On-shelf display has always been vital in grocery; the way products appear makes the difference between consumers choosing an item or leaving it behind.
With ecommerce growing each year and shoppers shifting online in greater numbers across generations (digital grocery revenues have doubled since 2016), ‘display’ is taking on a new meaning, writes Berry Fond, Global Business Development Director, Greenpark.
The initial response to digital growth saw grocery brands focus budgets on driving consumer clicks with pop-ups and banner ads; spend in this area doubled between 2019 and 2022. But how effective are these types of display advertising? Real-time bidding for display advertising is not only costly, but 70% of consumers claim to be irritated by it; only 25% of consumers report buying something through a banner ad.
This is why grocery brands are turning to more savvy ways to not only get products in front of consumers for consideration but build consumer relationships online through search and content.
Brands across sectors understand this. According to advertising bodies AA and WARC, search marketing had its strongest performance for two years in Q3 2023, with year-on-year spend rising by almost 24%. Meanwhile, the Content Marketing Association estimates the UK content industry to be worth £5bn, a figure set to increase in years to come.
The sheer size of spend on search and content suggests each discipline is a powerful tool for digital marketing. What brands often overlook is the exponential effect on consumer engagement when both are used in tandem, rather than a spray and pray approach by flogging paid ads.
However, getting search and content to work in synergy is harder than it might seem. Let’s take a closer look at the main challenges brands face when they try to devise a unified strategy.
Take a fresh approach to engaging your consumers
As a marketing or business leader you might be bored by talk of siloed departments and disparate strategies. But it makes a huge difference, and it’s one of the main causes of poor digital marketing performance. Search marketing teams and ‘content factories’ are often deemed by brands to be detached disciplines; too different to fuse together. But if one team isn’t fully informing the other your digital strategy will fall through the gap.
For instance, analysing consumers’ search data can deliver a wealth of insights: who is searching in your category and for your type of products, and how your content stacks up against your rivals. When this intelligence is fed directly into the content production process, magic happens.
Armed with behavioural insights and consumer data, your team can produce content that will hit home with loyal customers as well as prospective purchasers who are able to now find you through digital channels. The trick is to provide content they’re looking for: such success won’t happen if marketing silos get in the way.
Good content starts with deep audience understanding. It’s imperative to put yourself in the shopper’s shoes when considering a combined content and search strategy. Grocery brands have a good record at displaying their brand, but the message will land better if you’re able to understand what people want to see before devising and delivering campaigns.
A further benefit of streamlining your marketing strategy is the natural efficiencies it creates. With all disciplines under one roof planning can be covered off in unison, data and insight can be harnessed in one place, and marketing technology like AI can be utilised as a collaboration tool.
Brands mainly see media planning as ‘one job’ across channels, so why wouldn’t you take the same approach with your digital marketing strategy?
Make the business case for better content strategy
So, for many grocery brands, a shift in marketing operations – whether subtle or wholesale change is required – will deliver digital content and search campaigns that capture consumers, engage then convert them. That might be food for thought for your own marketing model. But before making changes, you need internal buy-in from other leaders in your organisation.
Here are four strategic reasons to roll out your search and content marketing strategy:
1. 56% of consumers search before they buy – Search audiences are valuable potential consumers because they show their needs. When they search, they’re interested in your category, so owning a search helps reach new consumers.
2. Organic search is more efficient than paid – With paid online ads subject to inflation, brands need to manage costs while maintaining performance. 80% of searches are unbranded – the opportunity to capture consumers who are still deciding on a brand is significant. Plus, content creation is not only a cost-effective approach to building brand visibility but has longevity beyond the lifespan of an ad campaign. Studies have shown the cost of driving traffic to brands’ sites using organic search is up to 75% cheaper than employing paid ad strategies.
3. Connect with a broader, younger audience – Search isn’t just about Google; Gen Z are increasingly using social media to search. Social platforms are changing how consumers interact with brands and their creative output, especially among younger audiences. Taking a less traditional marketing approach and delivering the content they want is key to staying relevant.
4. Build communities for long-term success – Staying relevant with good, zeitgeisty content gains traction in the digital world, such as Aldi’s community management team with their finger-on-the-pulse approach. But community is more than trending memes: research has shown that over half of consumers will pay more for products from a brand they like and trust. Content plays a major role in that – plus collecting first party data is always a win.
All in all, grocery brands can harness the power of a combined search and content marketing strategy by not treating both like apples and pears. Embed your teams, let them drive each other; and you can monitor spend, measure performance, drive incisive insight from data – and ensure consumers always spot your product display first in the digital shop window
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