We know that consumer knowledge of a brand has a significant impact on customer acquisition and retention. Branding the inside of your box can impact market presence and awareness in many ways. First, consider the power of word of mouth. 83% of consumers value peer recommendations and reviews over professional content, and 70% of consumers report they would share a great branded box on social media. To encourage social media evangelists to champion your brand, you have to provide them with something that is share worthy. Your standard shipping box will never pass this test and branding your shipping box will give you social power.
The latest social media trends are begging your brand to take on a branded box initiative. Instagram is now the fastest growing social media platform online. Instagram is an image sharing platform that allows users to tell a story or an update with mostly pictures. Instagram, unlike its ROI adverse cousin twitter, provides a huge amount of value to the brands that properly capitalize on it. Consumers that come to your site from Instagram spend more time on your site than visitors from any other social media source.
- Sponsoring a product review
- Hashtag campaigns
- Customer picture contests
- Exclusive discount codes
Instagram is not the only network you can use in hopes of spreading the joy of your new box. Other social media sites like Pinterest and Youtube should be integral to your strategy. Similar to Instagram, Pinterest in an image driven social media platform that allows users to share images and links with their followers by “pinning” content they like to a board (boards are generally a collection of links and images around one topic). There is already a desire for branded box images on Pinterest. You can join and easily find entire boards dedicated to branded boxes and sharing the experience.
Finally for Youtube. If you have any young Youtube users around the house, you have likely been subjected to the new “unboxing” or “blind bag” trend. These videos showcase a product or products that are opened and reviewed on video. The trend for unboxing kids toy videos has been widely reported but unboxing isn’t just for the kids. Unboxing videos now range across the entire retail sphere and are growing fast. Unboxing video views have increased over 50% each year since 2014 and there are currently over 53 million unboxing videos on Youtube.
Branding your box will go a long way in getting it picked up by these amateur video producers. There are semi professional reviewers that you can work with for an unboxing video. Generally this means sending them a product to review for free (fingers crossed they are impressed!) or sponsoring their channel in some way. Some brands take it a step further when building a relationship with unboxers by providing unique discounts and referral programs for viewers. The video pictured above is done in conjunction with a Loot Crate partner program. Video creators offer a unique discount code to their followers on the product review video which earns them referral revenue.
Is anyone watching?
The video featured above had over 10,000 views and had been live for less than 48 hours when this blog was written. 10,000 views, with almost zero out of pocket investment, in less than 2 days… Yes, people are watching.
Now ask yourself, would the empty box from the beginning of this post be getting picked up and featured by one of these Instagram or Youtube celebrities? All signs point to no. It’s a safe bet that box would only be featured in a “fail” video or blog.
Wondering where to start? Branding a box and executing on the design with each and every order takes an expert. IDS has years of experience working with brands on order fulfillment and custom kitting.
If you are ready to talk, click here to request a free consultation. Let’s have a chat about how we can apply our experience working with retailers and subscription companies to transform your shipping box into a revenue driver.
