If you’ve ever scrolled through a brand’s social media page, you know that it’s usually a mix of different content types. There’s the promotional stuff where they try to entice you with their products or services. Then there’s the relatable content, meant to connect with you on a personal level. You’ll also find informative posts, where they tell you all about their brand and what they offer. And, of course, there’s the entertaining content, designed to keep you amused.
Zomato’s Relatable Content: A Slice of Everyday Life
Now, take a peek at Zomato’s Instagram page. As of September 17, 2023, they’ve got a whopping 2,707 posts! What’s striking is the abundance of relatable content. Almost every Zomato post seems like a snippet from your own life.
For instance, let’s talk about their recent Teacher’s Day post. It’s a simple post with their signature red background and white font that reads, “Dear teachers, now we forget to have lunch but we never forget to work.” If you’re an adult trying to achieve that mythical work-life balance, you probably related to this post. No wonder it got so many retweets on Twitter!
Today, we’re diving deep into the social media strategy of everyone’s favorite brand, Zomato. And this isn’t just about their services; it’s about their social media game, which they’ve mastered beautifully.
A Brief Introduction to Zomato
First, a quick introduction. Zomato was founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. They were the pioneers who brought food delivery right to our doorstep, making life a whole lot easier.
Zomato is active on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and people absolutely love it.
Content Evolution: From Tempting Food Pics to Memes
Back in the early days of their social media journey, Zomato started its Instagram page in 2015. For the first three years, it was mostly about posting tempting food pictures with some puns, memes, or thoughts sprinkled in. They were laying the foundation for their customer base because, back then, social media marketing wasn’t as popular.
Food pictures were their mainstay, but they also used to sneak in some promotions. But their focus was mainly on building a loyal audience. Then, around 2019, they shifted gears towards promoting themselves and their partner restaurants.
They introduced the “Brand Stories” series, which featured videos about their partner restaurants. They also started playing with memes, puns, and wordplay, giving their content a unique flavor. In 2018-2019, Zomato was rapidly expanding across India, and with each expansion, they would create posts that were incredibly relatable to the people of that city.
For instance, when they launched in Mysore, they posted, “Mysore food is here,” cleverly fading out “sore” to highlight “my food is here.” They had a knack for playing with words.
In 2020, when the world was hit by the pandemic, Zomato managed to stay relevant by being a part of every trend. After that, they mostly posted meme or pun content with some contests to keep their user base engaged.
The Zomato Strategy: Quirky, Relatable, and Real
What sets Zomato apart is its quirky, relatable, and on-point content. They understand what’s going on in people’s lives and turn it into memes based on real-life situations. You’ll notice that in the past few years, Zomato’s social media content hardly ever feels directly promotional. They prefer promoting their content through memes or creative and artistic posts.
Zomato’s renowned movement marketing approach shines as they ingeniously craft relatable memes and engage in trending topics, from cricket victories to space missions, celebrating it uniquely in their signature quirky style.
One standout feature of Zomato’s social media strategy is their willingness to try new things. If something works, great! They run with it. If it doesn’t, they’re not afraid to pivot and try something different. For example, they experimented with “Food Facts by Zomato,” but it didn’t catch on. So they switched to food puns related to facts, and that was a hit.
Here’s a small but smart detail: in every post, they include a location. It might say “Ahmedabad,” “Ranchi,” or another city. This simple tweak helps users in those cities feel a stronger connection with Zomato.
Viral Moments and Trendsetting Posts
Zomato has become famous for its straightforward yet powerful content. You might recall their famous Independence Day post that read, “Sorry, we aren’t accepting orders anymore,” followed by “India – 15th August 1947.” Or their Women’s Day post that initially seemed controversial but had a clever twist, “Yes, women should be in the kitchen,” followed by “grabbing the belan to beat up everyone who says so.”
Remember the “kheer mangoge, kheer denge” billboard by Zomato and the “doodh mangoge, doodh denge” one by Blinkit? Almost every brand jumped on that bandwagon, recreating the billboard with their own unique USPs. It became a trend, with brands retweeting, each playing with their own identity.
In Conclusion: Beyond Food – Zomato’s Recipe for Social Media Success
In conclusion, Zomato understands that they don’t need to promote their product in the usual way. They’ve got their unique style, and they’re sticking to it. If you analyze their content ratio over the last few years, you’ll find that the majority is relatable content, followed by entertaining content, some promotional content, and a tiny bit of informational content, all delivered in a pun-filled Zomato way.
So, the next time you scroll through Zomato’s posts, remember, it’s not just about the food; it’s about sharing a relatable slice of life with a side of humour.
