You know you should be posting on social media to boost business in your liquor store, but every time you sit down to try to create content, you draw a blank.
What do you post? A product photo? A generic “happy Friday” message? Everything feels forced and overwhelming. More often than not, you end up posting nothing at all.
But the problem isn’t that you don’t have anything interesting to share — it’s that you aren’t connecting the dots between the data you have at your fingertips and the potential social media strategy that works with it.
This blog post shows you how to turn your point of sale (POS) data into fodder for posts that drive engagement and foot traffic. We’ll share practical examples, giving you everything you need to get your social media strategy off the ground.
Chances are, you already use your POS data to make decisions related to inventory management, sales, and merchandising. But if you aren’t yet using it to inform your social media strategy, you’re missing a major opportunity.
Your sales data is proof of what’s working in your store right now. Your bestsellers are the items customers want most, and when you build a social strategy around these items, you know you’re promoting the things your audience already wants — not just guessing at what they might be interested in.
Using a POS solution like Bottle POS, you can take advantage of several features to help plan your social media calendar:
Your POS data gives you key insights into what’s hot in your neighborhood. That intel helps you make social media that genuinely resonates with local customers.
People trust what other people are buying. When you share your top sellers, you give customers social proof that these products are worth their money.
Use your sales reports to see which products sold the most units that week, then create content around those products to encourage an “I don’t want to miss out” feeling.
Examples:
The win-win here is that it makes for easy, regular social content. Post your top sellers every week to fill out your social calendar and give your followers a reason to check in regularly to see what’s hot.
Customers trust stores that stay ahead of the curve. When you catch a trend early and share about it on social, you show your audience that you’re in the know and they can trust you with their alcohol-related needs.
Use your sales reports to compare this month’s sales to last month or the same period last year. Look for categories showing a significant boost and share those insights on your social channels.
Examples:
Take it further by connecting your local data to broader industry trends. A quick search can help you explain why bourbon is hot right now or what's driving the seltzer boom, making your store the go-to source for what's new and what's next.
Related Read: 6 Liquor Industry Trends Every Store Owner Should Follow
Nothing drives action faster than knowing something might not be there tomorrow. Scarcity creates urgency, and urgency gets customers through your door.
Use real-time inventory data to check your current stock levels and create urgency-based posts that compel customers to stop by your store before they miss out.
Examples:
The key to this strategy is honesty. Only post scarcity when it's real, and remember to always encourage responsible consumption in your messaging.
New products are automatic content opportunities. Customers are naturally curious about what's fresh, and new arrivals give you an excuse to post without it feeling unnatural.
When you add new items to your inventory, create social content to announce the new arrival. Be sure to communicate what it is, why you’re stocking it, and which customers might enjoy it.
Examples:
Don’t just post photos of the new product. For best results, connect the new product to the answer to one key question: “Why should I care?”
Bundles make shopping easier for customers and increase your average sale. When you create bundles based on what people actually buy together, you can boost basket sizes without seeming pushy.
Look at your sales reports and identify items that frequently appear in the same basket. Then, create and share posts about product bundles that’ll get your target audience excited.
Examples:
Tie bundles to special occasions, seasons, and holidays to give customers a reason to buy now instead of later. This kind of content practically writes itself when you have the data to see what customers already buy together.
Related Read: 7 Liquor Store Promotion Ideas That Actually Work
When you share the right products at the right moment, you’re more likely to create a genuine connection with your audience — and connection is the key to social media marketing success.
Your historical sales data shows you exactly what sold during past holidays and seasonal events. Compare year-over-year reports to see what moved during last year's holidays, Super Bowl weekend, or summer season. Then, create social posts around those patterns to help customers prepare for this year’s event.
Examples:
Your POS data spells the difference between generic seasonal promotions and posts that actually speak to your neighborhood, your audience, and your customers.
Data-driven content is the best way to create a cycle in which your daily operations fuel your marketing engine, enabling your marketing efforts to drive more sales and start the whole process over again.
But if you feel overwhelmed by the possibilities, don’t be afraid to start small. Pick one post type (weekly bestsellers is an easy one) and get started. Pull your sales report, grab your phone, snap a quick photo, and share what's actually moving in your store. Once you get started, you’ll see how easy it is to keep going.
But before you can start posting social content that actually moves bottles, you need the right technology. The right POS system gives you the data and insights you need to turn sales data into social media gold.
Bottle POS makes social content planning easy with auto ranking, detailed reporting, and real-time inventory tracking. See how our liquor-specific POS solution helps you work smarter, not harder. Schedule a demo today.