Cafes and coffee shops across the world are discovering the power of social media. Since coffee shops need the in-person presence of customers to increase sales, they must develop a strong online presence to woo people and keep them coming back!
Did you know that 50% of the United States population drink espresso, cappuccino, latte, or iced/cold coffees regularly? This shows the tremendous scope for coffee shops – it’s a buzzing market waiting to be captured!
While most coffee shops do not actively use social media channels to promote their business, it’s the best way! Yes, your social media coffee shop promotions can have a huge impact on bottom-line revenues. Social media marketing software is a smart tool to enhance customer loyalty and engage with your regular clients while giving them information about timings, new flavours or combos, exciting discounts, and community events.
Top Ways Coffee Shops Can Leverage Social Media
If you are looking to develop a social media strategy for your coffee shop, read on to learn more about ten innovative ways that can help you increase customer engagement and drive sales.
1. Bring The Spotlight On Coffee Products
Coffee is your main product! You need to focus on advertising your coffee specials on social media channels so that customers know they can expect the best taste and service from your coffee shop. In addition, social media gives you the opportunity to pique your customers’ interest before they enter your store. So, build a great hype around product advertisements.
Give your customers all the information they need about new flavors to help them select the perfect brew. Merchandise coffee-related products in your store by posting aesthetic images of coffee mugs, jars, t-shirts, and equipment for brewing coffee at home!
2. Let Customers Know Your Hours
You surely don’t want to lose business revenue by having customers come to your coffee shop during non-working hours!
Harness the power of social media platforms to let your loyal customers know your working hours so that they can plan their visit. It is the best way to reach a larger audience and provide instantaneous information about any changes in timings due to weather or any other reasons.
3. Showcase Customer Loyalty Programs
Research reveals that 82% of companies agree that retention is cheaper than getting a new customer. It is imperative to highlight your customer loyalty programs in your social media marketing plan to make sure it is utilized by the right people.
Giving attractive perks to your repeat customers is a great way to drive loyalty and satisfaction. So, coffee shop businesses need to use their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to remind customers to join their loyalty programs and motivate them to build up points. It’s a win-win situation for all as your coffee shop gets more footfall, and customers benefit from some great discounts!
Here’s an interesting statistic – tweets with hashtags can increase engagement by 50%(1.5x) for brands! Coffee shop owners need to use smart and relevant hashtags while posting about their signature coffee products to drive engagement and audience participation.
Adding hashtags to your coffee shop social media posts will allow them to be visible to other people looking for the same name tags and increase audience reach exponentially. Simply put, the right hashtags are the best mechanism to get more customers, boost sales, and increase business revenues.
5. Get People Involved Through Events
Social media platforms are the best way for coffee shops to create a buzz around trending events for their regulars. Whether it is a coffee brewing and tasting workshop or a book reading session at your coffee shop, you need your customers to know about it to spread the word. The solution is simple – put up exciting banners and advertisements on social media portals to create awareness instantly!
6. Respond To Customers
Remember that there is no substitute for engaging and interacting with your customers. Whenever your customers have any questions about promotional events, coffee shop reservations, timings, or they just want to drop in and say hello, make sure to respond to them instantly.
There is nothing like effective two-way communication to forge a genuine and lasting relationship with your customers. Social media can break physical barriers and bring you closer than ever to your loyal clients! All you have to do is interact as much as possible so that they relate with your coffee shop brand as much as possible!
7. Link Your Social Media Sites To The Website
One of the most powerful ways to use social media marketing is to link all your social media pages with your website. You can use various links on your social media accounts to drive traffic to your website and increase online sales and visits. It is a smart way to boost revenues by encouraging sales of coffee beans, clothing merchandise, or coffee mugs through the quick click of a button!
8. Create High-Quality Content
You can put tons of social media posts on various platforms, but they are bound to miss the mark if they are not interesting and relevant. Quality matters – you need to post curated content with eye-catching images, taglines, videos, and stories. You can create live polls to engage with customers and get their opinion on important matters.
Post pictures and video testimonials of happy customers to show how your coffee shop focuses on delighting loyal customers. Utilize Facebook advertisements and paid promotions to get noticed by coffee lovers in the vicinity and hold special contests to convert them to brand ambassadors.
There’s a reason we say ‘content is king’ in the digital world. Nothing like the right content to bring the spotlight on your coffee shop to get those cash registers ringing!
9. Stream Live Videos
The live video option on most social media platforms is an exciting way to boost sales and increase your online followers. You can show your social media audience what a typical day in the coffee shop looks like and grab their attention. The live video tool can be used to conduct on-the-spot interviews of baristas and customers in your coffee shop. You can also stream any event, contest, or promotional competition to show what goes on in your coffee shop and build a positive brand reputation.
10. Get Social Media Influencers Onboard
Social media influencers are a game-changer in the current online arena. It is definitely worth the time and effort it takes to partner with a credible social media brand ambassador, as they can increase brand visibility instantly through an army of virtual followers. People will definitely get intrigued and want to visit your coffee shop if an active social media influencer strongly recommends it. It may sound cliche, but put up a picture of a social media celebrity sipping your coffee to increase sales and drive revenues to the top of the chart!
The Final Word
Selling your coffee through social media is not rocket science but the need of the hour. Create a distinct personality for your coffee shop by harnessing the power of social media marketing. Carve a niche and witness an instant positive transformation in your business strategy and bottom-line results. So follow these smart suggestions to give a thrust to your marketing efforts and get people to throng your coffee shop all day long!
