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Publix amasses followers on Pinterest, Instagram as food-related sharing grows

Supermarket chain Publix recently launched on social media platforms Pinterest and Instagram after realizing that its audience was already sharing branded content and has since seen a positive reception. 

The retailer became cognizant of the pull its content was deriving on Instagram and Pinterest and was quick to become a part of the conversation with its own pages. Instagram and Pinterest accounts for Publix have gained 14,000 and 1,000 followers, respectively, since launching in October and December.

?Instagram and Pinterest help us connect with our consumers by being where they already are,? said Maria Brous, spokeswoman at Publix. ?We want to exchange ideas, pictures, recipes and so much more with our customers."

Social media marketing
After realizing that a copious number of social media users on Pinterest were sharing and saving Publix?s recipes, the brand itself wanted to be involved in the conversation. Last December, Publix launched its Pinterest account where users can interact with a variety of content, such as recipes and information, regarding products it sells. 


In October, the retailer launched its Instagram account, which features a variety of high quality imagery and video content related to food, such as short how-tos and product pictures. The account currently boasts more than 15,600 followers.

Publix noted that the hashtag #Publix was shared more than 300,000 times on Instagram, which prompted the retailer to launch its own account. Facebook and Twitter accounts were the retailer?s main source of connection to consumers through social media, but its recent addition expanded its capability and provided a more comprehensive brand image. 


The retailer is celebrating holidays and events with followers such as Valentine?s Day and Super Bowl Sunday with coinciding images and video. For instance, on Valentine?s Day on a short video featured candy hearts following out of the back of a toy Publix delivery truck which was then revealed to be in the shape of a heart. 

Also for Valentine?s Day, the retailer created a board on its Pinterest account, which shared various related content such as recipes and special occasion cards. 

Retailers and social media
Similarly, Kohl?s paired social activations and live streaming on its social media accounts with a sponsorship for this year?s Academy Awards, sharing an in-depth viewing experience and party preparation ideas in the days before the broadcast (see more). 

CVS also leveraged the pull of hashtags to get Twitter users in the Valentine?s Day spirit, sharing various new ideas to incorporate products into consumers? gift giving (see more).

?They are already on these platforms and were already engaging us prior to us joining, so it only made sense to join the communities,? she said.  

?We hope to engage more of our customers and to have fun while sharing great ideas,? Ms. Brous said.