The impact of digital marketing strategies (social media marketing, influencer marketing, and search engine optimization) on brand visibility and customer engagement for medium-size agro-food businesses post-Covid: a case study of HelloFresh

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered consumer behavior, accelerating the shift toward digital engagement and compelling businesses, especially in the agro-food sector, to rethink their marketing strategies. This study investigates the impact of three key digital marketing strategies, Social Media Marketing (SMM), Influencer Marketing, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), on brand visibility and customer engagement in medium-sized agro-food businesses, with HelloFresh serving as a case study. The study examines how HelloFresh successfully used digital platforms to sustain and grow its market presence in the post-pandemic environment using a mixed-methods approach that includes quantitative analysis of data from digital platforms and a review of literature from reliable sources. Data was analyzed by adopting a quantitative statistical analysis approach with SPSS. Findings indicate that SMM strategy such as content type, form and posting frequency affect the visibility and engagement of a brand depending on the persona of the brand’s target group. In addition to increasing brand authenticity and reach influencer marketing greatly improved organic web traffic and discoverability by optimizing SEO content and URL with carefully considered keywords. When combined these tactics increased brand awareness and consumer engagement in quantifiable ways. The study concludes that medium-sized agro-food businesses hoping to stay competitive in an increasingly digital economy must adopt an integrated digital marketing strategy. It offers strategic recommendations for marketers and identifies key areas for future research, including Comparative analysis of several agro-food companies operating in various markets or geographical areas and using qualitative approaches like focus groups interviews or ethnographic research future studies could delve deeper into consumer perspectives. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on post-COVID digital transformation in the agro-food industry and provides practical insights for sustainable digital marketing practices.