For any business including convenience stores, advertising is crucial. However, professional marketing and advertising can be expensive, and sometimes these methods do not produce the desired results. There is an alternative! As more and more people utilize social media, c-stores can use social media as a platform for advertising. Social media marketing and advertising is often a free resource of which c-stores can take advantage to maximize brand attention and profits. Here are some tips to consider when developing a social media marketing campaign:
Create Meaningful Content
Social media is often littered with content that has no meaning for the average consumer. Avoid adding to the mess. Create content that can be utilized by your intended audience. This content can be something that engages them to think, discuss, or ask questions. Using diverse methods of communication such as images and videos also help c-stores to stand out amongst the numerous text posts. To create visual appealing social media images, a free easy-to-use online design tool is Canva. Visual images catch the eye drawing in the audience, but if the content that goes along with the images is irrelevant, the message will be quickly forgotten.
Develop a Plan
With any new venture, it is best to have a plan. Here are two steps to consider when crafting your social media advertising stragety. First, truly understand your audience. Discover your consumers’ interests to see how you can enter into the dialogue. Second, create a social media calendar to help you determine which content should be posted on certain days. Being aware of certain holidays as well as certain events your consumers might attend will help you shape and mold the content that is posted.
Stay Consistent
One of the hardest things to do with social media is staying consistent with posts. When there is no feedback, people are often discouraged to continue posting. As anyone with a Facebook or Twitter knows, some posts just don’t seem to get any attention. There are no favorites, retweets, shares or likes. Often leaving the poster wondering, “Should I have even posted that?” But, what the poster doesn’t realize is that people still see the post — even if there is no interaction. Continually posting makes your voice present in the conversation allowing others to see what you have to say. Eventually, through much dedication on your part, people will begin to respond.
Talk with Consumers
One of the great benefits about utilizing social media is that many of your consumers are frequently engaged with it. Pose questions towards your consumer to better your product or even a simple, “Thank you for following!” goes a long way. People enjoy seeing a company that has a humanistic element and interacting with your consumers in dialogue allows you to break the barrier of company versus human.
Cultivate Trust
With any dialogue, trust needs to be present to continue a meaningful conversation. Creating a social media presence that people can trust is crucial. Be authentic in your posting. Avoid posting any content that does not align with your company’s values or vision. Post content that social media users can clearly see is creditable rather than skewed by marketing strategies. In addition, consumers can often see if you are just trying to push product, which leaves them wondering why they should even care about your company. Post relevant content that your consumers need to know and can help them make better informed decisions.
