Thank you for catching up with me and the rest of The Marketing Bite Team last week. We loved creating our blogs on SEO, they were tastetastic, interesting and fun to get our teeth into!
This week we are going to delve into Social Media (SM) and how it benefits the Food Industry. Personally speaking, I am not a huge SM user per se. Yes, I have frittered some professional details on LinkedIn, signed up to Insta (because I had to), and I use WhatsApp all the time (who doesn't, right?)...but I'm not one for sharing too much about myself! To be honest there are times I possibly couldn't tell a hashtag from a hash brown!! 🙈 🙈 😆...but I digress!!
Social Media is certainly not to be dismissed! It is now a crucial channel for which companies and businesses around the globe talk about themselves, engage with their global audience and pedal their wares. I won't waste any more of your time so let's just get into it...
Since the dawn of (SM) time, people have been taking photos of their food and other aspects of their lives, posting these photos to their followers - giving their audience FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)on a large scale. These days we need to take Social Media very seriously as it has become a phenomenal marketing tool, one that has become even more influential since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Chapter 1 of my ebook I touch on Social Media Marketing as one of the Digital Marketing Concepts. What I have learned is that these free platforms can increase brand awareness, boost your visibility and engage with a wider audience than perhaps your website, email marketing, blogs, etc do. Combining all these concepts together will enhance your reach and engagement with your target audience.
For Social Media to work for your business you must KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! I cannot emphasise this enough! In their interesting blog on the topic of Social Media, Brafton say:
"...Social Media is the place to have conversations
with your target audience..."
Here they go on to mention that SM platforms are the perfect place as a business to ask your customer "How're you doin'?" (In a non-Joey from Friends way!!).
This can be where you display the personality of your business, having that virtual open-door policy where two-way communication develops and further engagement and with time, loyalty and referrals take place.
This other dimension of your digital strategy encourages your business to say Yes to ENGAGEMENT! This personalised engagement allows you to WOW your audience with the essence of what your Food Business is... sumptuous savouries and tantalising tastes or whatever is at the core of your business...
- Using posts related to Brand
- ENGAGE - respond to comments
- Use Reels...to highlight your employees/recent work
- Use high-quality professional-looking photos
- Use a # to index words and phrases, clicking on a # will lead to posts using same hashtag
- Use Instagram stories
- Interact with food bloggers and other Instagram users
Collette well done on a great post, you have a great way with words but also I like the way you have linked back so much useful content which gives extra context to the subject at hand. You are definitely correct about since the dawn of social media times people have been taking pictures of food... I feel now each day some people post nearly every meal they eat on their social media accounts!!! But what this does is it really creates advertising for small cafes and restaurants that people dine in! I think how you mention about SM been an amazing tool for businesses to connect with their customers is so true and should be something businesses actively do to reply to customers posts etc. To finish I must say I really enjoy the advice you give on using instagram.. Defintely something businesses should note!!
ReplyDeleteDavid Donnelly
Great Post Colette. I really liked the way that you made the distinction between using social media in a personal capacity, and from a business perspective. It's very true that sometimes people who set up a small business might not bother too much with Instagram or TicTok in their daily lives - but they will certainly have to sit up and take notice when it comes to their business. Thanks also for including the link to your ebook, I enjoyed reading your section on social media.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that, unlike traditional marketing, social media marketing is a two way conversation. It has the benefit of allowing us to get to know our audience better ( and curate/ target our content better on the basis of their feedback). One thought I had on this is the importance of replying to comments and querys on the platforms. It is essential to make time for this whether the comment is positive or negitive. This way your customer feels that they are important to you and this will hopefully encourage loyalty.
Looking forward to your next installment.
Suzanne Mc Cabe
Colette, first off I have to say that your images for this post are just fantastic... so eye-catching and delicious looking, which was really eye catching fro the reader. Your top 7 tips at the end of the post were a great way to sum up what someone within the food industry can do to maximise their social media posts...there are definitely some businesses out there who have delicious menus, but are not reaching their full audience or potential because they are not implementing these key tactics.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne Earley
ReplyDeleteHi Colette for the great post on Social media marketing for the food industry and in particular I loved the images even though Im on a diet and its torture :) we do indeed eat with our eyes !!
great information and insights here thanks
caitriona