Serving Good Social || Local Markets, Superfood Cafes, and #HotGutSummer

Welcome to the very first edition of Serving Good Social, a semi-regular blog post series featuring a few brands that are doing just that: serving good social. Brands that are showing up consistently with gorgeous & valuable content that engages their community. 

Why am I sharing these brands? To show you examples of what community-first, engaging-as-heck brands can look like. And to remind you there are a multitude of ways you can show up on social media. 

Let’s get into it. 

Instagram Stories: Molly’s Market

The Feature: Instagram stories are (imo) one of the best features for building an engaged community. They’re also great for selling and converting because your most engaged customers are watching your stories. 

Who: I always look forward to Molly’s Market Instagram stories. Owned and operated by Molly Robins in King City, Ontario, Molly’s is a better-for-you grocer offering baked goods, ice cream, snacks, pantry staples, gifts + more!

What: Their stories are constantly engaging their community through polls, question boxes, and behind the scenes content that allows their community to connect with the brand, rather than just the products they sell. 

Why It Works: This approach is especially important for growth-oriented local businesses because they can establish a community-first presence while building their business in a way that aligns with what their customers *actually* want. 

See it in Action:  

Instagram Grid: Nutbar

The Feature: Your Instagram grid is the foundation for your Instagram presence. It’s what people who are new to your brand will use to decide if they want to follow you. They’ll look at the type of content you’re posting to your grid and your overall aesthetic. They’ll look at your bio and story highlights too, but your grid is your first impression. 

Who: With the rise of reels and TikTok and short-form video content, I’m impressed by brands who can post relevant and engaging grid content that captures my attention the same way a reel does. Nutbar, a Toronto-based superfood cafe, ticks that box.

What: Nutbar is known for their plant-powered smoothies, brightly coloured tonics, and vibrant foods, and they play this up with their grid posts. Each post features a close-up of their newest creations so you can see all the beautiful colours and textures. It is a crave-worthy experience! I always look forward to what they’re going to post next. 

Why It Works: There’s so many ways to create and share content now, that it’s important to find what works for your business and customers. However, it’s also important to acknowledge that even if most of your customers love reels, some may not. Some may love your brand and products and want to follow you, but they don’t want to see video content, they want that old-school grid content. This is why I don’t recommend sticking to only one type of content. Instead find a way to make each feature work for you. Nutbar maintains an Instagram-worthy feed with food photography that makes their community craveeeee their products, which is exactly the goal! 

See it In Action:

TikTok: Cove Kombucha

The Feature: TikTok continues to be a growing platform for brands and creators alike. With it’s no-fuss interface, addictive scroll, and all-knowing algorithm, it’s become a place where candid, authentic content reigns supreme and people and brands of all sizes can grow. It’s also adjusted our expectations of content creation, lowering the bar and improving accessibility. You no longer need a fancy studio to film your content, your bedroom will do just fine. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a brand killing it on TikTok! 

Who: Cove Kombucha, a line of good kombucha for good times. Founded in Nova Scotia by two brothers, Cove features deliciously fruity flavours in carbon neutral cans. 

What: Their social team posts a variety of TikToks featuring the team, the product, the benefits, the lifestyle, and they make excellent use of trending sounds that lend themselves to entertaining videos about the product. It’s fun, it’s fresh, it’s interesting and new, and most importantly the content always ties back to the product, which can be tricky on TikTok. 

Why it Works: As a brand, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of creating funny content on TikTok for the views. Or to fall into the opposite trap of creating product videos that are a lil’ too stiff for TikTok. Cove achieves a really nice balance between entertaining and product-focused videos that feel authentic and organic, but still prominently feature the brand and products. This helps with brand awareness so they’re top of mind when you’re craving something to sip on, but it also creates community around the brand and gets customers excited to enjoy their product.

See it in Action:

Share the social accounts you’re loving right now in the comments! I can’t wait to see them 🙂

---

First things first, hi! I’m Sarah—social media manager for food & wellness brands. If you liked this blog post and want more marketing tips, tricks, and bev recs, here are a few ways to do just that:

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter! Each week I send new marketing tips, trends, and a flavour of the week. It’s the best way to stay up-to-date and in-the-know, right from your inbox. Click here to subscribe!

Scroll through the blog. If you liked this blog post, you’ll probably like the rest. Scroll through to snag my tried & true social media marketing tips. Spoiler alert: I’m sharing all my secrets.

Get the social media support your business deserves. I can manage your Instagram and TikTok accounts, audit your social media, create your new marketing strategy, take on your email marketing, and more.

Explore the social media shop. Each product is designed for entrepreneurs who want social media to feel easy.

To get in touch with me personally, slide into my DMs or send an email to hi@sarahprice.co.