Is your packaging share-worthy?

View. Comment. Share. Repeat. Social media presents countless opportunities for brand managers and marketers to boost brand awareness, create and maintain a positive reputation, and encourage new and repeat business. And since packaging is the face of your brand, it’s important to invest in its success.

What consumers want

The first step in creating share-worthy packaging is to understand consumer expectation. In short, they want speed, sustainability and presentation. These high expectations create a challenge for packaging designers, engineers and procurement professionals—the box can’t be too big, too small or over budget. If too big, the consumer is left with an abundance of void fill and trash which can be frustrating and wasteful. If too small, safety becomes a concern.

Delayed gratification

By delaying consumer gratification, you create suspense and make the unboxing experience short yet memorable. The more a consumer anticipates it, the more reason to share it. One way to do this is to present your product in a hero position, but not reveal it completely. If you open up the box lid and 100% of your product is shown immediately, the mystery is gone. At this point, the consumer has likely forgotten about the packaging and won’t share it with others. The most beautiful thing in the box should always be the product—everything else is a backdrop.

Get creative with materials

Invest more in packaging materials to create a unique tactile impression. And, introduce new and varying materials to make a bolder statement. For example, use a heavier gauge box to make your packaging feel more substantial, or employ custom or contrasting textures such as an embossed logo atop a smooth box lid.

Tell a story

Whether it’s full of wit and personality, or instructional with how-to tips—your copy can be a differentiator for your brand. But you can’t place pertinent information in a spot that will be blocked, so it’s important to map out the entire user experience beforehand.

Ask yourself:

• Where do consumers place their hands?
• How is the box picked up? Is it rotated?
• Where do consumers look first?

The danger of “set it and forget it”

Keep your packaging fresh for repeat customers. If the same consumer buys your product repeatedly, and has the same packaging experience every time, your packaging may lose its luster and get tossed aside. No need for a design overhaul—a simple and inexpensive ink swap will do.