The food industry has witnessed an incredible shift towards digital and creator & influencer marketing. For a highly competitive industry, there’s no surprise that collaborating with creators is a go-to solution for brands needing to stand out on social media and drive performance.
From utilizing advanced tech to the growing demand for health-conscious food choices, here are 7 data-backed trends food brands can leverage in their creator marketing strategy.
1. INTERACTIVE CONTENT DRIVES 2X HIGHER ENGAGEMENT THAN STATIC
Virtual cooking experiences are taking centre stage.
Creators hosting live cooking events not only showcase your products in action they build genuine, real-time connections with audiences. Collaborate with creators who can host live streams with your products front and centre and tap into features like Instagram’s Product Tagging or TikTok Shop to streamline how you track ROI.
2. 200% INCREASE IN 'PLANT-BASED DIET' GOOGLE SEARCHES
Google Trends data over the last year confirms the unstoppable rise of plant-based foods.
Partnering with creators who can craft content celebrating your plant-based products and recipes helps you tap into this surge and connect with this health-conscious community.
3. SMART KITCHENS - A $60.B (USD) MARKET BY 2030
Brands can tap into this rapidly growing market by exploring the intersection between food and tech. Tech-savvy creators who can integrate your products into their smart kitchens are not just celebrating your brand, they’re doing so in a way that appeals to this growing, convenience-seeking audience.
4. 60% OF CONSUMERS PAY MORE FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
Sustainability isn’t a trend. Bottom line - consumers care about sustainability and want to make environmentally conscious buying decisions. For a lot of brands, it’s at the core of what they do and a key part of their messaging and marketing, but it’s not enough to simply place “environmentally friendly” or “sustainable” labels on your packaging.
This is why savvy marketers are turning to creators to:
• Amplify their message or commitment to sustainability
• Celebrate how their products deliver on their claims
• Build trust with new audiences via the trusted voices of creators
5. THE $209 BILLION SUPERFOODS MARKET
Given it’s estimated the global superfoods market will reach $209.1 billion by 2026, it’s fair to say the wellness trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Building a community of creators in the superfoods and wellness niche is a powerful way to amplify your brand with a variety of unique voices, speaking to this diverse consumer base.
6. A 40% INCREASE IN 'REGIONAL CUISINE' SEARCHES
According to Google Trends, the exploration of cultural cuisines is becoming more and more popular.
Why? Food is something we all have in common, but, it’s the connection it has to our culture that makes it special and so enjoyable to share with others.
Diversity can’t be manufactured, making having a community of creators from all backgrounds and lifestyles a powerful way to reach and connect with culturally diverse audiences seeking out recipe inspo.
7. 75% OF CONSUMERS PREFER SHORT-FORM CONTENT
It’s no secret that short-form video is a staple in any innovative marketing strategy. TikTok users spend an average of 95 minutes a day consuming it increasing the need marketers have to produce it. Partner with influencers to craft quick, fun content featuring your products to maximise brand awareness, reach and shareability in the format your customers prefer.
Bonus tip: how to leverage Social Media SEO
SEO doesn’t just apply to your website content!
You just have to look at the behavioural shift in GenZ looking to TikTok over Google for online searches to realise the importance of Social SEO. Social Media Platforms are now seen as primary search tools that are faster, more personalised and share results in the preferred format - short-form video.
For marketers, it’s never been more important to strategically apply, at a minimum, basic SEO practices in their own social strategies and when collaborating with creators. Keep reading to start understanding how SEO works on TikTok and Instagram and increase the visibility of your brand.
TikTok uses captions, hashtags, and video content to index and rank posts, making them discoverable in searches.
Instagram uses a combination of photo tags, captions, alt descriptions, usernames and hashtags to facilitate search.
In other words, consistently incorporate relevant keywords and hashtags into your content to reach more people searching those keywords.
For example, a food brand specializing in plant-based products has discovered their most powerful keywords are “plant-based”, “vegan snacks” and “healthy recipes”.
They could increase their chances of being picked up by the search algorithm by collaborating with creators to shoot engaging recipe-based videos that:
• Incorporate the keywords in the caption
• Feature #PlantBased, #VeganSnacks and #HealthyRecipes hashtags in the caption
• Encourage creators to mention keywords in their videos and use TikTok and Instagram's native caption generation tools
• Feature the keywords in image alt text on Instagram
So, what next?
If you’re buzzing with ideas for your next influencer marketing campaign, now’s the time to discover the creators who can bring them to life. TRIBE connects you with our global, opt-in creator community to craft thumb-stopping content and our industry-leading tech and expert team transform how you run high-performance campaigns, measure your ROI and drive real performance.
Whether you’re looking for tech to help you move faster with higher-quality creators or searching for an expert team to partner with and supercharge your performance get in touch with our team.
