Hershey: An Epic Story to Tell Beyond Irresistible Chocolate

The Hershey company Instagram page has over 407,000 followers and is following 45 people. There are 405 posts from the company on Instagram. The company’s first Instagram post was on July 7, 2015. That is roughly 288 weeks and on average the Hershey Company posts twice a week. There are certain weeks a new product is introduced or special philanthropic event drives an extra Instagram post. On the other hand, the tagged posts are too many to count and Instagram does not provide the information to the observer. It becomes very obvious the Hershey Company is using Instagram to drive their story and to connect to consumer stories through tagging.

At first glance it appears The Hershey Company (www.hearsheycompany.com) is favoring Facebook, but upon deeper investigation the marketers are using both Facebook and Instagram for different purposes. Facebook for awareness and Instagram for storytelling. Hershey is keenly using social media networks to connect with the prospective buyers and move the consumer down the sales funnel. Specifically, in Instagram by appealing to the consumer’s visual sweet tooth.

The pictures are beautiful high definition while very attractive and engaging. Pretty matters in the Instagram world and the Hershey company has provided beauty and appetizing visual appeal. It is also worth noting how many people have tagged Hershey in their personal posts. It is a conservative estimate for every “one” HersheyCompany post there are “fifteen” tagged @HersheyCompany posts by happy consumers or customers using a Hershey product in a dessert recipe. Hershey has a very impressive Instagram community.

Milton Hershey is attributed with creating Milk Chocolate. Mr. Hershey is also attributed with building within the DNA of his company a goodwill towards the community and beyond. The Instagram platform fosters a community story which fits well within the company DNA. For example: the first Hershey Company Instagram post from July 7, 2015 is a picture of a journal cover highlighting the last three letters of “Hershey” along with the Hershey kiss logo. The first post started with “HEY.”

Another series of posts from 2016 highlighted the employees, their backgrounds, and what the employee would offer as a tip for getting a new job. The caption included background information on the employee’s family and working personal information to increase the ethos of the workforce. One post discussed the employee’s first job helping check in patients at his mother’s doctor’s office in India.

A more recent post from September 11, 2019, posted a colorful and bright picture of a staff retreat. The furniture is decorated in the bright, vibrant candy wrapper colors. The audience is actively engaged in what is being presented. The faces that can be seen in the picture are smiling and happy. The caption reads; “Throughout the week employees are sharing stories about what it means to them to be a “Moment Maker,” and how they personally contribute to making more moments of goodness for customers and consumers.” This particular post has over 1,214 likes and four additional comments.

The Hershey company has a current campaign titled “Heart Warming Project” (heartwarmingproject.com). The campaign is part of their sustainability philanthropy department. The campaign offers $250 grants to students to increase connection for inclusion and empathy within the student communities. The Core vision is: “Meaningful connections and friendships are essential in today's complex world. We believe that the smallest heartwarming gesture can make a big difference. That's why we're partnering with leading organizations to promote social and emotional connections at home, school and in the community.”  Hershey used videos of students to report on successful use of the grants. The student was interviewed and asked brief questions concerning their respective projects. It is very powerful to watch the student talk about how and what the money was used for. It should be noted the videos do not promote Hershey or the products, but impresses on the audience a tremendous amount of heart-warming goodwill.

Hershey did not take down a video of a person who is a food critic reviewing the Hershey Candy Corn Bar. It is a funny video that does not look very favorable toward the confection, but is not harsh or overly critical. The reviewer has a niche in reviewing odd foods. “New_Food_Friday_ig” is the user id and in his blog post he reviewed a Hershey candy corn bar which he stated, “tastes more like sweet white chocolate and isn’t very good.” Their willingness to leave up the post speaks to the over-all story. Hershey realizes that not all candy is going to appeal to all people. The community and audience is within their micro-marketing plan which is implementing several smaller brands and their respective sales funnels. The strategy is not in vanity likes, but in building a community of consumers.

Hershey receives an A+ from me on their use of Instagram as a story building platform. There are posts of yoga, bike rides, making s’mores, moment maker employees, Hershey-world international visitors, and introducing a new CEO. Each post includes pictures and videos to accompany each. The story of The Hershey Company’s mission is inclusive, civil, and inviting. Instagram’s purpose is to be a platform to share photos and videos to which the Hershey team transformed the platform to match their mission and create a story telling community. I think Milton Hershey would be pleased. 

May our stories be filled with vivid memories and shared within our communities with good will. You know I love ya, Don

Ethos, Facebook, Goodwill - The Hershey Facebook Marketing

I want to spend a moment and talk about the good that can be promoted through Facebook while at the same time leveraging a positive ethos (the impression) of the brand, the company or the persona. Let’s talk about candy.

The Hershey Company was founded in 1900 by Milton and Catherine Hershey. Milton had a passion for making candy. There is a full biographical and historical written work available on www.thehearsheycompany.com website. When talking about brands, it is important to note that Hershey, and product companies like Hershey, have many brands. Hershey has branded each of their major candy bars … the Hershey Bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers, The Hershey Kiss, Kit Kat, Brookside Dark Chocolate, Rollo, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, Almond Joy, York, and Pay Day and more. Their top five-six candy bars carry their own Facebook page. Each brand posts on Facebook at a minimum of once a week.

I am going to focus primarily on the Company and the Philanthropic work of the Hershey company. The Hershey Company has huge philanthropic efforts. Milton Hershey said, “Give them quality. That’s the best kind of advertising in the world.” The Hershey company promotes their goodwill in their Facebook posts.

There is the Hershey School for High Risk Children. The responsible sourcing project which deals with deforestation, animal welfare, sustainable sugar and slavery and human trafficking. Yes, even human trafficking has its claws into chocolate. The Hershey company holds in high regard in paying cocoa formers the proper amount for the work even in the third world countries, which they call their Coca for Good project. The Hershey Company fights for Human Rights, a green planet through shared communities and shared planet initiatives. Needless to say, Milton Hershey built into the DNA of his company to give them quality in the candy and in the community.

The company Facebook posts incorporate videos and pictures which promote the philanthropic brand, but also reveal the work that is being accomplished. They do not shy away from the Supplier Code of Conduct of “The Hershey Company has a long history of operating with high ethical standards and integrity. We have done this by balancing our strong desire for profitable growth with our commitments to our various stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders, consumers and the communities in which we operate.” (www.thehersheycompany.com) This is highly visible on their website and linked throughout their Facebook posts. It is built into their buyer persona.

According to the Market Realist.com, The Hershey Company target persona is actuated through a micro-marketing concept to its businesses, which means that it markets precise products to small target audiences, modifying its products to meet these audiences' specific demands. Hershey aims to give its customers a larger range option by branding their products at higher prices. According to the Market Realist (Marketrealist.com): Hershey sells its products to more than 70 countries, the company does 80% of its marketing in the North America. The Hershey company also relies heavily on Holiday Marketing techniques.

Along with the micro-marketing techniques, the company activity promotes the good will work throughout the world. The Hershey company … not just the product brand … markets the company three to four times a week on Facebook with project updates, grant opportunities, and employee support programs. It is clear the Hershey Marketing team has a clear content calendar and sticks to the plan. These posts are typically short videos or a series of photographs which are posted with routine and schedule in mind.

The posts are in high definition and show people having a good time, while there is always a picture of the Hershey logo or one of the Hershey brands in the background. The Facebook messenger is also active and pops up on the page inviting the user to ask questions or connect.

Hershey does not engage the call to action … accept when it is to reach out for assistance or is a thank you for the buyer. Now on their individual product brands, you see more call to action in the pure delight of a mouth-watering chocolate confection. There was a call to check-out their new quiet room at Chocolate World for Children or individuals with sensory issues. Who doesn’t want to enjoy their chocolate in peace?

Each Facebook post has hyperlinks and tags to the webpage, blog and the product line. The company uses its good will efforts, which was started by Milton Hershey over century ago, to leverage the over-all company ethos. I may be eating a chocolate bar filled with sugar and things my doctor does not want me to eat, yet, I can feel good about supporting a company that does many great things for the community and the world. The company uses its Facebook for awareness but it is also a means to promote their good will, philanthropy and products.

The Hershey company is a good company and has a strong Facebook presence. It will be interesting to explore how the company promotes these same ideas on other platforms in future podcast.

Until then, have some chocolate and if it is Hershey chocolate, you can feel positive about all the good the company is doing … just remember too much of good thing many not apply to good will, but too much Chocolate can turn into a not so good thing.

You know I love ya, Don

Email Marketing has come along way!

Did you know that mailchimp reports: "The first email, sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971 or 1978 depending on your source, marked the beginning of the modern communication era. The message was nothing special, a series of numbers and letters that looked more like a password than a message, but its significance was profound." (click here to see the full MailChimp Report)

I have three active email accounts I check everyday. I have a personal account, my Howard Christian Church work account, and my Lock Haven University work account that I consider my active email accounts (I also have an email with Cabrini University, I just don't check it everyday). Of the three major email accounts, I received over 140 marketed emails just today. My spam guards filtered out over half of the emails. I deleted fifty five and I read seven.  What was special about the seven? I had a personal connection or trigger which caught my attention and motivated me to open and click through the information.

In 2018 there were more than 281 billion emails a day and it is estimated that there will be over 333 billion emails a day in 2022. There are days I feel like my in box receives everyone of the billions out there. As email marketers, how do we connect with our target audience and become one of the emails that is opened among the hundreds received everyday? How do we make our emails come alive to the recipient?

I believe it takes relationship. We need to listen to our audience. Then we think about what they need. Followed by a strategic plan to speaks to their needs.  Good emails will offer one of these four actions:

1. Ask the recipient something.
2. Offer an intriguing, caring, compassionate, or thought provoking response.
3. Make the recipient feel encouraged or flattered or important.
4. Reengage a cold contact with a stand-out touch.

Again, it comes down to relationship. Are we peddling a product or are we developing content which engages the recipient. To move our recipients down the email funnel of

send -> deliver -> open -> click -> convert

We must be willing in to engage in relationship. Email marketing isn't easy, but it is worth it. Just like any relationship isn't easy, but in the end, it is worth it.

Your know I love ya, Don