What to Show on Packaging to Get Social Media Engagement and Deepened Brand Recall

I get this question a lot: How do I show Instagram on packaging so that my customers will want to engage with us online?

Here is a great example of how to do it, and not just for Instagram. I will show you step-by-step the full offline-to-online engagement experience designed by the people at Kitchables. Without this, I would have happily used my cappuccino glasses but would not have remembered the brand at all. Because once out of packaging, there is no branding on these glasses that would help me remember the name.

I ordered the cappuccino cups on Amazon based on reviews, with no knowledge of this brand. Inside the box came the following:

The coaster message you see here can be used on packaging as well. And that was the first thing I noticed. Probably because my mind is always on marketing, I picked up on this well-executed piece first.

But how about that "hand-written" note from the owner, and his business card? It really establishes a deeper connection between me and the brand. It truly made this stand out. You mean I can contact you directly? "Wow! factor" accomplished!

Let's talk about the scratch card: "Win up to $100." This may look like just any other scratch-to-win card, but it's not. It's also a tool designed to connect you deeper with the brand, this time via Facebook.

The link on the card goes to a page with a Facebook Messenger action on it. Clicking the button will open your Messenger and prompt you to click Get Started to redeem the award.

The autobot will ask a few questions and then delivers an Amazon coupon, complete with a link to Amazon. The link takes you to their Amazon store and the coupon is already applied.

So the top lessons here:

1. Messages to get people to engage with you online can be as simple as "Show us your best "#brand" moments on Instagram.
2. Personalization isn't just about using someone's "personal" details such as name. It's a feeling which can be created by a hand-written note and an open line of access to the company founder. And keep in mind, that this doesn't mean that the emails go straight to the founder, or that he will respond to them himself. This could be a separate inbox for customer messages. So I don't want to hear you making excuses. I've heard them all. Clearly, others are using this as a method to make their customers feel more connected to the brand. And it's quite powerful.
3. Use the coupon delivery process to strengthen connection with the brand. They could have just given me a coupon through the website and then left it to me to find them on Facebook and Amazon. But instead, their process sent me to Facebook, collected info on my purchase and my email address, and then sent me straight back to Amazon, so I would be tempted to buy right away.
4. While I'm doing all this, I memorized their name and url. I noticed the Giving Back link on their website and read about how they donate 10% of net profits towards providing orphaned children in the Philippines with an education and a focus on home economics. I also noticed and checked out their Facebook page. And was tempted to post a photo with how beautiful my first espresso looked in these glasses. But I chose to write this post instead.
5. The contest page returned nothing, but I was so impressed that I didn't care...

All in all, color me very impressed. Well done Kitchables team and Nick. I don't know you, but you clearly put in some smart effort to make me like you, and you succeeded.