Social Media: Giving Consumers More Reasons to Buy Potatoes

Potato Goodness has been using themed content on social media, including recipes, behind-the-scenes footage from the Spud Lab, and nutrition information, to give consumers more reasons to serve potatoes to their friends and family and feel good about doing so. From July to September, Potato Goodness social content saw a 4,000% increase in interactions – likes, comments, shares, etc. – over the same period last year!

Recap: Fry Bags and Potato Harvest

These trends drove engagement with Potato Goodness from July to September:

• Fry bags were a summer hit! Building on a take-out trend in Ireland, Fry Bags are an easy, fun way
•  for everyone to enjoy their favorite fries and flavors. Simply cook fries at home or grab some to go, toss them in a paper bag with your favorite spice blend, and shake.
• Potato harvest gave social media users a chance to see farmers in action. Potato growers shared their favorite ways to eat potatoes and answered questions like, “How long does it take to grow potatoes?”; “How are potatoes harvested?”; “Where are potatoes grown in the U.S.?”; and “What is your favorite thing about farming?”
  If you’re a grower and captured video content from harvest this year, email ka***@*********sa.com; it just might be featured on Potato Goodness someday!

July-September Results:

• A 4,000% increase in interactions across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest compared to the same time period last year. (Interactions are how social media users engage with posts through likes, shares, comments, etc.)
• 12.5 million views on Potato Goodness videos across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest.
• Live posts from our college campus visit garnered three times as much engagement as the industry benchmark for strong engagement.

Top-Performing Posts

Below are the top-performing Potato Goodness posts for July-September:

• Instagram
  • Spud Chef Reaction – Chicken Caesar Salad Baked Potato
  • Influencer Content – Lemon Smashed Potatoes
  • Dietitian Highlight – Are Potatoes a Vegetable?
• TikTok
  • Fry Bags – Dill Pickle
  • Fry Bags – Churro
  • Fry Bags – Nashville Hot

Upcoming Social Content
Make sure to follow Potato Goodness on Instagram and TikTok to see the spud-centric posts coming up in the next few months:

• October: Potatoes may not traditionally be considered a Halloween party snack – but they are now! We’re promoting ways to make potatoes that feature a Spooky Spud theme, like Vampire Slayer Garlic Mash, Franken-Fries, or Mashed Potato Brain Half Shells.
• November: This November, we’re going all-in on new ways to use potatoes during our biggest month of the year. We’ll kick things off with content creators presenting their takes on Potatoscapes: tablescapes for Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving using all types of potatoes.
• December: We’re letting the world in on what we already know – potatoes are beautiful. In December, we’re highlighting ways to include potatoes in all your holiday gatherings, including piped mashed potato boards and cookies made with potatoes for holiday cookie swaps.