 - WHEN DID IT START?

• The small blip of negative sentiment (left) before the major peak indicated the coming of a potential crisis a few hours before it hit.

▶ Keep a careful eye on jumps in negative noise to be better prepared when a crisis strikes.

3 - WHICH PUBLICATIONS LED TO THE CRISIS?

• The article and tweet on the left received the most engagement in the “blip” before the crisis.

• Neither source has substantial reach in comparison to major news sites/journalists but were big enough to start the crisis.

▶ Knowing which “under the radar” publications and Twitter influencers to focus on helps brands get on top of a crisis from the very beginning.

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

3. FIND THE BEST MARKETS FOR YOUR BRAND & PRODUCTS: P&GBACKGROUND

The household and personal care products industry is dominated by the likes of P&G, Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive all of which have a raft of brands under their respective umbrellas.

The companies themselves can judge brand success through revenue but social data provides another lens through which to view performance using online and social presence.

Map showing which of P&G’s top brands* drive the most online discussion on Twitter on a state by state basis (Data from Sep. 2015 – March 2016)

*P&G Twitter accounts monitored: Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Bounty, Pampers, Pantene Pro-V, Oral B, Always, Olay Skin Care, Crest, Downy, Braun

WHICH REGIONS ENGAGE WITH WHICH BRANDS?

• P&G’s main brands shows substantial differences in engagement for each brand according to region.

• Pampers takes around 25% of Twitter conversation in Florida. In California and Texas, Pantene leads the way.

• This data can be used with demographic insights to confirm market readiness for certain brands.

▶ By comparing social share of discussion with state by state revenue, companies can get a clearer understanding of a brand’s potential in specific regions.

▶ Companies can then identify under/over performing brands or products and allocate marketing and advertising resources accordingly.

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

4. CREATE THE PRODUCTS YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT: PAMPERS & HUGGIESBACKGROUND

Pampers and Huggies are two of the giants of baby care with millions of new parents deciding which brand will best suit their needs. Parents are increasingly social media savvy and comments abound on social, blogs and forums discussing the best products for their new-born.

Mumsnet is the largest forum in the UK for discussions about babies and children. With 2 million unique visitors every month according to Alexa, Mumsnet discussion about products and problems are wide-ranging.

Chart (left) showing top topics of discussion around Pamper and Huggies on Mumsnet forum. Excerpts of forum posts about prices (top right) and leaks (bottom right) (Data from Sep. 2015 – March 2016)

WHICH TOPICS ARE CUSTOMERS DISCUSSING?

• Key topics of discussion about Pampers and Huggies nappies on Mumsnet show “sleep” at the top with comfort next (far left).

• Specific examples suggest that high price doesn’t necessarily equate to quality and the bottom. example shows the difficulties parents have with nappy sizes for growing children (right).

• Forums can provide brands with insights customers are less likely to discuss in more public spaces (e.g, social media).

▶ Using forum insights, product teams can get ideas for product refinement and development.

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

5. FIND INFLUENCERS THAT MATCH YOUR MESSAGE: #LIKEAGIRLBACKGROUND

In 2014, feminine products brand Always created a global phenomenon with their #LikeAGirl campaign which sought to empower women of all ages. The campaign continues to be mentioned significantly today with over 70k mentions of the hashtag over the last 6 months.

Always recently relaunched the hashtag campaigning for more emoji’s that represent women. The campaign made a big impact on social and online with high profile influencers getting involved.

Top influencers using the #LikeAGirl hashtag include actress Emma Watson and First Lady Michelle Obama (Data from Sep. 2015 – March 2016)

WHO WERE THE TOP INFLUENCERS FOR THE CAMPAIGN?

• Always’ revival of #LikeAGirl received a substantial push from top female figures.

• The campaign reached over 40 million people on the back of just a few influencers.

• The power of such campaigns is significant, with a recent survey from showing that 52% of women polled had purchased a product because they liked the ways the ads portrayed women.

▶ For brands looking to launch “empowerment” campaigns like #LikeAGirl, understanding the best-matched influencers helps to substantially amplify reach.

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

6. MAKE YOUR MESSAGING MORE POWERFUL: ALWAYS’ #LIKEAGIRLBACKGROUND

For marketers, advertisers and PR professionals alike, understanding the responses that the very best brand campaigns elicit can play a key role when developing the right messaging and angle of approach.

Data from social listening has an advantage over other methods of identifying customer responses (e.g. focus groups, market research) as it can track unsolicited comments, is more up to date as data can be tracked in real-time and is also much less expensive.

Top themes around #LikeAGirl show differing reception of campaign in US and UK(Data from Sep. 2015 – March 2016)

HOW WAS THE CAMPAIGN RECEIVED IN EACH MARKET

• Many of the themes linked to #LikeAGirl in the US and UK are broadly similar with top influencers and hashtags present in both.

• Looking deeper however there are subtle differences. On the US side terms like “love”, “amazing” and “unstoppable” indicate that the response in the US was more openly emotional.

• In the UK, the focus is on the success of such types of campaign with topics like “sales driver” and “proves purpose” featuring prominently.

▶ By looking at the topics and themes linked to major campaigns, brands can tailor messaging to match the topics of interest by country and even region and guarantee the success of their campaigns on every market.

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6 NEW WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS FOR FMCG COMPANIES

CONCLUSIONFor all brands in the household and personal care sector and beyond, social data can hold insights that are useful for teams across marketing, PR, advertising, product and more.The examples in this report highlight how to do this effectively and in a way that makes a tangible difference to your business.

Using social listening, household and personal care brands can:

• Implement a more effective crisis strategy by understanding how a crisis develops and spreads online (Johnson & Johnson)

• Find the best markets for your brand & products based on regional social media analytics (P&G top performing brands)

• Create the products your customers want by analyzing unsolicited opinions in influential forums (Pampers and Huggies)

• Amplify the reach and resonance of campaigns by finding the best influencers for specific campaigns (Always #LikeAGirl)

• Make your messaging more powerful by understanding the emotions of your target audience (Always #LikeAGirl)

In highly competitive sectors like FMCG, being able to react quickly and respond to ever changing customer preferences is key. Using insights from social listening data, brands can make sure they have flexibility and speed necessary to stay ahead.

STAY TUNED !