Engaging CPG Consumers in the Digital Space

Marketers of consumer packaged goods are always looking for new ways to build their brands and engage with consumers. The digital world offers many new opportunities for doing just that. Specifically, the social media revolution has captured the attention of marketers and brand managers. But what are the differences between a branded website and a social networking site like Facebook?

Ipsos Marketing's Consumer Goods team put that idea to the test. And what we found is that global consumers are more likely to visit a CPG brand's website than become a Facebook fan or Twitter follower of a CPG brand, regardless of the CPG category. Still, CPG websites lag behind Facebook sites in providing a forum for consumer feedback. While consumers consider websites to be the place to go for information about a brand and promotional offers, they find Facebook to be the ideal platform for voicing their opinions and connecting with other customers. These are findings from a global study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods.

While many CPG companies have set up Facebook and Twitter pages for their brands, the study finds consumers are more likely to visit the brand's website. The propensity to visit a website vs. a Facebook or Twitter page is higher regardless of whether the category is food or beverages, household products, personal products, beauty, or over-the-counter medication. When asked how likely they would be to visit these online sites for each category, consumer interest ranged from 23% to 26% for a website; 10% to 15% for Facebook; and 9% to 12% for Twitter.

The study went on to reveal that consumers' reasons for visiting a CPG brand's website are different from their reasons for engaging with a CPG brand on Facebook or Twitter. The main reasons for visiting a website center around obtaining information, such as brand information, coupons, recipes, cleaning tips and health and beauty advice. On the other hand, the main reasons for visiting a brand profile on Facebook and Twitter relate to sharing opinions and experiences and connecting with other customers. Compared to websites and Twitter, Facebook stands out as a virtual platform for the voice of the consumer - with the highest percentage of consumers citing opinion-sharing as the main reason for visiting Facebook.

The data indicates that brand profiles on Facebook are good complements to CPG websites. Consumers visit websites for information and promotional offers; however, when they really want to express their opinions about a CPG brand they turn to Facebook.

Marketers are appropriately exploring the use of Facebook as a new way to "listen" to their consumers. Websites are ideal for sharing information about the brand offer with its consumer franchise. However, Facebook can be leveraged to really listen to what consumers are saying about the brand experience, by providing them with what they may perceive to be a less threatening forum for self-expression. For Twitter, it is less clear.

Marketers can enrich the value of social networking sites by elevating the consumer experience and ensuring it is consistently engaging, useful in terms of content, and a two-way conversation. Websites and social networking forums like Facebook each have a role to play in establishing and building a bond with the consumer.

These are the findings from a study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods via the Ipsos Global@dvisor International Omnibus, an online survey of citizens around the world. Interviews were carried out between November 4th, 2009 and January 13th, 2010. For this survey an international sample of 21,623 adults aged 18+ were interviewed in a total of 23 countries. The countries included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the United States and Turkey.