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Cubical Tech Marketing Tactic #8: Get Social (Media)
All of the elements above are naturally woven into your social media presence. And we briefly touched on social media posting. But do you have a business marketing social media strategy?
Enthusiasm and vision go a long way, but without explicit goals, how will you know if it’s working? The great thing about social media is that the analytics are mostly done for you. Here are a couple of important points about all forms of social media for businesses.
The Importance of ‘Pulling Them In’
Constantly bombarding people with offers or samey photos of muffins or latte art on social media may be a put-off. Getting people to engage with you takes more effort and a touch of inspiration. But it’s a coffee shop marketing tool that can start conversations that snowball.
The low-hanging fruits are the reviews and comments you organically receive on social channels and review sites. Respond to as many as possible, as they are the perfect place to promote your brand. First, hear new suggestions from loyal followers. Limit negative publicity by reacting thoughtfully and generously to complaints. Last, join in the conversation as much as you can – it’s the next best thing to seeing customers in person.
Get Competitive
Competitions work when it comes to busienss marketing strategies. Competitions offering gift cards or product giveaways can have multiple benefits. Plus, they are a perfect idea for your coffee shop marketing strategy.
For example, you can run a photo contest. Pick a theme that reminds people about your brand. Maybe ‘best children’s painting’ if you’re a super child-friendly establishment. Or ‘coziest living room’ if you’re known for your sofas – don’t hesitate to go off on a tangent. Share these pictures on your social channels with a caption linking to your brand. It shows that your business is alive and busy with activity. Let your audience choose the best pictures by voting for that extra bit of customer engagement.
Reinforce your branding by ensuring the prize is clearly connected to your shop. Offer a generous gift card or free coffee for a week (or longer?). Let people know about next month’s competition straight away. This type of promotion gets them thinking about your coffee shop for the weeks ahead. As a result, you get to enjoy free user-generated content. The more on-brand the competition is, the more useful this content will strengthen your coffee shop’s identity.
It’s All About the Content
At the end of the day, this type of business marketing is useless without quality content. Whether it’s user-generated or from your own fair hands, keep your social channels buzzing. Make sure your content is interesting, entertaining and appropriate. It’s not as big a task as it might seem. The trick is to weave it into your daily routine.
When something exciting, out of the ordinary or just totally on-brand happens, consider sharing it. Arrange a time with your top barista to shoot a video of their best latte art. Get your resident wordsmith to research the provenance of your coffee beans. Share all things about your espresso machine or furniture and share it as a blog or a short clip.
Get involved with the latest conversations, competitions and content through signs around your coffee shop. As much as your venue is going digital, bring the online world into your physical space, too.
Final Thoughts on Business Marketing
The pace and relentless growth of the business sector mean it has more surprises left up its sleeve. All you need is to have smart and successful business marketing. Marketing is an essential part of any business. By developing a solid marketing strategy, you can reach more potential customers. This results in more leads and sales. Follow these tactics, and you can market your cafe in an effective and engaging way.
Grow your business or venue with WiFi marketing. Cubical Tech helps businesses like yours grow with data capture, marketing automation and reputation management.