The 2024 US Election vs CPG Food & Beverage Social Media Marketing
Election content will soon flood socials in 2024. Food & beverage brands must adapt or see their sales plummet.
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (Twitter), YouTube, Snap… even LinkedIn.
Every platform is about to be bombarded with politics. And this will affect EVERY brand that relies on social media to generate brand awareness and drive sales. More than any other development this year.
“How the HECK will the 2024 US election affect sales of my consumer packaged goods?”
This is a worthy question, dear food & beverage brand owner.
The answer: Trump vs Harris 2.0 will disrupt all social media marketing in 2024.
Here's how food & beverage brands must survive. (And if you're not using social as your primary marketing channel, this is your chance to cash in).
Why should CPG Food & Beverage brands fear the 2024 US Election?
Okay, maybe the right word isn't 'fear.' But social media has become the most profitable marketing channel in the food & beverage industry.
And social media is about to become flooded with election content.
It doesn't matter if you're using Facebook Ads, Instagram Reels, TikTok or anything else. News and opinions on the election will affect the funnels you've worked so hard to perfect.
The good news: food & beverage brands that prepare will survive (and even thrive) through this strange period in social media history.
What's working now probably won't work in the months leading up to November 2024.
Accept this. Don't fight it. The fate of all CPG food & beverage brands depends on it.
How the 2024 US Election will affect food & beverage social media marketing:
An election' content overload' will make it tougher for non-political content to stand out.
Paid ads on all platforms will take longer to be approved due to longer queues.
Paid ads could also become more expensive as demand skyrockets and ad space becomes competitive.
Microtargeting will become more important, so it's best to focus on your warm audiences.
Be careful about taking political angles when getting creative with content - it could get blocked by moderators.
Consider the political allegiances of the influencers you're using. If influencers are very open about this, followers who don't agree may avoid buying products they recommend. That might include your food & beverage product.
User engagement will change. Some followers will spend less time on social to avoid election news while others will spend more time on various platforms. Also, followers who used to engage with your content regularly might stop as their interests become more squarely focused on election coverage.
Brands might want to consider aligning with either party; you should only do this if you know your audience well enough. You don't want to be Budweiser because you don't understand your own customer base.
Don't fear the chaos
Sure, it's going to be a wild ride and your sales and brand awareness might dip a bit. But you now have the most important resource to weather this political storm: a warning.
Food & beverage brands must devise a plan to make sure engagement stays high during this unpredictable time. A strategy is mandatory.
And that's something we at Firebelly are proud of. We've built countless uber-successful social media campaigns for CPG food & beverage brands.
Our business is making sure our clients aren't hurt by the 2024 US election. In fact, we have a plan to use this strange time to accelerate brand awareness and sales.
Are you the owner, founder, or manager of a CPG food & beverage brand? Let's talk and take your social media marketing to the next level.
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You know a brand is doing social media right when people outside the target market engage with the content. Engagement on social media can give insight into how well the brand is doing with creating community and excitement around their product.