Latest figures show that there are nearly 300,000 retails outlets in the UK, selling everything from fancy soaps to clothes to food items. Although retail is one of the most lucrative and diverse industries to be a part of, it’s also one of the most challenging.

We’re heading into new times, and some of our biggest retail giants are announcing plans to close or cut back on their physical retail locations, following a fall in footfall and the rise of online shopping.

As a small retail business owner, one of the best ways to increase brand awareness, drive sales and boost loyalty is through social media. Below I’ve put together some of the best social media post ideas for retail businesses just like yours.

Promote sales

Whether it’s Black Friday, New Year’s Day or the beginning of a season, chances are you run several sales or limited-time promotions throughout the year to drive business and get rid of old stock.

If you’re having a quiet period, consider running your own offers – you don’t need to follow national trends and provide discounts when everyone else is.

Us Brits love a bargain. Make sure you’re shouting about those special offers as soon as you can, highlighting a couple of ‘star products’ that are bound to sell out. Mark them up at a discounted rate, take some images, and create some stand-out graphics for social media to spread the news.

Increase sales and urgency by scheduling a special offer for a limited time. You could even use different codes for different social media platforms to see which ones are most used.

Talk about new products

Whether you’re stocking a new colour of lipstick or you’ve added a whole new range to your retail collections, take lots of photos and videos, make cool graphics and get people excited about what you’re selling.

If you’ve been working on a new range of products, you could even show progress updates as it goes through the design, development, testing and retail stages. You’ll generate hype and shift more stock when the products are released.

It’s important to remember that your followers probably aren’t browsing your physical or online store all the time, so keep trickling products and information to them.

Even if they aren’t ready to buy from you now, a social media post about a new product might encourage them to follow your page or bookmark some of your products.

Send people to your website

The likelihood is that you have an online store, which is good when you consider that all retail sales grow by 20% each year. Encourage people to visit your website by writing and sharing blog posts, and by creating resources on how to make the best use of your products.

Go behind-the-scenes

As a small business, a great way to stand out is by giving people a behind-the-scenes look at your business. You could take a snap of your staff in the stock room, share an employee’s birthday, or talk about the history of how the company was formed. Showing off your team is an excellent way in personalising and humanising your business. It will also encourage people to support small business.

If you’re hiding behind a logo and company branding, people won’t be able to connect with you on a personal level.

Be a part of your local community

Posting content about your community is another great way to boost engagement and get more people involved with your brand.

Big corporations cannot compete with smaller businesses who get involved in their local area. Whether you talk about the infrastructure developments, the opening of a new café, or a local fundraising campaign, there are so many ways to get people involved.

A post about the circus coming to town might attract shares and people tagging their friends. It’s all about increasing your brand exposure and backing that up with lots of quality, original content that sets your business apart from the rest.

Would you like more tailored advice for your business?

I can provide a social media strategy, bespoke to your business, based on your industry, target market, and what you wish to achieve from social media. It includes specific content ideas, the platforms you should be using, the best free online tools to use, and much more. This is priced at just £195. Get in touch to find out more!