With the increase in the trend of social networking, several firms are taking up on these websites to reach the consumers. This has not left even the Junk food brands as they are engaging with the young users on Facebook to endorse unhealthy food habits that will result in lifestyle and obesity diseases, claims a new study.
Those researchers at theUniversityofSydneyhave revealed the strategies followed by energy dense, nutrient poor (EDNP) brands in digital marketing to lure the youngsters and teenagers using Facebook.
Regarding this, Dr Becky Freeman, Lead Author,UniversityofSydney’sSchoolofPublic Healthclaims that their findings have revealed that unhealthy food and beverage marketing is productive and integrated seamlessly with the social networks. For instance, the aforementioned age groups of Facebook users are engaging with brands such as Dominos, Skittles and Slurpee on an almost daily basis.
He added that the exponential growth of social media websites among the younger generation has made the brands focus on such marketing techniques. Also, the brands pages of soft drinks and energy drinks are popular on Facebook indicating the high consumption rate of such products.
The study involved some of the top ranked Facebook pages of food brands, and manufacturers, retailers and restaurants. They analyzed around 27 such Facebook pages based on their marketing techniques, marketing reach, follower engagement and messages posted.
The benefit of marketing on social media for the brands is that any activity that users engage in with the brand pages will appear in the news feeds of their friends, thereby reaching to more users. This type of consumer involvement and engagement has made social media communication unique, added the research.
Moreover, the researcher added that they have not taken any low budget fan page, but those Facebook pages that are professionally moderated and administered by either an advertising agency or a company brand owner. The study basically shows how the online advertising is aimed at the adolescents and youngsters.
It concludes that there should be some step taken to increase the monitoring of how EDNP food and beverages are being marketed on the social media websites.
