We had the opportunity to grow Red Cat Coffee House's social media following through consistency, community, and creativity. Customers want to be heard and shared and to feel like they are a part of your business. In turn, they'll become your biggest promoters. Social media requires authenticity and consistency. See how we helped this business with its strategy.
Background: A local coffee shop that supports the community wants to connect with its community
Red Cat Coffee House is a coffee shop based in Birmingham, Alabama. This business values environmental sustainability, high-quality ingredients, and maintaining value for its customers. The business has three locations around Downtown Birmingham, but potential customers weren't aware.
"Our motto is coffee for everyone." - Mike McElwain, owner of Red Cat Coffee House
We sat down with the Red Cat's owner, Mike McElwain, and learned he cared about quality and prioritized his customers' experience at his restaurants. He valued natural ingredients and supported the community through regular food donations to the UAB football team and Grace Klein Community (FeedBHM).
Current State: The social media accounts were inactive
The social media accounts lacked consistent activity due to bandwidth and operational priorities. The owner decided it was time to outsource this job, and J. E. Hill Digital Marketing had the opportunity to step in and help.
Solution: Show the customers and products some love by sharing their attributes
We sat down with the owner to better understand his customers and what products and offerings he wanted to showcase. We formed a picture of his ideal customer personas and researched comparable businesses and competitors to analyze the food and beverage industry.
We captured and used organic (little to no creative editing), high-quality imagery to position Red Cat's products. We also tapped into the existing community of local coffee shop fans and used user-generated content.
Instagram Followers - November 2022 | Instagram Followers - July 2023 |
More than 2,000 | More than 3,000 |
A consistent schedule of at least three original weekly posts, sharing announcements on the story, and utilizing native features on the social platform helped grow the social accounts. We focused on Facebook and Instagram since this business interacts directly with customers.
Result:
Red Cat Coffee House sustained regular engagement on Instagram posts and Facebook posts during our time managing their accounts. We left them with a framework to follow to feed their social media with valuable content and stay connected with customers.
One of the most successful posts was organic and announced Red Cat's UAB Highlands location. This was a lesser-known location, but bringing light to it let residents know about this option to visit, and university students and staff became aware of the business.
A local news outlet contacted the business to have them on TV during our time managing their social media presence.
The content strategy for this account involved highlighting the store's connection to the community and sharing the benefits of its products (coffee beverages, cafe meals, and merchandise).
How does spending time at your local coffee shop improve your day and enrich your life as a customer?
How does it make you feel supporting a local business that stands for sustainability and giving back to the community?
How can we position this coffee shop in the busy schedule of the young professional who works in the city?
What message would the owner like his customers to know about the business? What does "coffee for everyone" mean?
Answering these questions humanized the business and provided the framework for our social media content strategy for Red Cat Coffee House.
Type: A case study
Client: Red Cat Coffee House
Industry: Food & Beverage
Goal: Grow social media following and community
Our role: Social media management, social media strategy, content development, photography, copywriting
J. E. Hill Digital Marketing brings creativity, structure, and a strategy for sharing your brand's story with the community.
Want to learn more about digital marketing and how best to use it alongside other marketing efforts? Connect with J. E. Hill Digital Marketing on social media. We specialize in content marketing for websites, social media marketing, and email marketing. Learn more about our services.