Although a coffee shop might be considered something of a staple to any modern java enthusiast, any owner of an actual coffee shop will know that if you build it, customers do not always come. Consequently, it is important to utilize social media to reach customers because traditional signage does not work if someone always has his or her eyes glued to a screen. To reach these customers, social media is required, and when using social media, it is important to always consider six components of a successful coffee campaign.
1. Tap into hidden photography skills
Of course, you will need to increase your photography skills, and doing this should consist of photography basics. For instance, regarding the aforementioned photo of an iced coffee, if you spray the side of the plastic cup with water from a spray bottle, you can create the beading that occurs on cold drinks. Natural beading might not always be photogenic. However, with a spray bottle, you can control the beads.
You also might want to show off the beauty of the machines in your coffee shop. So take a few photos of the bar counter. Another thing to focus on is to make your photographs professional. You can do this by adhering to a few basics of photography as it pertains to food and drinks.
– use depth of field to separate a cup of coffee or some coffee cake from the background
– always keep your brand visible and attractive in the photo
– use proper lighting that emphases your brand as well as the deliciousness of your products
2. Giving back
People spend money at certain businesses because it makes them feel good to do so. If your company does not engage with the community via charitable donations or charitable actions, you will lose out to other community-minded companies that want to build the community and take your customers.
The important thing to do is to not exploit charitable giving for the sake of the sales it might provide. Instead, if you find a cause to which you are really sympathetic, you can help people you care about and display your efforts online. This type of social payback will then draw people within that market to you.
In terms of different types of programs to support, the following ones have the highest return on emotional and financial investment.
– pet shelters
– hospitals for children
– schools
However, other programs that support job preparation, entrepreneurs, and the ongoing task of fighting obesity can lead to large payback in terms of social networking.
3. Celebrate
Celebrations do not involve parties with your employees. Instead, celebrating means shouting out to the community via tweets, posts, and images with captions. You can celebrate local residents that have appeared in the news or people with whom you have come into contact. The important thing to do is to promote these people, their businesses, and their causes via your social pages. Doing so can help them, and when they need to wake up in the morning over coffee, they have a much greater incentive to shop at the business owner’s coffee shop as a thanks for promoting their efforts and needs.
The most important thing to understand is that celebrating someone turns you into that someone’s soapbox, and when you advocate or promote someone, their market will also have a greater incentive to turn to your particular coffee shop when it comes to their morning or weekend cup of java.
4. Promotions
Promotions can consist of coupons or sales events that are meant to grow business on slow days. When you offer promotions and coupons on Tuesdays or Thursdays, for instance, you have the opportunity to increase the bottom line on non-performing days while also helping to grow your overall customer base. As your customer base grows, you will find that many of the customers who tried your coupon now look forward to buying coffee on other days as well as weekends.
Promotions do not have to always target prices. Instead, you can promote new coffee blends or special coffees that have visual appeal. For instance, during the summer months, a photo of an iced coffee can pique people’s interest with a visual memory that will stick with them the entire week.
5. Loyalty program
Whereas people might keep coming back to your store if they can get a free cup of java for every ten cups, using social media for your loyalty program can actually turn your customers into enthusiastic sales people. For instance, you can offer people a free cup of their favorite brew for every ten or twenty photo shares.
The photos can consist of them drinking their coffee, which will help pair the brand with smiles, relaxation, and overall happy times. This subtle pairing of coffee with smiling customers can be one of the best sales gimmicks because it is not just another gimmick. It is proof that customers love a certain brand of coffee, and this proof leads to new customers, new sales, and increased profits for any owner.
6. Freebies
Growing your business via social sites can only be successful if you also focus on growing your social sites. To do this, you can offer free cups of coffee for people who share the most posts, or you can give freebies to people who sign up for your email marketing list.
Freebies can also be given on people’s birthdays, or you can offer freebies to local teachers or people of note. Finally, people who refer the most customers during a certain month might also be rewarded. By rewarding people to bring friends and family into your coffee house, you can increase the amount of people who will share information online to potential customers.