Listen to this lesson
Marketing is the thing every retail and hospitality owner knows they should do but never has time for. AI changes that. You can produce a week of content in 10 minutes.
Types of posts that work for retail/hospitality:
"I run a [business type] in [city]. Write [number] social media posts for this week:
- [Topic 1 — e.g., behind the scenes of our kitchen prep]
- [Topic 2 — e.g., new summer menu items with local ingredients]
- [Topic 3 — e.g., thanks for supporting local message]
For Instagram: include a caption and relevant hashtags (5-8). For Facebook: write as a text post. Keep them friendly, local, and not salesy. Vary the tone between posts."
Total time: 10 minutes for a week of content.
"Write an Instagram caption for a photo of [new product/menu item] at my [business type] in [city]. The item is [description] and costs $[price]. Make it appetising/exciting. Include a call to action to come try it. 5-8 relevant hashtags at the end. Under 100 words."
"Write an Instagram caption for a behind-the-scenes photo of [what's happening — e.g., our barista training, morning prep, new stock arrival] at my [business type] in [city]. Make it feel authentic and local. Under 80 words. 5 hashtags."
"Write an Instagram caption reposting a customer's photo of [what they photographed] at my [business type]. Thank them by name [name], say what we loved about seeing them enjoy it, and encourage others to share their photos too. Under 60 words. 3-5 hashtags."
AI is excellent for writing menu descriptions:
"Write menu descriptions for these items at my [business type] in [city]:
- [Item name] — [ingredients/components] — $[price]
- [Item name] — [ingredients/components] — $[price]
- [Item name] — [ingredients/components] — $[price]
Make them appetising, clear, and not overly fancy. Mention local ingredients where relevant. Keep each description under 25 words."
If you have a customer email list (and you should):
"Write a monthly email newsletter for my [business type] in [city]. Include: a welcome message, [number] updates/news items ([list them]), a special offer for subscribers ([describe offer]), and a call to action. Friendly, personal tone — like writing to a regular customer. Under 300 words. Include a subject line."
Plan ahead with AI:
"I run a [business type] in [city]. Give me 5 seasonal marketing ideas for [season — summer/winter/holidays/Mother's Day/etc]. Each idea should be something I can do in under 1 hour with free tools. Include what to post, when, and what the goal is."
3 posts a week × 52 weeks = 156 posts a year. Each one reaches 50-500 people in your local area. That's 7,800-78,000 local impressions per year — for 10 minutes a week of effort.
The cafe or shop that posts consistently will be the one people think of when they want [what you sell]. The one that doesn't post will be forgotten.
Key Takeaways