Brand Socialization Opportunities in the Digital Marketing Era

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Edited by:Wilbur Zhu(WeChat ID: aotokuer), Anna HU,Hestia Zhang

In the age of social media, is there still any digital dividend for brands?

How should brands face the challenges and opportunities?

On Apr. 21, Mr. Sure Liu, the General Manager of Social Touch KA Division, made an eloquent speech entitled “Brand Socialization Opportunities Brought by Digital”at FBIF2017.

Food Industry Has EnteredtheNew Normal

The growth rate in food industry has been going down for three consecutive years, with only one new product out of ten surviving. Decrease in new products’ life expectancy means that the food industry has entered the “new normal”. Meanwhile, the industry is facingwithdual embarrassment of oversupply and supply shortage. On the one hand, products in the market are ofhomogenization and overcapacity, new products appear one after another. On the other is the increasing and changing consumption demand of consumers. Confronted withthe supply-and-demand paradox, listening to consumers, fulfilling and guiding their needs has become the core component of marketing.

What is the Socialized Role ofBrands?

The socialized role of a brand is, for one thing, the acquisition and operation of data, the definition of its users. Besides, brand needs to speak to and communicate with consumers on the same platform.

The unilateral communication of a brand is called advertising, while that of a consumer is a complaint. To talk to each other on the same platform is the only key to socialization. Communication is the crucial part of socialization. Nowadays, brands are always caught in a pitfall, thinking that advertising on social media is enough. What does socialization really mean? For a brand, it means discourse power and the ability to communicate with consumers.

Breakingthe Limitations; Transferring from “Unilateral”Dissemination into “Bilateral”Communication

– Consumers are getting access to information more actively; enterprises should attach more importance to feedback.

The 2015 Society of Digital Agencies Report suggested that 27% of marketers are now relying on in-house brand marketing teams.

To some degree, not only the first party, but also consumers are rejecting commercial information. In the old days, people used to pay for information by buying magazines and watching charged television. With the boom of information, they started to spend money selecting and subscribing to some platforms. Now, however, they’repaying for ad-blockers, keeping information away.

This is because the Internet, in some sense, has broken all the barriers on the access to information that consumers used to have. Information explosion leads to the scarcity of attention. Mr. Liu believes that the biggest change brought by the Internet is not the acquisition of, but the feedback to information. Consumers are no longer just receivers, their feedbackis of the same importance. They are willing to raise their own opinions and turn the communication between enterprises and themselves into a “bilateral” one.

BreakingBarrierstoSit onEqual Terms with Consumers

– To communicate with consumers on the same platformis the key to brand-socialization

Many brands have the same question, “Why are consumers reluctant to interact with our Weibo or WeChat account? Why are our page views so discouraging?” Mr. Liu said, “Today’s brands and consumers do not live in the same social eco-system. In other words, they are not of the same class, thus have class contradiction.” But why is that so?

Mr. Liu has given his point of view on “marketing” from the perspective of development historyas well. At the beginning, marketing had no access to any media. Then followed the so-called Golden Age of Advertising. In the days of traditional media, advertisement was put on TV, radio, magazines and newspapers. Consumers, brands and media did not belong to the same class. Brands and media sat up high, consumers had no choice but to listen.

Today, instead of getting to know a brand by watching advertisements, consumers more often go searching online or ask their friends on social media platforms. In a word, what they prefer to believe in is not the official voice of the brand. It is universally acknowledged that all the commercial information is filled with over-packaging.

The true social attribute is decided only by the communication between the brand and its consumers. How? Firstly, we should change our ideology, get to know consumers’ opinions and needs rather than just stimulatingthem. Secondly, we should adjust our attitude. Underthe backgroundof overwhelming Internet, brands can’t take everything for granted, but need to be aware that the rational consumers have their eyes wide open. The idea that only a high-grade advertisement to be accepted by the public is out of time.

Breakthrough in Products, Turn “Consumers” into “Users”

– Build channels connecting brands and consumers, improve user experience and service

As the saying goes, “a good product speaks for itself”. What exactly is a “good product”? Mr. Liu also offered his understanding. “Traditionally, a product meant something to be taken off the shelf. But now we more often refer to the series of service and experience attached to the product.”

The development of technology and the Internet has changed consumers’ decision-making froma physical product to a linear onein which consumers are more willing to get involved in the whole process, from choosing and purchasing a product, to subsequent service and second purchase.

Therefore, buying products is not only a “purchasing behavior”, but a “purchasing process”. Products are not facing consumers any more; they are facing “users” of the brand. What is the largest difference here? Mr. Liu gave us an example. “Consumers make only a one-shot deal. When he wants to drink milk, he buys one bottle, drinks it up and it’s over. If this milk tastes good, he may subscribe for a month and receive it every day. Then he does not only think about its packaging, price or nutrition, but also cares about whether it arrives on time and whether it can offer better service in future. In one year or one month’s time, this consumer becomes a user of this brand.”

If a brand can turn more consumers into users, it will be able to get through the whole process. There will be not only a buying-and-selling behavior, but an entire process of brand communication.

Nowadays, most brands are standing in between. Many consumers have their favorite brands, but are not yet to become loyal purchasers or subscribers, in that the platform where consumers acquire information and exchange ideas with enterprises is not perfect enough, and the experience and service they receive is short of fluency.

In the Internet Age, all the socialization opportunities lie in the breakthrough of the barriers from brands to consumers. By equally listening to their needs, making products with more stickiness and linearity, creating service and experience of better quality, we can turn all the consumers to our loyal users.

In this case, saying “Hello” to “Users” seems to be more in line with the trend!