FMCG Brands need to use Social Media to engage housewives - Syed Hasan Aijaz

Who buys grocery for your home? Is your Mother on Facebook? When did she come online?

The majority answers here are what make me stand by the proposition that FMCG brands need to use more of social media to engage housewives.

Studies show that women are responsible for buying 80% of household goods making it amply clear that women have a great deal of influence in the economy as consumers, in other words, a lot of spending power. 

FMCG and F&B brands look at wooing them by exercises like focussed sampling, dedicated television shows of the soap and cookery genre, etc. These exercises conventionally helped them reach out to a very broad user base.

Here comes in the second part of the story. When spending power and increasing internet penetration rates touch double digits in India, it becomes more imperative to reach out to the newly acquired internet users, and at the same time, the new social media users.

Women are the decision makers for FMCG products consumed by families. As they strive to balance expenditure and family demands, they are always looking out for newer ways to shop. They search for a balance between affordability, nutrition, and availability, and personal preferences of their families.

Better packaged information on product pages on social media platforms, which shout out loud the benefits and points of differentiation delivered from places like Tweet feed or Pinterest board or Facebook wall are going to be the new places where the lookout happens.

A recent Unilever campaign, which again is a solely online campaign, called ‘Project Sunlight’ further strengthens my belief that Social media is going to be the battleground for brands looking out for their decision makers, the housewives.