Week 3B - Communication
For Week 3B, I would like to analyze the social media of specialty grocery stores and markets:
Just Peachy Farm Fresh Market
http://www.justpeachymarket.com/
Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post October 5th, 2017)
Instagram (link on website, but account not created, no posts)
Just Peachy is a single location, unique business and could make more use of their social media.
Trader Joes
https://www.traderjoes.com/
Social Media Links:
No direct links to social media on their website.
Instagram (last post 9/7/2018 and 766K followers, but no link on website)
Trader Joes makes effective marketing use of Instagram showing new products and pairing ideas, but it might be more effective to have the Instagram link on their website. Their Instagram imagery makes someone want to try their products. Trader Joes does not seem to have one main corporate Facebook page, but there are several unofficial Facebook pages such as "Trader Joes Fan" and "Trader Joes List."
Sprouts
https://www.sprouts.com/
Sprouts Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post 9/7/18 - posts every 2-3 days)
Instagram (last post 9/10/18)
youtube (last post 6/22/18)
Pintrest (last post 5 weeks ago)
Twitter (last post 9/10/18)
Sprouts (approximately 280 stores) uses social media consistently and frequently. Sprouts' Instagram is very colorful and eye catching, but does not promote specific products. Their Facebook posts often show packaged items.
Lazy Acres
http://lazyacres.com/
Lazy Acres Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post 9/2/18)
Instagram (last post 9/2/18)
Lazy Acres currently has 4 locations, and they each maintain separate Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Jimbo's…..Naturally
http://jimbos.com/
Jimbo's Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post 9/10/18)
Twitter (last post 9/10/18)
youtube (last post 8 months ago)
Instagram (last post 9/10/18)
Jimbo's has 4 (soon to be 5 locations). They make good use of social media for a small company. However, the Facebook link on their website goes to a Facebook page for a specific location versus a corporate page. They use Facebook to promote products and community events. I think they would benefit from a centralized Facebook page.
Analysis
I chose to analyze the social media of specialty grocery stores, because the market for "natural" or "farm fresh" grocers seems to be attracting many entrants, particularly in California. The increasing number of these stores bring the question of how can the true small grocers compete with the larger chains that still promote themselves as "farmers markets?"
For these specialty grocery stores, the more effective social media tactics seem to provide images of the food products prepared and presented in a way that makes the buyer feel like that is what they have to cook or eat. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the same from one store to another typically, but if a store can give would be cooks ideas through social media, they may have an upper hand in drawing these customers into their store. Promoting things like seasonal changes and holidays through social media can also get customers excited about their grocery shopping.
I found interesting how some companies choose "centralized" versus "decentralized" social media. For example, why Jimbo's had separate Facebook pages for each location. For branding purposes, I think centralized social media provides consistency. Perhaps if the business also wants to promote certain community events, they would opt for a decentralized approach, though.
For a much smaller market stores, it seems like social media could help by just keeping the business name out in the public's eye. For example, with Just Peachy, by activating their Instagram link, and making some current Facebook posts, they could use social media to gain attention as a local neighborhood store. An inactive social media platform can make it seem like the business itself has nothing new to offer.
The two larger stores that I compared revealed interesting findings. Sprouts has very frequent and consistent social media posts, which were easy to find on several different platforms. Trader Joe's website main page does not even show any social media links, however, Trader Joes is the larger and more rapidly expanding company. Trader Joes maintains an active, eye catching Instagram platform, but any other platforms were not easily identifiable on their website. As a shopper, I am always more impressed with the customer service and product lines at Trader Joes. Is company branding and reputation more effective than social media promotion in sales? I hope to explore this topic in more depth throughout this course.
For Week 3, I commented on the following posts: Christian Dahmann, Kalyn McMackin, and Andrea Esquivel.
Just Peachy Farm Fresh Market
http://www.justpeachymarket.com/
Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post October 5th, 2017)
Instagram (link on website, but account not created, no posts)
Just Peachy is a single location, unique business and could make more use of their social media.
Trader Joes
https://www.traderjoes.com/
Social Media Links:
No direct links to social media on their website.
Instagram (last post 9/7/2018 and 766K followers, but no link on website)
Trader Joes makes effective marketing use of Instagram showing new products and pairing ideas, but it might be more effective to have the Instagram link on their website. Their Instagram imagery makes someone want to try their products. Trader Joes does not seem to have one main corporate Facebook page, but there are several unofficial Facebook pages such as "Trader Joes Fan" and "Trader Joes List."
Sprouts
https://www.sprouts.com/
Sprouts Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post 9/7/18 - posts every 2-3 days)
Instagram (last post 9/10/18)
youtube (last post 6/22/18)
Pintrest (last post 5 weeks ago)
Twitter (last post 9/10/18)
Sprouts (approximately 280 stores) uses social media consistently and frequently. Sprouts' Instagram is very colorful and eye catching, but does not promote specific products. Their Facebook posts often show packaged items.
Lazy Acres
http://lazyacres.com/
Lazy Acres Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post 9/2/18)
Instagram (last post 9/2/18)
Lazy Acres currently has 4 locations, and they each maintain separate Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Jimbo's…..Naturally
http://jimbos.com/
Jimbo's Social Media Links:
Facebook (last post 9/10/18)
Twitter (last post 9/10/18)
youtube (last post 8 months ago)
Instagram (last post 9/10/18)
Jimbo's has 4 (soon to be 5 locations). They make good use of social media for a small company. However, the Facebook link on their website goes to a Facebook page for a specific location versus a corporate page. They use Facebook to promote products and community events. I think they would benefit from a centralized Facebook page.
Analysis
I chose to analyze the social media of specialty grocery stores, because the market for "natural" or "farm fresh" grocers seems to be attracting many entrants, particularly in California. The increasing number of these stores bring the question of how can the true small grocers compete with the larger chains that still promote themselves as "farmers markets?"
For these specialty grocery stores, the more effective social media tactics seem to provide images of the food products prepared and presented in a way that makes the buyer feel like that is what they have to cook or eat. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the same from one store to another typically, but if a store can give would be cooks ideas through social media, they may have an upper hand in drawing these customers into their store. Promoting things like seasonal changes and holidays through social media can also get customers excited about their grocery shopping.
I found interesting how some companies choose "centralized" versus "decentralized" social media. For example, why Jimbo's had separate Facebook pages for each location. For branding purposes, I think centralized social media provides consistency. Perhaps if the business also wants to promote certain community events, they would opt for a decentralized approach, though.
For a much smaller market stores, it seems like social media could help by just keeping the business name out in the public's eye. For example, with Just Peachy, by activating their Instagram link, and making some current Facebook posts, they could use social media to gain attention as a local neighborhood store. An inactive social media platform can make it seem like the business itself has nothing new to offer.
The two larger stores that I compared revealed interesting findings. Sprouts has very frequent and consistent social media posts, which were easy to find on several different platforms. Trader Joe's website main page does not even show any social media links, however, Trader Joes is the larger and more rapidly expanding company. Trader Joes maintains an active, eye catching Instagram platform, but any other platforms were not easily identifiable on their website. As a shopper, I am always more impressed with the customer service and product lines at Trader Joes. Is company branding and reputation more effective than social media promotion in sales? I hope to explore this topic in more depth throughout this course.
For Week 3, I commented on the following posts: Christian Dahmann, Kalyn McMackin, and Andrea Esquivel.
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