It takes a lot to be a cafe owner. Accounting, managing people and products, publicizing, inventory … being oversubscribed often mean something gets put on the back burner.
If you are putting marketing your coffee shop on the back burner, you are missing out. Here are a few key areas to focus on, to help aid you in your strategy of marketing your cafe!
Know who you are.
This goes without saying, but there are LOTS of different cafes for people to choose from today. How are you unique? What is it about your menu, or staff, or location/design that makes your shop a must-go destination? If you are unsure, ask! The people that arrive at your cafe have made an intentional decision, ask them why they choose you.
Once you’ve defined that, scope people that are interested in that particular uniqueness. Often people think that ‘if I send out 10k emails I’ll have more people in seats in the shop.’ That’s a dangerous (and potentially costly) mindset. Having a couple different personality types that you can really zero in on are going to produce more people, more fidelity, and more importantly, more dollars.
Hire a photographer.
I understand everyone has a digital camera now. I remember when the DSLR cameras first came on the scene back in the early 2000s. Everyone had access to great equipment and as the years progressed the more the cameras took out the hard work in producing beautiful photographs.
This piggybacks off of our previous point, but knowing who you are marketing to, should influence what and how you take photos. A great professional photographer could cost you a couple of hundred bucks, but in the end, they’ll have a more cohesive understanding of what you are trying to communicate to your target audiences.
Lean into Social Media.
While this may be perceived as contrary to our previous point, you should leverage as much social content as possible.
It may be a trite strategy, but there is a reason social media is so popular, it’s effective. So let’s talk about how to do it right.
Yes, your verified social accounts should use your professional photos, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have photo contests, check-in contests, etc. Chances are, people are going to talk about your food, coffee and cafe on their accounts, may as well reward them for it!
Another great way to leverage socialmedia, is to find the most influential people in your area. Search by hashtags. This is an extremely overlooked tactic, but can be powerful.
Once you’ve found some influencers, simply reach out to them. Give them… FREE COFFEE, or other cafe items. Worst case scenario, most micro-influencers charge between $250-500 for a post. Well worth the money in our opinion.
We hope this helps, and happy marketing!
