In our last post, we discussed the benefits of implementing social media as part of your marketing strategy. While many coffee shop owners like the idea of trying something new, the other concern is finding the time to do it. Here are some effective ways to manage your social media tools:

Defined Goal

• Be specific and set up a goal to avoid hassle and time wasted.

Find Your Customers or Potential Customers

• Set up Google Alerts to find your customers and find potential areas where you can add value to online discussions or presence online.

Limit Your Tools

• Instead of managing six different kinds of social media tools, focus on doing 1-2 at a time and to target ones where most of your customers or prospects are.

Manage Your Time Wisely

• Managing social media shouldn’t take all day. Spend at least 20-30 minutes per day but be CONSISTENT. For instance, in Facebook, your routine should include monitoring or reviewing wall posts, private messages (answer questions if needed), and comments (respond professionally to concerns or compliments).
• Consider these time saving tools such as HootSuite or HubSpot to schedule posts in advance on a weekly basis in Facebook and Twitter. Remember, mixing your original content posts will keep your customers engaged (promotions, upcoming events, contests, thoughts, etc).

Set Your Own Voice

• Use your own voice to establish you and your brand.

Measure Success

• Take time to also track the success of your social media efforts. Increase in “likes” or followers may seem nice but your real focus should be on your sales. Ask yourself, did the one-week long roasted coffee bean promotion increase in your roasted coffee bean sales? You can also track some of these analytics through HootSuite and HubSpot. Another great tool is Google Analytics to help analyze your marketing activities.

Best of luck and we wish you all the success!