Blog – Girlpower Marketing

Understand Pet Owners Across Generations for Effective Marketing

Marketing in any industry requires a deep understanding of a brand’s target audience before creating campaigns and choosing distribution for those campaigns. One or two generations or cohorts comprise the target audience for many industries. When it comes to pet ownership, however, marketers must fully understand the preferences of all ages, from Generation Alpha to the Silent Generation.

Why? Because everyone loves their pets. Most are passionate about them. How they shop for their pets, however, is a different story. Each generation consumes information and shops in their own unique ways. Marketers also mustn’t overlook how the pandemic altered shopping habits, particularly online purchases.

Following are some tips for helping to understand how to speak to consumers and convert them.

Pet Owners by Generation

Millennials are the largest generation of pet owners, representing 32% of pet-owning households in America. They’re followed closely by Baby Boomers at 27% and Generation X at 24%. Generation Z, Generation Alpha, and the Silent Generation share the last slice of the pie at 17%.

By developing marketing campaigns and providing shopping options that take just the first three cohorts into account, marketers will reach a massive segment of pet owners at 83%.

Reaching the Baby Boomer Pet Owners

Many marketers mistakenly assume that Baby Boomers aren’t tech-savvy. The truth is that 68% of Baby Boomers now own smartphones, and 59% of them use social media regularly.

The Boomer generation still prefers many traditional outlets, choosing conventional television over streaming services and radio over podcasts. As a result, marketers must be willing to establish a presence in all the places that Baby Boomers reside, from their traditional choices to their new forays into digital worlds.

Pet Marketing for Gen X

Generation X is a bit more cynical and tends to see through branding and marketing tactics that aren’t authentic. Their suspicion of corporations and institutions may lead them to work with smaller boutique pet brands, especially if those products can be purchased online and in person. The good news is that if you gain their trust with great storytelling, quality products, and reliable service, you’ll most likely have a customer for life.

Gen X likes their social media, particularly Facebook. They don’t tend to use TikTok or Snapchat as much as younger generations, but pet marketing on Instagram is a great bet. This generation loves nostalgia, too, particularly recalling the 80s when they were children. For many, that’s when they had their first pet, so it’s a solid marketing tactic to remind them of their early childhood dogs and cats.

To get to the heart of authenticity, marketers should leverage reviews and testimonials with Generation X. Legitimate reviews will stand out, so when marketers are willing to share the less-than-stellar reviews, this audience will most likely also believe in the good reviews.

Millennial Pet Shopping Habits

Of the three generations discussed here, Millennials are the most likely to browse the internet for new pet products rather than go into a brick-and-mortar store. This generation doesn’t just look through pet brand websites, either—47% of them learn about new products on Facebook and YouTube.

This generation is also more likely to make purchases online, especially since the onset of the pandemic, with 62% saying they increased their online pet product purchases rather than visiting stores. Millennials are also the most likely to subscribe to monthly toy and food delivery services such as BarkBox and Chewy’s Goody Box.

Like Generation X, Millennials value authenticity, but in somewhat different ways. They prefer to feel that their discovery of new brands is organic rather than targeted. Also, as with the generation before them, Millennials don’t tend to fall for gimmicks. Instead, they prefer to buy from brands with strong values which promote social good, even if it means spending more money in the long run.

When all generations are combined, 90% of pet owners expect their online pet shopping to increase rather than decrease, even as the pandemic has begun to subside. As a result, savvy marketers will make sure expanded channels for purchase are always available, from click-and-collect, in-person shopping, online purchasing, and subscription models.

If you’d like to target these generations with your pet marketing campaigns, we’re here to help you reach the right buyers with the right messaging at the right time. Reach out any time.

Social Media Trends to Embrace in 2022

In 2021, more than 72% of Americans used social media — an increase of more than 10 million people. These 240 million users spend an average of two hours and seven minutes on social media every day. It’s safe to say that as new platforms and features continue to emerge, even more people will jump on board.

Most of the social media trends we expect to see in 2022 are already here, as existing trends continue to pick up speed in 2022, and marketers continue to adopt these elements in larger numbers.

Though Baby Boomers hold more than $2.6 trillion in spending power and control 70% of all disposable income in the U.S., they are often overlooked by marketers, specifically when digital campaigns are created. That’s a lot of money that brands may be leaving on the table, and a massive cohort of shoppers left feeling ignored.

When 67% of Baby Boomers own smartphones and account for 59% of digital purchases, it’s clear that this generation is more technologically savvy than younger generations give them credit for. With brands and marketers continuing to ignore them, Baby Boomers have effectively taken matters into their own hands. That’s right; we’re now in the age of the “Granfluencer.” More

The Changing Face of TikTok

By the time TikTok burst on the U.S. scene in 2017, it already had a following due to its first iteration as an app called Musical.ly. Since then, it has overcome a long list of problems—including increased pressure from legislators and copycat features from long-standing social media giants—to become one of America’s fastest-growing social media companies. More

Influencer Marketing Strategies for All Generations

For years, well before adopting the moniker of influencer marketing, brands have sought endorsements from celebrities and people of note. Generations that came before Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alphas—notably Generation X and Baby Boomers—can also be swayed by the right message from the right person at the right time.

Influencer marketing has become the catchall term for certain types of celebrities, experts, thought leaders, bloggers, and content creators who use their online presence to affect a group of people’s purchasing choices. It is one of the fastest-growing brand-building strategies, nearly tripling in value to an estimated $9.7 billion in recent years.

To develop killer influencer marketing strategies for all generations, it’s essential to understand the formula of the message, influencer, place, and time most effective for each generation. More

Five Big CPG Trends We’ll See in the Next Five Years

We don’t always need a crystal ball to see the future. However, the current state of CPG marketing trends gives us a lot of information about how things are going and how we can expect them to develop over the coming years. Although disruption can happen and evolving technology has the power to divert the current path, we can see some solid trends that are sure to be around for a while. More

Finding Your Travel and Hospitality Brand’s Share of Voice in the Current Marketing Storm

If hotel reservations and airline ticket sales are any indication, the travel market has resurged with a vengeance. Coastal destinations have experienced a 42% increase in bookings over the summer of 2019, and mountain and lake resorts are up 44% over 2019.

With consumers clamoring for a vacation after a long eighteen months at home, the problem isn’t drumming up business for the travel market at all. So now, hospitality and travel brands must focus on how to be heard above all the noise, and as international travel destinations continue to open up, the buzz will only continue to grow.

How will you find your brand’s share of voice? More

What We’ve Learned About Consumer Trends So Far in 2021

There is little precedent to help us understand how COVID-19 might shape consumer trends, especially in light of the technology that has emerged since the last global pandemic event in 1918. Now that the end of the tunnel is in sight, we’re gathering data at a lightning pace to understand the emerging trends expected through 2021 and beyond. More

Converting CPG Consumers Wherever They Are in the Buyer’s Journey

Most marketers are aware of the buyer’s journey in its simplest form: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. But consumers aren’t simple, especially when shopping for CPG items. And both the pandemic and technology have served to further muddle today’s buyer’s journey.

The purchasing process for deciding between brands of paper plates or potato chips is much shorter than the process for purchasing a new car or designer handbag. Grocery stores are often where consumers make these types of impulse buys, not even touching on the first two stages of the journey and going straight to a final purchase decision.

Marketers must recognize that there are times and places where they must adjust how they address the traditional buyer’s journey and be ready to respond to current events, emerging technology, and evolving buyer behaviors.

Following is a look at the typical CPG buyer’s journey and ways to reach buyers when they’re ready to buy. More

The Future of Influencer Marketing Is Here

Having worked with influencers for such brands as Barnes & Noble, Proctor & Gamble, Dell Computers, and Summit Brands, as well as brands in the food & beverage and wellness categories, we understand that when done correctly, influencer marketing is one of the most powerful marketing strategies available.

We’ve written about various influencer topics in the past, and one thing is clear: influencer marketing has evolved, and marketing strategies must also evolve to remain relevant.

Here are some of the influencer marketing trends predicted for 2021.

The Continued Rise of Micro and Nano-Influencers

Micro-influencers will continue to be more powerful than celebrity influencers for authentic engagement with a brand’s target audiences. In 2020, more than 46% of brand mentions featuring the hashtag #ad were published by Instagram accounts with 1k-20k followers. That will undoubtedly grow at least to 50% this year, if not more. Almost one-third of Instagram channels are currently micro-influencers with fewer than 100k followers. Mega-influencers and celebrities with over 5 million followers make up less than 1% of all influencers.

Micro- and nano-influencers enjoy better engagement with their audiences because they work hard to build their brand, entertain their followers, and build relationships with their clients. Even better, because they’re part of smaller communities, they’re more relatable than celebrities, which means their followers are more likely to act on their recommendations.

influencer audience sizes

Specialized Influencers

Brands will also be looking to work with specialized influencers that have deep niches, which supports better engagement rates. For instance, instead of food & beverage influencers, brands may engage influencers who specialize in organic foods or foods for specific allergies or sensitivities. Beauty brands will connect through influencers that fit their brand’s specific niche, such as sustainability or affordability.

Employees as Influencers

One group of specialized influencers are employees. Employees are often the first—and sometimes only—true connection customers have with a brand. That is likely why content shared by company employees typically receives 8x more engagement.

Savvy brands understand the power their employees hold, and that’s why many are taking the opportunities presented. Sometimes the opportunity is surprising and sudden, like Wendy’s repost of an employee’s video that has since received upward of 3 million views. Others have been more organized, like Macy’s Style Crew, which shares employees’ modeling store products.

Whether micro, nano, specialized, or employee influencers, ultimately it’s about finding the influencer whose audience matches the brand. And for this, the more niche, the better. Influencers with large audiences who don’t match the brand typically won’t generate as good of results.

Video: Still the King of Content

We can expect to see an even greater focus on creating assets beyond posts, with video on Instagram Stories and Reels, YouTube, and Facebook. In 2020, video ads were the top wayconsumers discovered brands they later purchased.

While Facebook users watching live video increased 50%, the average Instagram engagement ratio is 29.67 per 1k followers. By comparison, Facebook posts average 16.54 interactions per 1k followers.

In the coming year, watch out for TikTok. Its audience now has nearly 850 million monthly active users and continues to grow daily. TikTok is still largely untapped as a marketing tool, with only 10% of marketers saying they’ve used it. Of that 10%, however, 66% say they experienced success. Expect to see 25% of marketers—or maybe more—approach TikTok as a new marketing channel this year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Summit Brands (@hellosummitbrands)

Performance-Based Influencer Marketing

Gone are the days of measuring the success of posts simply by how much engagement they receive. While engagement is certainly still an excellent indicator, we can expect to see a much bigger push toward measurements that mean bigger bottom lines.

To that end, expect performance-based influencer marketing to take center stage this year. Sales will be a key performance indicator, though brands may also prioritize website traffic, clicks, or other metrics. Regardless, they will be watching and measuring influencer content closely to ensure it brings real value to the brand.

SEO Comes to Influencer Marketing

Until this year, searching topics on Instagram required the use of hashtags, but this will no longer be the case. Searching with keywords will now be possible, meaning that exposure to new followers will increase exponentially. For instance, instead of searching hashtags for #organicrecipes or #crueltyfreemakeup and hoping for extensive results, users will be able to search by keywords for a larger return on accounts and posts.

With this new feature, posts that feature the keywords will appear in searches even if there is no hashtag for that keyword. This could change the way that users find content—and how influencers create their posts. Instead of rows of hashtags to maximize chances for exposure, posts can take on a more natural flow without sacrificing engagement.

How AI Is Shaping Influencer Marketing

While AI technology has made creating virtual influencers look and interact like real people, it is highly doubtful that these influencers will become the norm. Authentic influencers have a personal connection and a trusted voice with their audience. Influencers generated by computers may offer inspiration, but they will likely elicit a real feeling of betrayal when a follower or customer realizes the virtual influencer is not a real person.

So while virtual influencers won’t be replacing human influencers anytime soon, AI can certainly play a role in sifting through influencer performance data — assessing what types of brands influencers have worked with previously, and which influencers performed well by driving qualified engagement and conversions around particular products or content.

While influencer marketing is not perfect, it’s still one of the most effective ways for brands to drive online conversations and find new customers. Taking advantage of all that influencer marketing can offer in 2021 will require more than an exchange of free products for exposure. Still, the work you put into your campaigns will pay off. Avoid the known pitfalls, watch for red flags, and work with an experienced agency to develop relationships with influencers you can trust.

If you’d like to explore influencer marketing in 2021, or revamp your current influencer marketing strategies, give us a call.

1 2 3 4 5 >»