Meijer, Simply Give, and Hashtag Campaigns

Meijer is capitalizing on social media behavior by hosting a hashtag campaign during their annual “Simply Give” campaign.

This hashtag social media campaign allows the posters’, through their use of the social media tag #meijersimplygive, 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 so 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: 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 campaign called “Don’t Just Share the Photo, Share the Meal” began on October 28th and runs through November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, of 2019.

How to Participate

1. Take a photo of your food.

2. Add the #meijersimplygive hashtag to your social media post on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

3. 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, there isn’t a whole lot to a social media hashtag campaign. Here’s a couple of things to consider though.

1. Make your hashtag unique. You want to make sure that you can find it easily and there aren’t going to be a lot of 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.

2. 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 of one can manage a social media hashtag campaign.