Meijer is capitalizing on social media behavior by hosting a hashtag campaign during their annual “Simply Give” campaign.
This social media campaign uses the hashtag #meijersimplygive to allow the posters to experience the joy of giving by Meijer donating a meal to their Simply Give program.
Who is Meijer and what is Simply Give
Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer responsible for pioneering the ‘one-stop shopping’ concept consumers have become familiar with.
It operates more than 245 supercenters and grocery stores throughout the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.
Meijer began running the Simply Give campaign annually in 2008. Its purpose is to help local food pantries feed hungry families.
According to Feeding America, every dollar donated to the program equals ten meals. Since its inception, Simply Give has generated more than fifty million for its food pantry partners across the Midwest. This year, however, they are trying something a little different.
They are running a social media hashtag campaign using the hashtag #meijersimplygive. For every picture posted publicly on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, Meijer has pledged to donate one meal with a cap of one million dollars.
The “Don’t Just Share the Photo, Share the Meal” campaign began on October 28th and runs through November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, of 2019.
How to Participate
Take a photo of your food.
Add the #meijersimplygive hashtag to your social media post on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Post it publicly to get it counted toward helping local families through Simply Give.
Running Your Own Campaign
As you can see from the list of steps to participate, a social media hashtag campaign involves little. Here are a couple of things to consider, though.
Make your hashtag unique. You want to ensure that you can find it easily and that there aren’t man copycats running around. In this case, Meijer used their name plus the name of the campaign to create a unique hashtag. You could go even further and add the year, especially if you are not going to be doing this every year.
Choose your platform. Meijer is using three social media platforms instead of a dozen. The more platforms you have, the more you have to check to see if your hashtag is being used. Pick a couple or three and don’t over-divide your energy. With a little bit of time and patience, even a business can manage a social media hashtag campaign.