In today’s world of digital marketing, establishing a strong online presence for your brand is vital for success. An often overlooked strategy for achieving this is through the magic of shareable bottle packaging. With over 700,000 Instagram posts tagged #unboxing; and an astonishing 800% surge in YouTube video searches featuring ‘unboxing’ in their titles, the influence of packaging on social media is undeniable. The bottle that your product is stored in serves as more than just a protective shell. It acts as a canvas for promoting your brand across social media platforms and beyond. In this article, we’ll explore how shareable packaging can turbocharge your brand’s online presence and turn your customers into your most enthusiastic brand ambassadors.
Shareable Packaging: Why It Matters
Shareable packaging revolves around crafting a bottle’s exterior in a way that is so captivating and appealing that customer’s can’t resist sharing it on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more. Unboxing videos have now become a pivotal part of consumer research before making a purchase. In fact, viewers are 64% to 85% more likely to purchase after watching a product video. How can you create a memorable unboxing experience for your brand? It doesn’t start with the formula inside the bottle, but rather the packaging itself.
Understanding the Unboxing Experience
An unboxing is precisely what it sounds like —an opportunity for customers to open and explore their recent purchases. While many unboxing videos feature items bought in a physical store, the vast majority center around online purchases. Product unboxing videos have become an integral part of the online shopping experience. Whether it’s an influencer or an enthusiastic shopper showcasing their latest acquisitions or the shared experience of those watching, unboxing extends the customer-brand relationship beyond a mere exchange of money and goods.
The Role of Packaging Design
Packaging design plays a crucial role both psychologically and in terms of audience reception. Large corporations understand the significance of striking product photography, but not every social media user possesses professional photo equipment. Many rely solely on their mobile phones for creating unboxing videos and taking pictures. Hence, using vibrant designs that not only represent your brand effectively, but look striking in photos and videos as a compelling selling point. When users scroll through their social media feeds and encounter a bottle they are interested in, a memorable and impactful design ensures it lingers in their memory and encourages engagement.
Integrate Social Media into Your Packaging Design Process
Social media now plays a pivotal role in packaging design and development. Packaging serves a dual purpose: to awe customers and protect the product within. For instance, consider perfumes and colognes. Commercials often focus on the sensation the scent evokes, emphasizing the shape, elegance of the bottle, logo placement, color, and style. Everything contributes to the brand’s desired impression. That’s why successful companies opt for custom branded bottle packaging, which has become even more vital with the advent of social media.
Shareable on the Shelf and Screen
Surprisingly, texture, though not a predominant aspect of packaging, holds significant importance. Texture is particularly relevant for products aiming to present themselves as natural, rugged, or connected to the earth. While the finer details of a bottle’s texture might not be discernible in videos or photos, they are still present and provide a tactile impression that distinguishes your product from everyday packaging materials.
It is imperative that your bottle packaging is shareable, whether it sits on a store shelf or appears on a digital screen. In today’s era of abundant choices, every detail of your packaging, big or small, must work tirelessly to set your product apart. Texture is just one facet that aids in distinguishing your product from competitors.
Creating a Memorable Unboxing Experience
Keep in mind that the essence of the unboxing experience isn’t merely the technical aspects of the packaging; it’s the social aspect of social media. People relish sharing positive experiences, especially on social media. When customers unbox a product, they take the time and effort to showcase these products, often without any brand sponsorship, yet their actions help propel the brand even further.
To gain inspiration, explore unboxing experiences on Instagram and YouTube, where videos tagged with #unboxing abound. Even if you have a clear vision of what you want your brand to convey, watching these videos might reveal that the emotions and perceptions you desire may not align with what customers notice and feel. There can be a disconnect between what you want customers to recognize and what they actually perceive. The right packaging can help bridge this gap and subtly guide users to create the desired response.
The Next Steps for Shareable Packaging
Creating packaging that is social media shareable involves a wide range of design considerations. It requires marketing know-how, branding experience, and the expertise of a packaging company that understands how valuable your brand is, and the type of personality you want your product packaging to convey. At The Packaging Company, our years of experience, combined with our proven customization process makes us the perfect choice to trust with your brand’s packaging process. From our dedicated artists to our packaging development specialists, we’ll work with you to help create a packaging “presence” that perfectly combines the attributes you want to have shine from the moment your package arrives to the moment the product is taken from its outer box. Ready to make your packaging social media shareable? Get in touch with us today at [email protected] to get started.