Running a small liquor business is all about making a big impact.
Offering premium products, excellent customer service, and a personalized shopping experience is key to keeping customers coming back.
A simple, but extremely effective, tool to help you do this?
Social media.
Building an online social media presence might seem scary for some business owners, but it doesn’t have to be — the benefits are endless.
Here are three ways to boost your liquor store’s social media presence right now.
Posting on social media is one of the easiest ways for small businesses to build their brand — the platforms are easily accessible, and most consumers are active on at least one.
Take advantage of this opportunity to meet existing (and potential!) customers where they’re at — but make sure you’re considering which platforms they spend the most time on. Older shoppers might spend more time on Facebook, while younger buyers might be more present on Instagram and TikTok, for example.
Create profiles on different platforms, and check out how other liquor stores are making the most of their social media — remember to research relevant hashtags and follow similar accounts.
You’ll get to know your customers, and what they want, which will help you to develop a voice and online presence for your liquor store that will be sure to boost profits on and offline.
Build a Community of Customers
Connecting with people on social media gives liquor store owners the unique opportunity to build relationships with customers outside of store hours (and doors). Many people choose to shop with small businesses because of the personalized experience they can provide — using social media is the perfect way to take that personal touch online.
Give your customers a peek into the human side of your liquor store — highlight yourself and your employees in social posts, and reap the benefits of face-to-face interaction, without having to spend tons of resources (read: time and money). Show some personality — customers want to engage with real people, not behind-the-scenes suits.
Try a weekly series where you showcase your employees’ favorite movie, sports team, or drink — this is a great way to get your face in front of your customers and to slyly promote your products, too. Once you gain some momentum online, ask followers to submit their own photos and favorites, and share those as well.
Because social media is all about engagement, it’s the perfect place to gather free information from your customers. Post the products you carry on your feed, and see if any of them get more likes and saves than others — you might consider running deals on those specific brands to see if you can push more products. Pose questions in your captions or stories — ask your followers directly what they’d like to buy more of, and reply if possible. You can even create polls, and gauge what types and brands of liquor perform best — tequila or whiskey, Tito’s or Captain Morgan.
Remember to ask people to tag your account in their posts, and to reshare your content. This is an easy way to get in front of potential customers that may otherwise have never considered your store. Having existing customers vouch for your product is key — in fact, 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends over any other form of advertising (bonus: it’s free!).
And if you can, collect contact information. Link your website, or the signup to your newsletter — reel them in to your customer loyalty program, so that the relationship extends beyond a social media follow.
Promote Liquor and Wine Deals
You might have the most well-run shop on the street, or even the sleekest website, but not everyone is going to stumble upon your liquor store without a little help — especially if you run a small business.
Make the most of the extra exposure.
When you start running promotions, let your followers know. Do you have a bottle of bourbon discounted 50 percent, or a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deal on your vodka selection? Post it. People will know about your in-store deals without leaving the sofa, and it might tempt them to head over to your brick-and-mortar store.
You can also use social media for your promotions. Try contests and giveaways, and have followers tag friends in the comments of posts for entries — another great way to increase visibility. Just make sure you give away products responsibly and according to guidelines. Many states have restrictions on giving away alcohol, so get creative and try gift cards or whiskey glasses instead.
Be sure to take advantage of timing, too. Promote liquor for seasonal summer drinks, from margaritas to mojitos. Offering 12 days of deals during the holiday season? Put it on social media. And remember to use popular hashtags like #TequilaTuesday and #WineWednesday. Not only does this increase awareness of your promotions, it can increase sales — especially if you have an e-commerce store on your website that you can send followers to directly.
Social media has changed the game for the retail industry as a whole, and it’s no different for the liquor and wine industry. Being active online is especially valuable for small business and liquor store owners — it keeps you top-of-mind as many people spend hours on social media every day.
Strengthen relationships with new and existing customers, and they’ll be more likely to bring their business to your store — and if you have a webstore readily available, you can do even better.
To prepare your store for this boost in traffic, get started with a liquor-specific point of sale (POS) system that can handle the specific needs of your industry. Schedule a demo of Bottle POS, including the BottleZoo e-commerce integration, with one of our point of sale specialists today.
