Like it or not, social media has become a mandatory marketing tool for coffee shops. The days of relying on word-of-mouth and a sandwich board outside are gone. But fear not—if you can successfully start a coffee shop in this competitive market, you have the skills to build a great online presence with these social media tips for coffee shops.
Social media takes strategy, which is why freelancers and content creators are growing in popularity. You might choose to invest in an agency or expert who can guide your social media direction. Or, you and your team can do it with a little extra effort.
Most coffee brands use social media to grow brand awareness and engage with the community. You can also advertise, make sales, and drive traffic to your cafe’s doorstep. Learn these tips to improve your coffee shop’s social media platform in 2022:
- Talk to your target audience
- Pay attention to aesthetics
- Keep it moving with video content
- Show behind the scenes
- Grow your reach with paid marketing
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Talk to Your Target Audience
Successful coffee shops identify their target audience. And this translates to social media. Who do you want following your social media pages, with the goal that they’ll swing by for a coffee? Hint: it’s not everyone. Your target audience is a group of customers with similar values, interests, and demographics. They’re the ones who get hooked on your menu. They become the frequent flyers.
Where does your audience spend time online? They could be on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, or any combination of these. You don’t have to be on every platform; you just want to be where your customers are. Pick a few key social media channels to focus on.
Now that you’ve defined your target audience, it’s time to engage with them. You can build a social media customer service plan for your team to use. It might include a brand voice and FAQs for answering messages and comments. You can also repost stories and photos your shop is tagged in. Social media is a two-way street. Thus, when your followers talk to you on social media, they want you to talk back.
Window Seat Coffee, run by Texas Coffee School Coffeepreneurs®, Kristen & Tom Boyd, responds to almost every comment from their followers. And because the shop is geared toward “the special feeling that comes with getting away,” they also post travel content. It appeals to their adventurous target audience and reinforces their brand.
Source: Window Seat Coffee Instagram
Pay Attention to Aesthetics
Social media can serve as the new storefront. Rather than driving by the shop, customers might check out your business online to see if it’s somewhere they want to go. So manage your social media’s aesthetic as carefully as you manage your coffee shop’s design.
Source: Kind Cafe Instagram
Capture and post high quality photos with streamlined colors and lighting. Feature faces, menu items, and merchandise instead of a photo of an empty booth. If you create graphics, use consistent formatting and brand guidelines. Write strong captions and check for typos. A little upkeep goes a long way toward a fresh social media aesthetic.
Coffeepreneur®-owned Kind Cafe shares a mix of upbeat graphics and inviting photos of their baristas, snacks, and drinks. Short captions and use of emojis make for easy scrolling. Just glancing at their Instagram page helps you imagine what a visit to the coffee shop would be like. You’ll want to head over as soon as possible!
Keep It Moving With Video Content
The 80s told us that video killed the radio star, and it’s still going strong. In fact, 54% of content marketers say video is the most valuable type of content–surpassing images, text, and stories.
TikTok turned the tide toward short, scrollable videos. Hootsuite predicts that TikTok will become the “most important social network for marketing” this year. As a result, Instagram and Facebook now offer Reels, a 60-second opportunity to share creative footage and get discovered. YouTube also recently unveiled its own version of the format.
Source: Pop’s Coffee Company Instagram
Pop’s Coffee Company posts Reels that have highlighted a barista appreciation note, a “Biker Chick” (a stuffed chicken riding a motorcycle from their fabrication shop), and items from their menu. In less than two years, the business has gained 3,000+ Instagram and Facebook followers with high engagement by using coffee shops’ social media tips.
Show Behind the Scenes
Source: Dwell Coffee House Facebook
Social media doesn’t have to–and shouldn’t–always be advertising. It can also show off your coffee shop’s humanity. Creating behind-the-scenes content might look like:
- An introduction to the founder and the shop’s origin story
- A video of baristas interacting with customers
- Photos from a team-building day
- An interactive poll to help decide the newest menu item
Beanstalk Coffee and Sno regularly posts weather updates on Facebook to advertise their sno cone options. They also share photos from events, partnerships with other local companies, and free giveaways.
Meanwhile, Dwell House Coffee and Tap recently introduced their baristas on social media. They also shared behind-the-scenes updates as the shop prepared to launch in January of 2022.
Grow Your Reach With Paid Marketing
Finally, you can go the extra mile by budgeting for paid advertising on social media. Brands can advertise on their own or hire a professional to help. By setting clear campaign goals–which platform, what content type, what call to action–advertising can be a huge benefit to your coffee shop.
Another type of paid marketing is influencer marketing. For a coffee shop, influencers could come in many forms: food bloggers, local leaders, news anchors, and other business owners. Give influencers a reason to visit your coffee shop and share how much they love it. Dig it Coffee Co benefits from shout-outs by nonprofit leaders for offering an inclusive work environment for individuals with disabilities. In fact, many community members celebrate the coffee shop and its umbrella organization (The Garden Foundation) online.
Source: Dig it Coffee Co Facebook
Are you ready to get social? Our 3-Day Coffee Business Master Class teaches you more than how to make great coffee–we teach you how to start and market your business.
To swap social media tips for coffee shops and more with your peers and our team of professionals, register for an upcoming weekend class!
