Who of you still remembers Clubhouse? There is probably no better time than 2021 to launch an app that aims to connect people and also brings something new and exciting to the ever-changing everyday life of the lockdown.
It's no wonder that the social network caused huge hype and was on everyone's lips within a very short period of time. Today, only about two years later, however, the hype is over as quickly as it came and Clubhouse, together with numerous other trends of recent years, has disappeared back into the depths of the Internet. So it doesn't seem enough anymore to have a good idea and make a great product to stay relevant. This is shown by numerous other brand and product examples which, together with Clubhouse, have completely disappeared from the scene.
Over the last 10 years, Kitchen Stories has managed to constantly develop and conquer the market for itself. Starting as a pure iOS app, with various awards and (today) 22 million downloads up to our own cookbook and this year the launch of our shop with our first own products, we as a brand never stop reinventing ourselves.
In a world in which we not only compete with other cooking apps and websites, but also with platforms such as Netflix, Instagram, Pinterest and the like for users' attention and time, relevance is perhaps the best chance of survival.
We have collected our experience over the last decade and summarized it in 3 tips for you:
Perhaps your target audience doesn't match the image with which you can best identify yourself as a brand.
Your content will only be well received if it fits your target audience. To do that, you need to know them inside and out. This tip sounds pretty obvious at first, but we know from our own experience: It's not like that. Understanding which market your own brand is in and who exactly your target group is is a central point, but one where assumptions and reality may well diverge. Much more: You most likely know who your target audience is, but you don't really know their preferences, everyday behaviors, and everyday problems. And: Your target group may not match the image with which you can best identify yourself as a brand.
It depends on the details.
We had exactly this experience ourselves some time ago. Our assumption was long that our target group would be between 18 and 35 years old, 100% food lovers, very social media savvy and occasionally vegetarian or vegan. Our real target group is a bit older than expected, they certainly have a great passion for food, which, however, does not always fit into their busy lifestyle. Media is also consumed even more traditionally by our target group than we thought; videos play a major role in making you feel good in the kitchen. In addition, there is definitely a growing interest in vegetarian and vegan food, which has been neglected on our platform for a long time.
Investing time over and over again.
Thanks to this new analysis, we can now understand our target group much better and produce the content that really makes their lives easier and more beautiful. At the moment, these are: Appealing recipes that fit into their busy lives and through which they can enjoy delicious food in a simple and practical way. But just like us, our target group is constantly changing, as we continue to develop, grow and get older, they grow with us and their needs change. We must therefore always take the time to get to know our target group anew in order to be able to understand their current needs.
In the absurdly fast world of social media, content must constantly evolve. But how do you know which content is currently relevant and should be produced? Our tip: Data first! Always rely on your numbers first, but be careful not to lose your own gut feeling. It is a balancing act to find the right balance between intuition and facts.
At Kitchen Stories, we have the 80/20 Approach found for us. 80% of the content we produce is based on figures, i.e. on seasonality of recipes, search relevance, behavior-based user data, user demand, the feasibility of recipes and also on current trends. The other 20% of our content is based on our own expertise and personal interests. This is about presenting your own stories, identifying the latest trends early on, offering a diverse and international perspective and sharing topics with our community that we want to stand for as the “Kitchen Stories” brand.
In the case of Kitchen Stories, the competition is fierce, many platforms benefit from high search queries and a large volume of recipes, but often neglect their usability in return. This is often not in the interest of the target group, but it is the perfect opportunity for us, with numerous cooking platforms with increasingly similar aesthetics, through a exceptional user friendliness stand out. For us, consumers are always in the foreground.
But how can we ensure maximum usability? For us, everything revolves around the goal of encouraging everyday cooking. Our content should make daily cooking easier and help the target group plan the dishes. The recipes should be appealing and successful and fun at the same time. Our best retainer is making sure that our users find a recipe they love and that works every time. But how can we ensure this and, above all, make it measurable?
The answer: We have developed our own target KPI, the Cooking Index. Of course, we can't be in our users' kitchens, but we can at least be close. For example, we can find out how much time is spent on a recipe, whether the number of portions is changed, or which features of our app are used particularly frequently. In this way, we create our personal success metric that fits our purpose.
In the end, this is the basic requirement for staying relevant as a brand: to have a clear goal in mind that defines your brand and which you optimize with each of your actions. In other words, to understand why you're doing what you're doing.
In order to define and pursue this goal, it is essential for your brand to analyze the market in which you are located and also your target group again and again. Only then is it possible to remain relevant as a brand.
At Kitchen Stories, we have not only managed not to lose relevance ourselves over the years, but we also regularly help other brands remain visible. For example, we already have our platform and expertise with numerous brands, including vodafone, penny and Valess shared in successful collaborations.
Is that exciting for you and your brand too?
Simply arrange a free consultation with our team by going to “Make an appointment” click.
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