Under Pressure: How Grocery Store Social Platforms are Thriving

A Success Story

While the world has waited at home the past several months and many companies are locked down, there is one particular industry that is continuing to flourish both in in-person sales and online: food brands.

In some cases the reasoning has been obvious. During the initial phases of COVID-19, we didn’t know how long we would need to shelter in place, so accessibility to food was a concern. Hence, canned food was rose to the top of the social media engagement, followed by grocery stores.

According to Carol Wiley of Food Industry Executive, “posts with the most increased responses were from soup/chili/canned goods brands. They averaged over 120% more content responses per post, looking at the weeks of March 9 to April 13, 2020, compared to the weeks of March 4 to April 15, 2019. Seeing the second-largest rise in engagement were grocery brands, averaging over 103% more responses per post.”

Not only are grocery stores seeing an increase in engagement; they are also seeing a popularity shift from Instagram to Facebook. Facebook, and its resource-rich community features, is the perfect place for brands to build deep connections and to keep their customers up-to-date.

What’s Changed?

One of the biggest change comes from the amount of people who are now working from home and spending more free time online. Whether people are looking for a distraction from the world around them or trying to keep up with updated store policies, social media sites have seen a drastic increase in use. Several companies are already capitalizing on this increased home use by increasing their digital strategy and investing more into their social marketing budgets.

With more people accessing Social Media during the day, best practices for post times has also changed. Wiley added, “On Facebook, the best content response rate, by far, for food industry posts is between 6–9am PST. The evening, especially 6–9pm PST, is also an opportunity to generate greater engagement on posts.”

Continuing the Growth

With all of this in mind, what comes next on social media? First, think about what type of content you are posting and the goal of that content. Kleidon has found that posts that involve giveaways, community support/cause marketing, customer-generated content, and practical advice are seeing the greatest success.

“Other posts getting good social media engagement include ones showing how a brand fits with people’s changed lifestyles, nostalgic throwback posts, fun games or other entertaining activities and messages about immunity and healthy eating” Wiley added.

Content aside, the best thing you can do to see an increase in your social success is to hire an agency. Working with a group of professionals who have experience in crisis communication and a vetted record online is invaluable to your success. To start bringing your brand to life, contact us today by going to our website here.

More than other industries, food brands and grocery stores need to run with trends and what the consumer wants at any given time. Shoppers want different things on a Wednesday morning than on a Saturday night, and the messaging around a trend like this example needs to be in alignment. Most importantly, every great social media effort begins reliable data, a smart strategy and well-crafted plan. We believe that social media is critical to this sector when you have the right partner to help you develop and implement the plan.

For inspiration, check out this fun social media campaign that ran for Circle L Ranch.