If you run your own convenience store or supermarket, finding ways to come up with fresh content for your social media accounts can be tough.
You’ll no doubt be facing competition from major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, as well as the German discounters like Aldi and Lidl.
So how do you convince people to shop with you?
Below, we’ve put together some social media post ideas for convenience stores and supermarkets to give you a helping hand.
Piggyback off events
There are so many events and celebrations that you can piggyback off of and get people to visit your convenience store or supermarket and spend some money.
Whether it’s Christmas Eve, Valentine’s Day, Easter Sunday, the FA Cup Final, Back to School week or Bonfire Night, make sure you add all of the important dates and celebrations to your calendar so you can schedule content.
If you’ve got 1,000 followers and let them know that you’re selling carrots and mince pies the night before Christmas, for example, at least some of your followers will call in to buy Santa something to eat.
Being consistent, and omnipresent, is key if you want to be successful.
These simple Instagram posts from LIDL do the job.
Show off special offers
The chances are that you run some special offers and limited time discounts now and again, whether you are an independent corner shop or a franchised convenience store.
Spread the word about these products on social media, and consider making some custom graphics using Photoshop or Canva, and you’ll quickly capture people’s attention.
You may even decide to run a loss leader to encourage people to get in the store, in hopes that they’ll spend more money on other products, but weigh up your options before doing so to make sure you remain in profit.
One Stop Stores promotes their special offers by creating custom graphics.
Review your own products
Spread the excitement of new product launches, whether it’s a new flavour of Walker’s crisps or an entirely new product range by writing your own reviews.
Of course, you won’t get paid by the companies for promoting their products, but if you’re selling a limited edition range or a product that has yet to hit mainstream supermarkets, you may just attract the attention of shoppers who will want to share the news with their friends and pop along to try it out for themselves.
Join in the fun by hosting your own Pepsi and Coca-Cola taste test, for example, or record videos with staff trying new chocolates and sweets. You’ll only spend a couple of pounds, and you’ll be able to create some fun content that consumers will want to watch, share and interact with.
Of course, when reviewing products, always try to remain positive – without lying, of course – to encourage people to buy them. You should also be mindful of copyright and trademarks; don’t use product logos in graphics or videos if you don’t have permission to avoid getting into trouble!
Run competitions and giveaways
You just can’t beat a good competition or giveaway on social media – it’s one of the oldest tricks in the book to boost engagement and increase your follower count, and it works as well today as it has from day one.
One of the best ways to run a competition is to use hashtags like #win, #freebies and #giveaway on Twitter and Instagram, and by running an advert on Facebook to find people in your local area who don’t already like your page.
Leave your competition to run for a week or two, and you’ll be able to find hundreds of new potential customers and promote your products to them – and it’ll only cost you the price of a food hamper or money-off vouchers!
One market is offering a fresh food hamper to promote their products.
Share local news
Your corner shop is likely the heart of your local community, so if you want to grow engagement and your follower numbers, start sharing local news articles and stories.
You can add your local newspaper to your favourites or follow them on Twitter, and set up Google Alerts for your local area so you can keep up to date on everything that’s going on.
As well as that, you can share your own news – if there’s a storm, snow, or a road closure, you can be the first to share it on social media, and if you are, people will likely share it with their friends and boost your reach.
One Tesco Express store shows off their local charity initiatives in a tweet.
Getting involved in community projects is another way to boost engagement – if a local school or youth club is fundraising for charity, then get involved. Add posters in your shop and post about it on social media – you’ll improve your brand image, and have some quality content to share.
Wrapping up
If you’re too busy stocking shelves and scanning products, don’t worry: we can help.
At 99social we offer cheap social media management from as little as £99 per month.
Get in touch today to find out more, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for social media news, tips and advice.