Social media offers marketers a vast pool of data about consumers, their beliefs, perceptions and desires. The egg industry needs to improve its ability to listen to online discussions and use what it learns to it's benefit in promoting egg consumption.
While mostly ignored by traditional media, the favorite topic for consumers on social media is the nutritional value of eggs for children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The finding was revealed during a webinar organized by the Egg Nutrition Center (ENC), a division of the American Egg Board (AEB).
Attendees learned that eggs’ protein content is the starting point of numerous social media discussions, followed by vitamin D. However, social media users tend to focus more on eggs’ benefits rather than on specific nutrients, which is often discussed at length by the traditional media.
This analysis of social media discussions also reveal that the cholesterol content in eggs continues to create confusion in the minds of consumers.
What consumers need
Using some of the key leads obtained from social media, the ENC recently sent a survey to US consumers to learn how to best target messaging.
The survey found that consumers are overwhelmingly interested in all topics related to health and healthy lifestyles across all age groups. Using the dial testing, which captures immediate reactions, the ENC was able to capture consumers’ real-time impressions as messages were read to them.
As expected, there were some differences between generations, but they all reacted in the same way in terms of the key role that nutrition experts have in dispelling myths and providing nutritional information about eggs.
Given that there is still a gap between what consumers think they know and what they actually know, the industry’s focus must be on delivering the right messages through the proper channels. Establishing the right tone and garnering the support of trusted and authoritative bodies from academia or professional associations would complement egg nutrition messaging.
For consumers, proteins, brain health, heart health babies, toddlers and weight management are the main areas of interest while the nutrients that provide these benefits have only a supporting role.
Our messaging must stay focused to achieve maximum impact and bring more consumers to the egg counter.
