Social Media and the Impact on Packaging

 

Looking at your liquid filler or your spindle capping machine, the first thing that comes to your mind is probably not Facebook.  Yet there does exist a link between packaging machinery and social media, and it's more than a tenuous relationship.  In short, consumers are becoming one with the companies that supply their favorite products.  Feedback can come in the form of a facebook post, a video posted on YouTube or an email sent to a company official via LinkedIn.  Whether you have been using an automated packaging line for decades or are hand packaging your new product out of the back of your house, paying attention to social media can be the difference between the growth or death of your product.

 

One of the innovations in packaging that seems to be garnering strength is the QR (Quick Response) Code.  These codes, popular overseas, are still relatively new in the United States.  However, given their potential, it is likely that their popularity will continue to grow in the States.  A QR code can be added to your product label even before the labeling machine applies it to your bottle or container.  This code is generally scanned using a smart phone and may offer the consumer additional information, special discounts or even take them to the company website or facebook page.  

 

In addition to bringing the customer and consumer closer together for marketing purposes, be aware that bad products are now much easier to share with others.  Social media allows those who have an unfavorable experience with a product to share it with a large number of people in a short amount of time.  Facebook posts can reach thousands in seconds.  Video of damaged or contaminated products is not the kind of marketing that any company wants to see.  In addition, sites like LinkedIn allow consumers to quickly and easily get in touch with company officials, if the officials choose to hold out their hats.  

 

Another example of company and consumer becoming one can be found in product repackaging.  A number of companies now reach out to their consumers and ask for advice or suggestions for new packaging, rather than guessing or doing expensive research in an attempt to discover what would work best.  Sometimes the results are beneficial, sometimes mixed and sometimes just not successful at all.  See the Packaging World article discussing Eight O'Clock Coffee for more information.  The danger in allowing such interaction is that you are always likely to shun some consumers who disagree with the final repackaging decision.  Still, this is a marketing tactic that gets consumers involved with products on a much deeper level, allowing them to feel as if the product is their own.

 

In essence, social media has made finding and using the correct packaging machinery that much more important in a world that can instantly connect across thousands of miles.  Any packager of any product should put some effort into a marketing plan before the first container rolls off the automatic conveyor ready for shipping.  Once you know how you plan to market your product, the correct packaging equipment will help make that marketing a success.  Liquid Packaging Solutions builds, installs and services rinsing machines, filling equipment, capping equipment and many other packaging machines.  From standard packaging machinery to custom equipment for unique bottles and containers, LPS offers security and efficiency in the packaging process.  For more information on any of the equipment manufactured by Liquid Packaging Solutions, Inc., call us toll free at 1-888-393-3693.

 

For more information on social media...well, you should probably talk to your kids....