Tag Archives: Marketing and Social Media

Future Implications

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  • Photo courtesy of https://techjackie.com/social-media-future/

One thing that is a known fact is that our social media landscape is constantly changing.  Why is that?  Well basically it’s because technology is constantly evolving which means that anything reliant on it must do the same or die out.  People either love or hate social media but the fact is, it’s a resource that every day people use, and brands must follow suit or fall behind.  Though there are those who may hate social media there are presently 3.80 billion people using social media worldwide since the beginning of 2020.  I’m sure that with COVID-19 those numbers have continued to climb because of the quarantine and a lot of people staying home or working from home.  5.19 billion people use mobile phones globally with user numbers up by 124 million (2.4%) since the beginning of the year in 2019. The numbers below don’t lie, social media is here to stay.

  • Photo courtesy of WeAreSocial.com

I feel that the changes are due mainly to changes in human behavior but also because as I stated above technology is constantly changing and growing.  The changes in human behavior come in the form of people wanting brands to be health conscious (fast food industry) … fast food brands are launching new products and drafting health-related communications strategies. Then there are the those who want brands to be socially conscious such as Ben & Jerry’s stand on racial justice.  There are of course a myriad of issues that consumers wish brands to follow these two are just the tip of the iceberg.

There are a few trends that I feel will be up and coming in the future with social media (although there are many more, I’m sure these or the ones that I’ve focused on):

Photo courtesy of https://www.information-age.com/augmented-reality-transforming-e-commerce-123465096/

Continual growth of social media and its platforms.

Heightened privacy and security (huge boost in data management).

AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality).  AR takes the real world and projects virtual, computer-generated augmentations to enhance the user’s experiences.  VR a 3D dimensional computer-generated reality that users can explore as if they are in the real world.

Video’s will be used across most platforms (Cisco stated that by 2020, 75% of the mobile traffic will be video).

Courtesy of YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKJDCqvvMk

I think the future is definitely bright and fun with the addition of Augmented Reality along with Virtual reality being added into the mix because it will add to the consumer experience.  Mixed and augmented reality, in particular, are proving effective in allowing consumers to engage with brands and interact with products like never before.

Photo courtesy of https://blog.appvirality.com/how-to-use-social-media-mobile-app-promotions/

The question that companies need to be asking themselves according to TTEC, With these numbers continually growing, the question isn’t whether to embrace social media; it’s “How can I effectively leverage social networks to enhance the customer experience and gain valuable insight?”  Indeed, that is the one thing that small and large businesses need to look at social media.  How can they make it better for their consumers and how can I use the information gathered for the company’s benefit? Two questions I will leave you with is:

What trends do you see for social media as technology expands with consumers and businesses having to explore with it?

What brands do you follow on social media?

Photo courtesy of https://openviewpartners.com/blog/social-media-branding-10-tips-to-build-your-brand/#.X7ghCWhKhPY

Differentiation

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  • (Frito-Lay North America, 2020)
  • (Pringles, 2020)

Lays is a potato chip company first introduced in Canada in 1932 that makes a variety of potato chips and was bought by PepsiCo in 1965 and is under the Frito-Lays brand.  Lay’s promises its consumers, “Wherever celebrations and good times happen, the LAY’S® brand will be there just as it has been for more than 75 years. With flavors almost as rich as our history, we have a chip or crisp flavor guaranteed to bring a smile on your face” (Frito-Lay North America, 2020).  “Lay’s potato chips come in over 200 flavors” (Attride, 2020) according to, Tiana Attride.  Pringles is an American stackable potato chip company founded in 1967 by Proctor & Gamble and then sold to Kellogg’s in 2012.  Pringles has 162 flavors readily available in most markets. “Pringles comes in many different flavors but is best known for its original version” (Snack History, 2020). 

 Each company utilizes social media such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.  Both companies also have user friendly websites in which a customer can easily find out how to buy their products, what new offerings they have along with videos with celebrity endorsements.  They also both use humor to get their points across, as well as polls and visuals to garner engagement with consumers.  Across the board on their social media platforms the companies are consistent in their messaging to win over new consumers and to keep their current consumers.  Both companies run promotions on their websites that consumers can sign up for coupons, sweepstakes, and receive updates.  Lays has PepsiCo Tasty Rewards while Pringles has Kellogg’s Family Rewards.

Lays is running a campaign #SmileWithLays which is a promotion to showcase people who go above and beyond in their communities and by doing so they are featured on Lay’s social media as well as their smile being placed on bags of chips.  This campaign is being used to showcase everyday people who make a difference in their community on the website it states, “Lay’s is celebrating people across the country who inspire smiles in their communities in extraordinary ways. From a man who inspired hundreds of teens to mow their neighbors’ lawns to a retired nurse who founded a food pantry, these people go above and beyond to share kindness and joy… Each Smile with Lay’s bag you buy helps us reach our goal of a $1 million donation to Operation Smile – a nonprofit that changes and saves lives one smile at a time” (Now This, 2020).  This is a great way to get people interested in Lays products as well as to keep their current consumers and produce brand loyalty and make their brand personal to its consumers by participating in philanthropy. 

  1. Has 767 posts and 968k followers on Instagram
  2. 42.6k Tweets and 456.5k followers on Twitter
  3. 6,556,007 likes and 6,450,322 followers on Facebook
  4. 77.6k subscribers on YouTube but hasn’t posted anything for 4 weeks ago.
  • (Frito-Lay North America, 2020)
  • (Lays, 2020)

Pringles has taken the approach to realizing that people have been in quarantine since the beginning of the year and that sports has had to change from public viewing to virtual enjoyment.  The campaign is called #CrunchTimeCam in which they are asking their consumers to Tweet one of the below hashtags to receive exclusive behind the scenes content of their favorite team while they enjoy virtually.  This gets consumers excited and starts engagement through user generated content since they can’t go to a game in person because of COVID-19.

  1. 295 posts and 670k followers on Instagram
  2. 30.1k Tweets and 437.8k followers on Twitter
  3. 23,705,822 likes and 23,669,491 followers on Facebook
  4. 13.3k subscribers on YouTube and last post was a month ago.
  • (Pringles , 2020)
  • (Pringles , 2020)

One thing noted is that while Lays has more followers on most social media, Pringles has overtaken them with likes and followers on Facebook.  This is where Pringles excels on social media in comparison to Lays. Whether it be Pringles or Lays that is your flavor of choice both companies seem to be doing a bang-up job to please their consumers. Do you have a favorite? Or do you like them equally?  I personally like them both for different reasons. Lays because of nostalgia and taste. Pringles for something different.

References

Attride, T. (2020, July 21). 10 things you probably didn’t know about Lay’s potato chips. Insider. https://www.insider.com/lays-fun-facts-potato-chips-2018-11.

Frito-Lay North America. (2020). About Lays. Home. https://www.lays.com/about-us.

Frito-Lay North America. (2020). Company Story: FritoLay. Home. https://www.fritolay.com/about-frito-lay/company-story.

Lays. (2020). Lay’s. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/lays.

Lays. (2020). Lays. Login • Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/lays/.

Now This. (2020). Lays Smile Stories. Now This. https://nowthisnews.com/lays-smiles.

Pringles. (2020). Pringles. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/PringlesUS.

Pringles. (2020). Pringles. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Pringles.

Pringles. (2020). Pringles. Login • Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/pringlesus/.

Pringles. (2020). Pringles®: Home. Pringles® | Home. https://www.pringles.com/us/home.html.

Snack History. (2020). Pringles. Snack History. https://www.snackhistory.com/pringles.