I fortunately had a lot of creative freedom when I managed the social media accounts for Mead’s Green Door Cafe. The owner, Gary Mead Jr., trusted that anything I marketed would align with the ethos of the cafe and would appeal to the target audience. Prior to taking over these accounts, I was already heavily involved in the vegetarian/vegan online world, so I knew that photos of really delicious food would do well. The vegetarian/vegan community is very active on Instagram, so that is where the online marketing began and had the most growth. (I would plan the content creation for Instagram by using the app/website, Later.)
I managed the accounts in-house, so as I learned more about the cafe’s culture and I started to include more variety in the content. There are many regulars at Mead’s Green Door Cafe who would engage in relationships with the baristas and cooks. As a result, their relationships would continue to grow in the online community. Photos of the team would always reflect well to the audience because many regulars would see a friendly, familiar face and it would show the “behind the scenes” of the cafe.
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An online etiquette rule that I learned early on in my blogging days (before social media 😵), was comment back on every comment you receive. (I have an amendment to that rule now that trolls are becoming more and more prevalent. When an individual only has the intention to be negative and does not engage in a constructive conversation, I believe you have the right to not engage. This is a case by case situation.) I was and still am very diligent in creating engaging community on social media. As a consumer, there is a feeling of recognition when a company replies to your comment or direct message. A sign of a respectable company is one that listens to their customers, so something as simple as a “thank you,” can go a long way. In addition to replying to the audience, asking questions and receiving feedback is a clear method to determine what your audience is looking for. Countless times I would create Instagram stories that would include a poll or a question to get a better understanding of our audience. I’d also include CTAs (call to action) that would give the opportunity to create engagement in the comments. The menu evolved during my time at the cafe, and we would carry products based on the feedback of the community.
(See the full feed here. I managed accounts from September 27th, 2016 – October 9th, 2018)
It is always my intention to have a balance of content that is selling products, content that is bringing value to the brand, and content that entertaining. I would include shareable “statement or message” images that does not have a sales message, but can show the culture of the cafe. In addition to the message being on brand, I would also create the image with a branded font.
I would also create content that would reflect the community building happening in-house. The cafe had an area where people could leave their positive intentions for others to see, called the Wishing Flower. I would feature the post-its on a regular basis to further express the feel-good-vibes that the cafe was exuding. The cafe was also full of art that was available for sale. Whenever there were new pieces to feature, that would be marketed on our socials as well.
We were fortunate to have a community that loved posting about the cafe on their platforms. Photos that would match the style of the feed would be reposted (with permission) on the cafe’s Instagram feed. Posting User Generated Content is another way to make the audience feel heard and bring about more community building. Instagram feeds that feature UGC content shows the audience’s perspective which is a reliable way of showing authenticity.
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In addition to reposting UGC on our feed, Instagram developed the feature to share posts on Instagram Stories, which I would share regularly. Instagram Stories was a new feature during my time at the cafe and it became a great tool to have consistent presence on the platform. Story Highlights also became a great way to categorize the stories so the audience can be familiar with the menu and other aspects of the cafe.
Customer appreciation was a common theme for the marketing. We would host monthly food giveaways that would provide a free meal to an individual and their friend. This resulted in an increase in reach and followers. We would also use this opportunity to ask questions that would give us better insights on our followers.
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We also hosted a cross promotion giveaway with another business owned by the Mead’s, Creative Cakes. (I managed their social platforms as well. Similar blog post to follow.) Creative Cakes provides jumbo vegan cupcakes to the cafe and the community loves them. To promote both companies we hosted a giveaway that would bring followers to each account.
We also had an annual kale muffin giveaway during the Thanksgiving holiday. (A kale muffin is similar to carrot cake but made with kale. It sounds weird but they’re absolutely delicious and the community is obsessed with them.) To show our appreciation, we gave away a dozen to have them be shared during the holiday.
(2016 giveaway · 2017 giveaway)
I wore many hats during my time at the cafe, and with my background with recipe development, I was able to contribute to weekly specials. A successful campaign was our Friday Fry Specials where we had a new weekly sweet potato fry dish. We had such variety in our specials we were able to create a lot of excitement and consistency with the customers. (We also had a Taco Tuesday Special that was very successful.)
Gary was very passionate about CBD and would carry high quality products to sell at the cafe. This content was also carefully included in the marketing because of the opinions that comes along with the product. Fortunately no controversy arose during the marketing of those products.
I worked towards bringing the online and IRL community together by organizing fundraisers that would benefit non-profits. I would create marketing materials that would have consistency to help the audience recognize the events more quickly.
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It was always a goal of mine to create an updated website for the cafe and was able to do so towards the end of my time there. I was able to build out a Squarespace website with updated photos and the content to better reflect the cafe’s awesomeness. This included a more impactful and informative homepage, and a more comprehensive press and menu page.
In addition to building out the website, I believe it is vital to include a video promoting the restaurant. Gary and I agreed that there is a lot of value in video to express the mission of the business and would be a great tool for the website and social media. We partnered with Emblem Documentaries and loved the final result that truly exemplified the core message of the cafe.
I am very grateful for my time at Mead’s Green Door Cafe. I saw vast improvements in all aspects of content creation including the photography, copy, hashtag strategy, community building and much more. It gave me the opportunity to flex my creativity and continue to grow as a social media marketer and for that I will always be appreciative.
– Christina