It’s no new revelation that today’s consumers are ad-blind and leading brands are looking for alternatives to get in front of their consumers. Studies show that 86% of consumers are ad blind, and only 8% of users will recall a company, product, or service after viewing an ad. Paid ads on social media are seeing a decline in effectiveness in today’s climate, and strategies that solely rely on these advertisements aren’t paying off for CPG brands.
With 92% of consumers stating they prefer referrals from people in their lives over any advertising source, it’s a no-brainer to include word-of-mouth as a component of your strategy. This especially holds true for pet brands. Content about pets is the best on the internet- unbiased and universally enjoyable. A study by Mars Petcare showed that 65% of pet owners post about their furry friends on social media an average of two times per week, and 33% said they post about their pets as much (and as often) as they do about their human family, so there’s a huge opportunity for pet brands to be a larger part of this conversation that’s already happening online.
Pet owners consider their “fur children” a part of the family, and they turn to real word-of-mouth recommendations as their trusted source before trying new brands. While paid media can be helpful in generating initial awareness, these consumers want to hear from each other before you’ll earn their real consideration and purchase. Your pets can’t speak for themselves, so you care a whole lot about the decisions you make for them. This makes the reputation of pet brands that much more important. This post dives into the underutilized opportunities pet brands have to leverage word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing to overcome the shortcomings of a paid-only strategy.
The oversaturation of paid advertisements, especially on social media, and why they don’t always resonate –
- Consumers consciously and subconsciously filter out digital advertisements. From various ad-blockers to the “Promotions” tab in gmail, brands hit many roadblocks to getting in front of consumers with digital touchpoints.
- Paid advertisements on social media aren’t too effective either. A study by Havas Media found that ad blindness has infiltrated Facebook, reducing clickthrough rates on digital ad campaigns.
- Influencers are oversaturated, too. The world of #sponsored “word-of-mouth” is pay-to-play, and it’s difficult for consumers to know when an influencer’s promotion is real and genuine.
So how can we flip the switch? What can you do to get in front of your consumers in a way that resonates?
- Join the conversation where it’s happening. Most of the talk about your brand doesn’t happen on your site or your channels, but in the feeds of your best customers, in pet blogs and pet communities, and on the review pages of third party sites. By joining these conversations, you can learn from your customers while helping inform and shape the discussion and impact how your brand spreads.
- Pull at the heartstrings. Try an emotional appeal to your current customers and engage them to spread brand love and recommend your products to help other pet owners like themselves. Remind them of the values they love about your brand and why they came to you in the first place.
- Share and interact with UGC that your customers post to show your gratitude and increase excitement. People LOVE sharing photos of their adorable fur babies, so be a bigger part of those moments and posts.
- Find a more structured approach to advocacy and word-of-mouth. Build an Insiders community and engage your best fans to share your brand with their own true network of friends, family, and other pet parents. Encourage fans to talk about your products and create content on your behalf. This Insiders community is yours to curate. Create a pet insiders club, ask for product feedback, inspire UGC, and promote sharing with give-one-get-one promotions.
- If building an Insiders community feels like a big jump from where you are now, start by inviting your customers to create more user-generated content around your brand. Not only do these generate immediate organic reach, but you can repurpose that content in your paid advertisements so your ads look and feel more authentic. One study showed that Facebook and Instagram ads that utilize user-generated photos saw a 5x higher return on spend and 50% increase in click rates. Since most of your consumers are posting about their pets multiple times a week, there is a huge opportunity to use this UGC in your ads.
With pet brands, your consumers are already talking about you amongst themselves. With a more solid WOM strategy, you can guide those organic conversations on social media to help grow your business.
The reason that paid advertising doesn’t always work on its own is why WOM does – trust in the source. It goes back to recommendations, stories, and content from people we trust in our real lives. How are you inspiring advocacy and WOM from your customers? There are incredible opportunities for advocacy with pet brands where trusted peer-to-peer recommendations are an essential form of marketing. If you’re considering tech partners to help you power a customer insiders program, reach out to erin@crowdly.com to learn more about Crowdly’s all-in-one platform and how we’re driving advocacy at scale for pet brands like Hartz.
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