Graphic via Trader Joes
Trader Joe's is a national chain of, what they call themselves, “neighborhood grocery stores.” Their grocery stores are not the typical modern day ‘neighborhood’ markets though. They offer many highly selective products, many of which bear their own name. The relatively small stores exude a warm personality and attentive employees that make customers feel welcome and thrown back to a time when customer and employee interactions were more personal. Products range from organic foods, vegetarian foods, imported foods, domestic and imported wine and beer, and gourmet foods, and fresh flowers (Trader Joe's, 2020). Trader Joe’s prides itself by finding products around the globe that are free of preservatives, artificial colors or flavors or genetically altered ingredients.
Target Audience
How does Trader Joe’s use social media to reach their customers? They keep it simple. Surprisingly, they don’t utilize every social media platform they can get their hands on. This coincides with the stores nature of being very selective with their products. Trader Joe’s website offer links to their Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube pages.
According to a 2019 Pew Research study, the largest number of users for Pinterest and Instagram are women; 42% ages of 30-39 and 43% ages 18-29 respectively. Men ages 18-29 constitute 78% of users on YouTube (Perrin & Anderson, 2019).
Fittingly, they selectively leave out two popular social media giants, Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, TraderJoe’s launched their new campaign, “Inside Trader Joe’s” Podcast to further engage audiences. They specifically target local neighborhoods to show they care about their local customers and they work hard to be “a better neighborhood grocery store” (Trader Joe's, 2020).
Social media enables people and organizations to get, create, and share content by interacting with others about topics of common interest (Roberts, Callahan, & O'Leary, 2017). In Trader Joe’s case, they use Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. This allows Trader Joe’s to target their audience with visual inspiration. Trader Joe’s shares visually stimulating digital photos and videos with their customers. The social media platforms Trader Joe’s uses allow them to connect with a younger crowd of customers who value health and are environmentally savvy. They share ideas, menus and shopping lists that help young families and college kids prepare for their next meal.
The store takes pride in its very visual and artistic 40’s tropical neighborhood market theme. Older customers who don’t use social media already appreciate the throwback to a small market with great customer service, special selections, and bargain prices. CEO Dan Bane says, “We celebrate the special way we treat and relate to our customers. We think retailing is all about customer experience, and that is what really differentiates us” (Croitor, 2017).
Networking
Social networks that Trader Joe’s routinely use serve as a tool to connect their customers to the organization. They share a common interest, food. While networking is possible on these sites, it is not the primary practice on many of them (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Engagement allows consumers to co-create value by “generating content, providing feedback, disseminating information and becoming advocates for the organization among their peers” (Shawky, Kubacki, Dietrich, & Weaven, 2019). Overall, Trader Joe does a great job at engaging their customers at a low cost. With over 500 stores in 42 states, they continue to grow with the help of their customers. Customers share photos of meals they prepared using Trader Joes products, provide product reviews, and therefore, help market the Trader Joe brand.
References
Boyd, D.M., & Ellison, N.B. (2007). Social Networking Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Jounal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
Croitor, D. (2017, July 11). THE 7 GOLDEN RULES AT TRADER JOE'S via Dan Bane. Retrieved July 2020, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnMMXkUCPDc
Perrin, A., & Anderson, M. (2019). Share of U.S. adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018. Washington DC: Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/
Roberts, M., Callahan, L., & O'Leary, C. (2017). Social Media: A path to health literacy. Information Services & Use, 37(2), 177-187. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.3233/ISU-170836
Shawky, S., Kubacki, K., Dietrich, T., & Weaven, S. (2019). Using social media to create engagement: a social marketing review. Journal of Social Marketing, 9(2), 204-224. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1108/JSOCM-05-2018-0046
Trader Joe's. (2020). Trader Joe's. Retrieved July 2020, from Trader Joe's: https://www.traderjoes.com
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