Recently I hosted a webinar for AWG retailers to share with them the best strategies for marketing on social media. I covered the basics elements of marketing on the four major social media channels that are currently being used by our retailers: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

First, I discussed the most ideal content to share on each channel.

• Facebook

• • Pictures (graphics, in-store pictures, photo albums, etc.)
  • Links (pay attention to the picture and text on the link previews to make sure they look professional)
  • Text (make sure it isn’t too long)
  • Post once (no more than twice) day

• Twitter
  

• • Links to long articles, web pages, etc.
  • Short engagement questions or quotes
  • Pictures
  • Tweet as often as you want…within reason.

REMINDER: Twitter accounts do well in areas with a younger demographic, like a college town.

• Instagram

• • Video (users are limited to 15 seconds but promoted posts are allowed up to 30 seconds)
  • No links (you can only include hyperlinks in your bio)
  • The text caption for you picture will truncate after several lines so try to keep it short. Besides, you want your picture to do all the talking.
  • Post once (no more than twice) day

REMINDER: Don’t just share stock photos of food or cropped images from your ad. Use this platform to tell your story.

• Pinterest

• • Like Twitter, links to longer articles do well (think recipes)
  • Infographics
  • Photos
  • You can pin your own content or “re-pin” something that somebody else has pinned.
  • Pin approximately five times a day

I also shared with the webinar attendees how to boost a Facebook post, create a Facebook ad and what is the difference between the two. Specifically, I focused on the idea of organic versus paid reach on Facebook and how boosting a post that’s vital to your current marketing plan is helpful because you will ensure that it is seen by a larger number of people. Additionally, I highlighted the fact that you can target your boosted posts to certain geographic areas, age groups and interests (all based on what users list on their Facebook profiles) as a way to strategically target your marketing messages to specific demographics.

I continued on the subject of boosted posts by explaining the approval process for paid posts. For example, only 20% of the image in a boosted post can be text. Facebook offers a grid tool to help social media marketers measure how much text is on their post before boosting it. Facebook also doesn’t allow copyrighted images in a boosted posts. Due to these restrictions, Facebook requires an approval process before allowing a post to be boosted.

Next, I explained the importance of not using social media channels solely for selling products. As a marketer, you should also share engaging and entertaining content that’s relevant to your business. At AWG, we provide content on our customers’ pages in the form of food facts, food tips, recipes, humorous posts related to food, etc. This is in addition to the posts in which we highlight their weekly ad, an upcoming sale, etc. It’s important to balance the entertaining and informative posts with the posts that specifically highlight products and sales.

I also covered managing negative feedback on social media channels and running social media promotions.

For those of you who are interested in watching the re-recorded webinar (due to technical difficulties with the first recording), check it out here.

Need help coming up with a social media strategy that provides value to your customers? At AWG, we can help you create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that will work best for your business and bring the most value to your customers.