Now that you’ve set up your Airmart shop, it’s time to start selling. If you don’t know where to start, this e-commerce marketing playbook is for you. Make your first sale with these tried-and-true promotion tactics.
Facebook Groups
There’s a Facebook group out there for anything and everything. These niche communities are great places to find new customers for your Airmart shop. The key is to find active, relevant groups that don’t mind promotional posts.
What makes a Facebook group active? A Facebook group is active if a) people have posted in the group within the last week, and b) there are likes and/or comments on the posts. You don’t want to share your shop in groups that are full of spam or completely silent.
Each Facebook group has a set of rules at the top that tell you what you can and cannot post. If you don’t adhere to these group rules, your account may be banned from the group.
How do you find the right Facebook groups for your shop?
Find relevant Facebook groups by searching keywords related to your shop, like your location, what you sell, who you sell it to, and the cuisine it comes from. Here are some example keywords to search on Facebook:
- Homemade food + [your city/region]
- [Your city/region] + small business
- Vegan food + [your city/region]
- [Your city/region] + Halal
- [Your city/region] + foodies
- [Your city/region] + eats
- [Your city/region] + wedding vendors
- [Your city/region] + moms
- [Your city/region] + party vendors
- [Your city/region] + farmers
You may also find affinity groups to share your shop with, such as Black-owned business groups, Desi community groups, etc.
Below are the Facebook groups we recommend for our California-based merchants:
Bay Area Facebook groups:
- Bay Area Eats Dine-in and Takeout
- Foodies of San Francisco
- NorCal Kababayan Community Group Corporation
- Bay Area NorCal Filipino Public Market
- Homemade Foods Visalia
SoCal Facebook groups:
- OC Homemade Filipino Food
- Homemade Food to Go Los Angeles
- San Diego Homemade Food & Goodies
- FoodiesLA
- Chula Vista Food To Go
- SGV Eats
Taiwanese Facebook groups:
How to promote your shop in a Facebook group
Here are some ideas for promoting your Airmart shop in a Facebook group:
- Make an introduction post: Hi, my name is _______. I make and sell ______. Check out my new shop here [Airmart store link].
- Offer a special discount just for members of the group
- Respond to a promotion thread. In some groups, an admin will make a post inviting members to promote their business on certain days of the week. Comment on these posts with a link to your shop and some info.
- Ask a friend to post on behalf of your business: People are more likely to trust a recommendation from a third party. Prospective customers want to hear from existing customers, so ask a friend who loves your products to write a post about your business in the Facebook group.
Always remember to include photos of your food in your Facebook posts.
If you’re not sure what to write in your Facebook group posts, Airmart AI tool can help you come up with a creative way to describe your business. Try it out here.
Update your Google Business page
If you have a registered business with a physical location, make sure your Google Listing is up to date. Not sure how to find your Google business page?
You might see a listing for your business on Google Maps that you did not create. In that case, you can claim the business to start editing.
In your Google Business page, you should include a link to your Airmart shop, photos, your opening hours, an address, and a phone number if you have a business one. If you need help creating or claiming your Google business page, check out this Google help article.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what you do to make sure your Airmart shop will be found on Google. By using popular search terms or keywords in your Airmart shop description, title, and product listings, you can boost your ranking in the Google search results.
For example, if you make ube desserts in San Jose, you might use that entire phrase in your shop description. SEO is all about using the same words customers would use when searching for a shop like yours. To find out what potential customers are searching for, you can use Google’s free Keyword Planner Tool.
Keep in mind that SEO won’t instantly drive traffic to your online shop. Google doesn’t start to recognize shops or websites until they’ve been online for while.
If you need help determining which keywords make it easy to rank in the top 10 search results, we can help you with SEO as part of our premium service package.
With the right visuals. your food can sell itself. Local foodies often discover new places to eat via Instagram, so don’t miss out on the potential customers there. Make an Instagram for your Airmart shop as soon as possible and start posting regularly. Be sure to include your Airmart shop link in the Instagram bio so customers can go directly to your shop.
What to post on Instagram
- Reels, reels, reels! Reels are shown to people on Instagram whether they follow your shop or not, so these posts are a great way to reach new customers. Use the Reel feature to share process videos showing how your food is made, video tours of your shop or restaurant, and footage of any market events you attend.
- Repost customers’ photos and videos and tag them.
- Feature each menu item in an individual photo and/or video post.
- Announce upcoming events like markets or festivals where you will be selling.
- Share your photo and a little bit about you so people can get to know the face behind the food.
Our top tips for using Instagram as a food business
- Partner with micro-influencers and food bloggers. You can pay influencers for sponsored posts, partner with them for product giveaways, or try to get on their radar by interacting with their content regularly. Who knows, maybe they will stop by your bakery for their next blog.
- Get in the Yelp spotlight. Yelp is a restaurant’s best friend, and its power goes beyond the review website and app. Being recognized by Yelp offers tons of visibility both on the app itself and its associated social media channels. Gain a strong Yelp presence by encouraging reviews. Put up Yelp signs in your store and incentivize reviews by offering a discount or free item to everyone who leaves a Yelp review. If you have online ordering, make sure there is a link to your Yelp page in every email receipt.
- Be Instagrammable. This may seem like a given, but having a signature branded symbol or signage that makes people want to Instagram your shop or products is key. For Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco, it’s the cheeky “I Got Baked In San Francisco” neon sign that everyone wants to use as a photo backdrop. Airmart partner Anton SV Patisserie doesn’t have a physical bakery location, but they still have Instagrammable packaging with their sleek black bags with gold lettering and logo cake toppers that mark their cakes in every photo.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram @ goairmart so we can feature your shop on our page and stay up to date with all of your new products and successes.
Livestreaming
Live selling, or selling over livestream, is the hottest e-commerce sales tactic in China right now. All you need to create a livestream is a good smartphone camera, a ring light, products, and a clean backdrop.
If you are located in the Bay Area, you can sign up to appear on the Airmart livestream at our headquarters. One of our hosts will invite you to appear on one of our weekly Wednesday shows. These livestreams can have up to 500 viewers from our community. The livestream will be recorded and then the highlights clipped and published on our Youtube channel.
Still having trouble promoting your Airmart shop and getting sales? Our marketing team can help!