What "BaconSalt" Taught Me About Building Brand Fanaticism in Social Media - Jory Des Jardins - MediaBizBlogger

Coincidentally sitting next to me on the plane en route was Dave Lefkow a former tech entrepreneur who had left the industry to start a food company that specialized in baconflavored productsHaving put in several years at the social networking site Jobster Dave told me he marketed his products almost entirely through social media His Twitter feed had nearly 2000 followers his Facebook page nearly 6700 followers and he has 1500 MySpace friends Looking at that page later that week I read dozens of testimonials for his companyamp8217s signature product BaconSalt Youamp8217d think heamp8217d developed the secret formula for ketchup fans seemed to think they couldnamp8217t survive without BaconSalt on their fries in their salads on their grilled meat or paired with chocolate On a scale of fanaticism I would characterize his customers as rabidDave told me that to promote a spinoff product Baconnaise he staged a fight between two people dressed as a strip of bacon and a jar of mayonnaise at a venue in Seattle where he is based hundreds turned up to see which arteryclogging indulgence would win He videotaped the fight and posted it on his MySpace page along with his appearances on Good Morning America and Money Matters where his product was positioned as a lowcost alternative to fattening expensive bacon He reached out regularly to a cadre of amp8220bacon bloggersamp8221 who loved the product and gave it a baconloversamp8217 blessing He mentioned a recent April Foolamp8217s Day trick he played by pretending to launch a nonexistent baconflavored erotic oil on his blog and receiving over 600 preorders in 24 hours He still seemed shocked by the turnoutamp8220I just didnamp8217t think we could put something out there like that and get such a reactionamp8221 he said amp8220I might just have to make that productamp8221 On a lark heamp8217d made baconflavored lip moisturizer and though his wife hated when he wore it around her it was selling like gangbustersAs we got off the plane he handed me a canister of BaconSalt which he always had onhand I asked him if he was heading to the culinary conference where I was goingamp8220Nawamp8221 he said amp8220I just couldnamp8217t get a direct flight out East Iamp8217m taping more segments on QVCamp8221Wow I thought I speak to corporate brands about establishing the kind of following he has with his customers it seemed his entrepreneurial approach to his business gave him the agility he needed to really leverage social mediaDave also made for an interesting comparison to the foodie audience I was to meet some of whom might not recommend seasoning food with meatflavored salt but many of whom have toiled for years in relative obscurity or who are struggling to push their businesses to the next level online and just donamp8217t know howFor them the timing couldnamp8217t be more perfect Though Mommybloggers are often perceived as the demo that attracts the most marketing attention food bloggers are a highly respected lot not only by food and appliance companies but by luxury product marketers credit card companies green brands and electronics and tech manufacturers who are willing to pay the higher end of premium rates to market on sites whose readers spend on quality Other media have learned to borrow from the food blogosphere I was tickled to see foodblogger Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim judging episodes of Food Networkamp8217s Iron Chef America Speaking with a PR director from a top cookbook publisher blogging acumen is now a standard criteria in deciding what writers to take on in print Anyone who can think like Dave Lefkow could do well in this spaceThe niches within this community are nearly countless from grillers to vegans restaurant reviewers to crock potters And while many do publish their recipes many integrate cooking with stories of their lives use their food blogs as activist platforms or provide comedic relief for the community Breakout blogebrity Gary Vaynerchuk elevated his Wine Library retail enterprise by filming a vlog that combined wine tasting with the informed banter and camaraderie of a show on ESPNFood CPG companies often have a tougher time reaching foodbloggers than theyamp8217d expect because unlike Dave Levkow they donamp8217t always research the individual proclivities of this group For instance Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes one of the largest food bloggers in terms of site traffic and unique visitors and one of our network bloggers will not advertise processed or prepackaged foods on her blog Sheamp8217s more open to nonfood items than she is to having TV dinners promoted on her site In order to maintain credibility foodbloggers must walk their talk That means if they are vegetarian whole grain cooks like my copanelist in Denver Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks they would never run meat ads If she is a scratch cook she wonamp8217t endorse or likely accept advertising for your prepared baked goodsBrands like Lefkowamp8217s do so well in this space because they are so intuned with their particular nicheI had prepared my remarks for the conference but I felt a sudden need to veer offroad amp8220So I need to tell you about this guy I met on the plane out here amp8230 Have any of you heard of BaconSalt amp8221I never received more questions and postevent followup notes It would seem that Daveamp8217s marketing strategy was as appetizing to this crowd as his product is to baconloversAs cofounder and President of Strategic Alliances for BlogHer Jory Des Jardins is an innovator in online advertising women39s media and Internet entrepreneurship Jory can be contacted at jorybloghercomRead all Joryamp8217s MediaBizBlogger commentaries at Jory Des Jardin MediaBizBlogger

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What "BaconSalt" Taught Me About Building Brand Fanaticism in Social Media - Jory Des Jardins - MediaBizBlogger

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