Are you a new cafe owner? Welcome aboard!
Do your friends know about your new cafe? That’s great!
However, solely relying on it (and their word-of-mouth) won’t always result in a successful income report. But then… what should you do? You’re already overwhelmed by the amount of tasks that need to be done.
That’s why we listed down a few tips on how to promote your cafe on social media. So, read on!
Introducing your cafe to potential customers?
Visually-appealing exterior and interior design is just the beginning. It does not end with a chalkboard menu and a sintra board. Nowadays, social media marketing is a MUST. It can be challenging for non-techie individuals to start. Additionally, some owners can get off on the right foot immediately but fail to keep up and maintain their platforms.
- Ask yourself the right questions.
You need to allow your potential customers to find you. After all, your cafe IS a business. Your main motivation is to create opportunities to generate more income. To do so, making your brand and your business visible to the market is the best (and commonsensical) way to do so.
- So ask yourself, why does my cafe exist? This sets you apart as a brand.
- What method/special ingredient/other applicable feature am I most proud of? This highlights your brand’s uniqueness. Make sure this is something you can show off, and not necessarily a “secret Ingredient” you have been safekeeping. In other words, it’s your cafe’s unique offering.
- Who is your target market, according to your business plan? Are you offering menu items that customers who love certain flavor profiles will be interested in? Or are you safe-playing with demographics? A solid business plan from the start makes this easy peasy.
- What value does trying your cafe bring?
- How will you answer a customer that says, “If I have been a loyal customer of other cafes, then why do I need to buy coffee from you?”
Your brand has to exist, be known, and be recognizable. It’s not gonna be just another cafe. It’s a new cafe and people shouldn’t help but be curious about it!
- Create your marketing and brand visibility strategy
In your business planning stage, you must have done your market research. At this point, your market research findings should be more than just a curated menu. Make use of it when building a brand visibility strategy!
- Use the right keywords
You can maximize the use of social media by using the right keywords in your content – whether it be an article, a social media post, or a caption. Think of yourself as your target customer – what keywords would they likely put on the search box that will bring out your page as a result? So, once a customer searches, say, “best latte near me” or “alfresco cafe near me,” you will most likely appear in the search results.
If feasible, include in your budget plan hiring someone to do SEO. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) enables marketing content and collaterals to be discoverable to more people through the usage of crucial keywords around topics. It’s basically the same idea as the social posts above. Because by applying SEO, you can most likely reach people by googling for example, “Best cafes serving caramel macchiato”,
- Choose the most suitable platform.
There are a lot of social platforms available, you just have to pick the one (or ones) most suitable for your cafe. Is it a website, a Facebook page, an Instagram feed, or a Tiktok account? Choose which platform to use to publish quality content and commit to it. It is also a first step to refining your audience–for example, if your target market are the Gen-Zs, then maybe use a platform popular with them, like Tiktok.
- Utilize available assets.
Ensure an easy, organized navigation on your platform of choice. When planning and designing how you are going to post content, think of yourself as if you’re the potential customer looking through the cafe’s page. You wouldn’t want nonsensical or obnoxious posts unrelated to the cafe or cafe’s branding, or hard-to-navigate themes like store hours advisories in different formats.
Remember to make the pages for your customers, not for you. If it’s easier to compile the Store Hours Advisories page by creating a dedicated album for it, then you might want to try it.
- Be consistent with how you portray your brand.
If you have a rustic coffee interior, would it be smart to use vibrant colors in your marketing collateral? You designed your brand according to how you want your customers to perceive it. So be consistent with your branding playbook.
- Make every post count.
Publishing only what’s valuable will do you good. Think of it as “nobody likes an overfilled cup of joe spilling on coffee tables”. Follow your customer behavior and target specific times of the day. For example, consider posting on cafe primetimes like mid-morning or afternoon for a pick-me-up coffee. Try to use photos or micro videos per post, even for advisories. Nobody has time for lengthy texts.
- Manage responses and engagements.
Translate your cafe’s friendly and approachable vibe to your cafe’s own social media page! Replying promptly and sufficiently will surely go a long way. Responding politely, even using emojis if applicable, has high chances of earning you a good review after. Your inbox is part of your storefront, so talk according to your cafe’s philosophy and personality.
- Use ads and track analytics (and vice-versa)
It may be beneficial to set aside a budget for your cafe promotions, including running digital ads. By specifying the target audience to your market and location, your paid promotion has a higher chance of reaching the right people. Track its performance through the platform’s provided analytics. Through this, you can see if your steps are effective! Apply your learnings from the previous posts to your next one. It’s a continuous process.
To sum it up…
Almost everybody is online nowadays. Almost everybody browses through their social media accounts before making a purchase decision. So, don’t forget to invest in your social media page.
Ultimately, though, the numbers you gain online should reflect your cafe’s performance on the ground. So make sure you get the best quality machines and supplies only from Blu Coffee. Shop now or talk to us to learn more.
