You know your co-op has several promotional programs to improve price perception, yet your customers might still be thinking that it’s too expensive to shop there. Overcome this sentiment by using social media to communicate value — as well as values — and three key ways that co-ops make products more affordable: everyday low prices, routine promotions and extraordinary deals.

Highlight EDLP with Co+op Basics

To convey the idea of everyday affordability, post regularly about Co+op Basics. Include the Co+op Basics logo and product images to heighten consumer awareness. This content is not tied to specific promotion dates, so it’s easy to create multiple variations in advance and pepper them repeatedly throughout your social media calendar.

Ideas for Co+op Basics social posts:

• Post a photo of Co+op Basics shelf talkers and products with the caption: “Stretch your grocery budget! Look for the Co+op Basics signs to find great prices on everyday favorites.”
• Create a solution. Show ingredients for making a meal with Co+op Basics items (think spaghetti and pasta sauce), or feature essential household cleaning supplies.
• Host a Facebook giveaway. Many co-ops have successfully offered contests with prizes like “Win $100 worth of Co+op Basics items!” Ask people to comment on the post for a chance to win in a random drawing. Not only do giveaways engage followers in an exciting contest, they generate awareness of the Co+op Basics line.

Promote Your Promotions!

Don’t assume people know about great Co+op Deals or Fresh Deals — promote them! Align your social media posts with Co+op Deals flyers and your store’s promotions, in terms of both content and timing. Feature items that are on sale and time your efforts for maximum impact — for example, post about Co+op Deals on the day a new flyer begins.

Ideas for posts about Co+op Deals and other promotions:

• Highlight Fresh Deals or Co+op Deals item by posting irresistible produce photos and pictures that feature co-op staff – along with text that emphasizes the great price point. Another angle: Quote staff on their favorite way to use the product or why they love it. Friendly faces and delicious food draw scrolling social media users into a post, while sale pricing will bring them into the store.
• Use a simple call to action: Open with fun, engaging copy: “Who’s the queen of brunch? You are! Bacon and coffee are on sale now at your co-op.” Follow that with a clickable call to action like “Check out the latest Co+op Deals!” with a link to your co-op’s flyer in AdViewer. (This AdViewer FAQ explains how to add this robust, mobile-friendly tool to your website.)
• Share an enticing recipe that inspires shoppers to buy an item on promotion by showing them ways to enjoy it. You can share recipes from the Co+op, welcome to the table Facebook or Twitter feeds, or visit welcometothetable.coop to find seasonal or ingredient-specific recipes.

Brag on Extraordinary Offers

Once you’ve established your co-op as a source of affordable everyday items and predictably great sales, go big every now and then to promote those truly extraordinary deals. Give flash sales a “wow!” factor with their own attention-grabbing look that’s unique yet still on-brand — check out NCG’s flash sale resources. Use bold, simple graphics to shout urgency and help customers immediately recognize that this is no ordinary sale.

Coordinate Your Message, Cultivate Consistency and Measure Your Impact

With these tactics to promote affordability in your toolkit, and NCG’s social media preferred practices as a reference, you can apply some basic rules of thumb to your social media efforts:

Make it cohesive. Your social media posts should reinforce the messages from your website, email blasts and in-store signage. Think of it as producing one cohesive campaign about affordability — no matter where customers interact with you, they will receive the same message.

Keep it simple. Use consistent branding and include the Co+op Basics and Co+op Deals logos. Images that feature clean, bold design and colorful, enticing food photos are especially important for Facebook and Instagram.

Meet your customers where they are. Facebook is by far the most widely used social media platform, with Instagram on the rise. If your customer base skews younger, Instagram could be more impactful for reaching them. Focus your efforts where your customers spend their time in the social sphere.

Pay to play. Consider boosting Facebook posts to maximize their impact, and running low-cost, targeted ads to garner more visibility and build awareness of your co-op beyond current followers.

Monitor for effectiveness. It can be hard to gauge exactly how social media impacts sales, but you can review key engagement metrics. Which types of posts generate more engagement via comments, shares or retweets? Does Google analytics reveal a bump in website traffic on the days your Facebook ads ran? This data can indicate that people are responding to your efforts.