How To Grow Your Food Business Online In 2022
5 Big Unaware Mistakes To Avoid On Social Media
In 100,800 seconds, we will say bye-bye to 2021🎈🎊🎉🎉. From sars-cov-2 to delta and to omicron, we are still here! we f**king made it! How does it feel? ………Pat yourself on the back, you have done an incredible job. In Ghana, 24% of food businesses couldn’t survive the pandemic but you did👏💪!
In 2022, our studies show a hyper-growth in online adoption. So you better start positioning yourself for the Instagram boujee, Tiktok drama, Twitter no man’s land steez, LinkedIn pose, and other convenience tech. Look out for the ones Bukyia will be bringing. It’s hot🔥!
Now for starters, we’ve shared some simple yet big unaware mistakes food businesses especially restaurants make online and hope you avoid them to be part of the big moment ahead.
1. No Dms
Statistics have shown that consumers love brands that they can engage and relate with. No Dms with cancel emoji ❌ found on profiles appear so harsh and intimidating.
Next time you want to try something like that, kindly add a bit of tact and diplomacy. Instead of typing something few that is likely to piss off customers, why don’t you choose to be the swaggy, sociable and customer-centric brand?😎✌️
2. DM for price
Buying decisions are often made in nanoseconds. It is always advisable to update your profile with a single ordering link or channel for quicker conversions. You can also create a highlight featuring your menu on your Instagram profile.
Always remember your sole aim is to make the sale and not to screen candidates because you are a restaurant and never a recruitment/talent agency.
If you are on multiple food aggregator platforms like the Bukyia App, Glovo, or Bolt, simply add something like ‘Available on BukyiaApp, Bolt and Glovo’ to your profile. Say no to DM for price because consumers really hate it. see some reactions😧
3. Who is this?
This is common on WhatsApp.
How does it feel when you are treated as a complete stranger at an event or dinner? Well, it’s very annoying and regretful. Meeting customers with ‘Who is this’ causes a similar feeling of uneasiness🤷♀️
During our food ecosystem study, we realized there are over 1000 food brands in Accra alone using WhatsApp business as their sales channel. So if you are among this group, kindly avoid using ‘Who is this’.
Funny enough, we experienced brands that add ‘where did you get my number’. Yes! A hi was texted and X food brands replied with ‘’ Hi Who is this… Where did you get my number’’.😡😡
Ideally, It is not the best practice to manage your food business on WhatsApp (both normal or business versions) but if you find yourself in that situation, kindly consider 2 key things:
i. Have a dedicated line and account for the business
ii. Attach a personalized ordering message to WhatsApp Business links to set the tone for custom orders.
4. Long and uppercase captions
Facebook(sorry, Meta) announced 1.75 seconds as the average attention span of mobile users on all its platforms. Meaning, even before you post, people had already scrolled and will not be interacting with it.
Avoid long and capped captions which are typical of world-remit fraudsters. Instead, use short and succinct sentences for captions.👌 If you cannot do this yourself, hire a copywriter.
5. Bad graphics
Our attention span is shrinking every day and organic interactions are fast declining on the internet; making bad designs very expensive than influencer ads. Modern social media algorithms work well with graphics containing less writing and high-resolution images. As they say, ‘’a picture is worth a thousand words’’. In 2022, find good designers to develop a brand identity for your food brand and let your pages do the talking!🥰
In case you have never heard of brand identity, it is basically about logos, color scheme, images, and verbiage. Customers should be able to recognize the food and branding immediately when they visit your page🔥.
Extra Note
This entire post is centered around the customer experience. There is one thing all great brands in the world have in common: they are all customer-focused. If you are wondering how Amazon suddenly became a global giant, it is because they wanted to be the earth’s most customer-centric company.
As a huge learner of marketing, I know we are living in an era characterized by what we call Total Experience Marketing. The concept is that goods and services are no longer enough for consumers — that businesses must create memorable events and experiences that capture their audience and create experiences that transform their brand’s value proposition. Apple’s iPhone to me is not the best phone in the world (though I am using one😂) however, it is the best phone with the experience and that has been enough to make it the best phone in the eyes of everyone.
Customer Experience is crucial for restaurants now more than ever because of the kind of customers it is having: Millenials and GenZs.
These are groups that are not using blue-link sites like Craiglist but actively streaking on Snapchat with the iPhone they ordered on Amazon.
Everything unique about these brands I just mentioned is the kind of experience they deliver. The emergence of the metaverse is set to disrupt and drive this experience economy to a whole new level.
Now, being the talented cook with the tastiest meal in Accra is not enough anymore. Sorry about that… Your true strength is in how you leverage every detail and touchpoint to WOW the customer.
We are living in a very salesy world. Everyone is pitching and everyone is selling. To move beyond this noise, you need to start making the customer your God.
Go create a unique experience for customers! Happy New Year🎉
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And, we are planning a massive giveaway🎊🎈🎁…. send us a cool shoutout on social media to be part of the early winners. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 🧑🏽🎄🤶🏾🎅🏾
Written by
Nathaniel — CEO, Bukyia.
