Just when you were getting the hang of Instagram stories, along comes your teenage kid talking about something called TikTok. So just what the heck is TikTok, anyway? And as a small business, should you be considering it as part of your digital marketing strategy? TikTok is like a combination of the two social media apps, Dubsmash and Vine. Originally called Musical.ly, Tiktok is an app where users can share videos of themselves dancing or lip-syncing to songs or audio clips. Unlike social media channels like Facebook or Instagram, TikTok has an unweighted algorithm that shares videos in chronological order based on when they were shared. It also offers the ability to add hashtags to a post without bans or slowing down the videos. Currently, TikTok is available in 154 countries and has about 500 million active users. But how are brands using TikTok? According to Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner, “Most marketers haven’t moved to TikTok in massive packs yet so it’s still a little isolated and more like the Wild West.” Most brands weren’t on Facebook, Twitter…
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AWG Brands Promotional Content for October Newsletter
From chili to pasta to pumpkin everything, October is warmly welcoming seasonal foods. Below is the digital content for your website, social media platforms, emails and more to promote AWG Private Brands. Please note the AWG Brands Digital Playbook for Retailers has moved from Google Drive to box.com. This change will help make the Playbook more accessible than Google Drive. Best Choice Video of the Month October is National Pizza Month. Our October’s Video of the Month is Halloween Mini Pizzas. This video features deli-style mozzarella cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce and olives. You can share this short video from the Best Choice website, YouTube, or using the native files found here. Best Choice Recipe of the Month October is National Pasta Month. Our October’s Recipe of the Month from the Best Choice Calendar is Grammie’s Irene Surprise Meatball. This recipe showcases the following Best Choice products: sharp cheddar cheese, plain bread crumbs, egg, milk, lemon juice, salt, and olives. The recipe can be shared from the Best Choice website or from the Best Choice social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.…
Webinar Recap: Personalization in Grocery Retail
The industrial revolution brought about producing and focusing on the masses. Now in the information age data is everything and the focus has moved from the masses to the individual. Personalization is a key factor in building loyalty. Whether that be for a store banner or a store brand. People are more receptive to something they feel is personalized towards them. This may be a fairly obvious point, but how does one go about personalizing a grocery store for one shopper? Truth is you can’t but the webinar I listened to busted 4 myths about personalization in grocery retail and also gave a few digital recommendations at the end for how to add more personalization for your shoppers. Myth 1: Shoppers want everything to be personalized. This has some truth to it because consumers consider the act of shopping an act of personalization in itself. Shoppers still want to maintain control but retailers should look to help them while also empowering them during their time in store. It is important that retailers don’t make their customizations feel manipulative to the…
MASS Recap
Recently, I attended MASS (Marketing Analytics Strategy Summit) conference. A large number of marketers gathered to discuss analytics, data-driven marketing and all the techniques associated with the topic. The all-day event left me with plenty of useful information. Between the nine sessions on various topics, here are the highlights. Data-Driven Basics CEO and Co-Founder, Matt Hertig from Alight Analytics led the discussion on Solving the Marketing Analytics. The groundwork was set about the maturity model of data-driven maturity level. Stage one (data apathetic) means data is still managed manually and it doesn’t impact business decisions. Stage two (data-aware) means key decision-makers are somewhat connected to data but the data is only used for awareness. Stage three (data critical) refers to the shift towards more predictable analytics. Stage four (data-driven) means your organization is thinking with data first. Where’s your business on the maturity level? Statistics state that only 1/3 of businesses look to data to make financial decisions. Also, according to a CMO Survey, marketers have more money to spend. Marketing can be measured in four ways. The four ways include…
Trending Now: September
September is the official start of the fall season. The fall equinox is in late September, all schools are back in session, and football season is in full swing! Stores should be prepping for comfort foods and cold-weather dishes as the weather outside starts to get a little cooler. Perennial fall favorites include soups, casseroles, hearty dishes and slow cooker meals. Don’t forget about Instant Pot recipes that are perfect for easy meals on those busy school nights. Speaking of school, Sean mentioned in the August Trending Now post that back to school is a big focus this time of year. Parents might already be running out of healthy ideas for lunch and after school snacks, so help them stay on track by keeping healthy kid-friendly snacks and ingredients well stocked. Sean also mentioned that pumpkin spice is back as early as the end of August. A lot of brands are including pumpkin spice flavoring in their products but even if you don’t have the latest pumpkin product at your store, you can still help you customers satisfy that craving…
Groceryshop 2019 – A Recap
Another Groceryshop is in the books and after sitting in more than 30 educational sessions and talking with technology providers that address opportunities across the retail environment, there’s a lot to digest. Any conference done well isn’t for the faint of heart, this one is no exception. Tons of smart people, lots of great conversations, and a to-do list that will make my team wonder what hit them are what comes of diving into Groceryshop. Let’s see if I can distill which topics resonated the most for me as they relate to independent grocers. Data Nobody thinks this data thing is easy. There’s too much of it, it’s raw, and all over the place. In the first session I attended, Heather Kang from Mars hit on what would become an often-reiterated point about data. Data is sexy but rather than analyzing all data all the time, it comes back to knowing what business problems need solving. Then, the data can be used to address those opportunities. Amy McClellan from Martin’s also reminded everyone of a very important aspect of data:…
Make Things Happen – Creative Mornings
I picked more of my favorite quotes from Creative Mornings events to share with you. Be inspired to make things happen. “There’s a distinct ripple effect that occurs when we witness or perform acts of courage.” — Yewande Austin “The future is crafted by those who do work they don’t have to.” — Scott Belsky “If you want to be the change, first think about the change you want to see.” — Grace Rodriguez “Persist with optimism.” — Hillary Wall “No one owes you anything.” — Isaac Duncan III “Question why things are the way that they are.” — Yeshe Dawa “What am I doing that I could change so that it could be accessible to more people?” — Courtney D. Marshall “In communities we have strength and energy. We can use that to make things happen.” — Dan Spain “Every voice has something to contribute, and every voice matters in our community. Sometimes we have to pause long enough to let those softer voices have their say.” — Solomon Masala “Change is inevitable, change will always happen, but you…
Keys to a Great Rebrand
Are you thinking about a rebrand for your store’s identity? Sure there are risks involved. There is, of course, the cost of the investment, but what about the way the rebrand will be communicated to your customers? How will they respond to this new identity? I read an article, The Keys to a Great Rebrand: Advice From the Duo Who Revamped Chobani and Spotify, written by Matt McCue. In the article, McCue shares advice from Brian Collins, CCO and co-founder of the branding company, Collins, and Leland Maschmeyer, CCO at Chobani and co-founder at Collins, for a successful brand redesign. They give 6 key points to consider. A rebrand includes a redesign of your company’s logo. As someone who has done logo design in the past, I can tell you there is a lot more work and time put into designing a logo than you may realize. Then you’ve got revisions to typography, possibly colors, imagery, voice. It is an entire revamp of the advertising and marketing approach. It is not something you want to do just because it sounds…
Grocer Pod – Episode 18
This month’s episode features a conversation about pharmacies with Adam Salus. Then Sean Kosednar talks with Anthony Estrada about the international foods aisle. Finally, the show ends with Alex Beggs from Bon Appétit Magazine talking about her dream grocery store.
Are You Willing to Lose 1% of your Business?
Are you willing to lose 1% of your business? This one question stood out to me the most from Ignite – The Ecommerce Leadership Conference, powered by Syndigo. While brick and mortar grocery won’t be replaced by ecommerce anytime soon, grocers are currently losing at least 1% of their business to online shopping, whether it’s through Amazon, Walmart, or another competitor. In fact, a June 2019 Forbes article notes that 2% of food retail is purchased online. That number is only expected to grow as consumers become more comfortable with others selecting their fresh meat and produce. The thought of adding an ecommerce offering at your store seems overwhelming. It takes time, effort, and money to fully implement it. It can be an uncomfortable change. But as Kate noted in her recap of the event, discomfort is what leads to innovation. Innovation can lead to exponential growth. But you don’t need exponential growth right now, you just need to understand the environment. Start asking questions about costs, data files and technology integrations. Ask your customers if they’d be interested in…