Social Media Batting Practice: Grocery Store Chain

Online Brand Engagement via Social Media Communities:

What would you do if you were a grocery store chain to create a social media campaign? Whether they were a high-end niche boutique or a mass market grocery store, some of the key aspects of the campaign.

• Create an online show like Winelibrary TV for cooking and dietary needs. Allow host interaction and questions.
• Aggregate dietary information
• Aggregate recipes.
• Create a social network for dietary info and recipes. Make is super easy and social bookmark recipes on your profile.
• Easy to create shopping lists based on recipes
• Allow shoppers to buy online and pick food up for an reasonable fee
• Aggregate local community news and events
• Feature video and transcribed interviews with dietary and food experts.
• Encourage user created and recommended recipes. Add a digg-like ranking feature or thumbs up, thumbs down, or 5 stars rubric for enhanced user engagement.
• Encourage user created photos of recipes.
• Create a budgeting feature
• Include online only discounts, coupons, and specials
• Collaborate with affiliates who already had some of the above content and web applications
• Include a web based call to action on in store flyers and receipts
• Mobile announcement of weekly specials + when the online show goes live.
• Include twitter and a customer service platform as part of the online brand strategy.
• New feature roll out via corporate blog, blogger relations to targeted and influential blogs, and online public relations
• Roll out niche features and that cater to shopping dads, shopping moms, and the Gen X/Gen Y audience segment.
• Optional: create affiliate based advertising with current clients within the scope of the current corporate branding strategy.
• Optional: Easy to use and access Facebook application for ordering online

A strategy that engaged in three or more of the above would also have the byproduct of enhancing the search engine optimization of your website, both in relation to local events and happenings as well in relation to a host of food related queries online.