How We Helped an Adelaide Butcher Shop Increase Weekend Sales by $30K

When this Adelaide butcher shop first came to us in mid-2025, they were a well-established business with over 20 years in the same location. Their products were outstanding — free-range meats, house-made smallgoods, and a reputation for quality among their existing customers. But their customer base was aging, foot traffic was declining, and weekend sales were trending downward for the third year in a row. Their social media presence was essentially non-existent. A Facebook page with a few hundred followers that had not been updated in over a year, and no Instagram account at all. They had tried boosting a few Facebook posts in the past with no measurable result, and the owner had written off social media as "not for businesses like ours." The challenge was clear: incredible product, zero digital presence, and a customer base that was not being replenished. They needed to reach a younger demographic of food-conscious Adelaide consumers — the people spending Saturday mornings at the Adelaide Central Market and browsing Instagram for their weekend cooking inspiration.

We started with a comprehensive audit of their business, their products, their story, and their competitors. What became immediately obvious was that this butcher shop had everything it needed to succeed on social media — the content was right there in the shop, happening every day. They just were not capturing it. Our strategy had four pillars. First, we would showcase the craft. Butchery is a skill that people find genuinely fascinating when they see it up close. The knife work, the preparation, the seasoning — this is inherently compelling content. Second, we would tell the provenance story. Every cut of meat in the shop came from a South Australian farm. Customers care about where their food comes from, and this business had a story worth telling. Third, we would create weekly appointment content — a reason for people to check in every week. We launched a "Weekend Specials" series that dropped every Thursday, building anticipation for the Saturday shop. Fourth, we would leverage the local community angle heavily, positioning the shop as a cornerstone of their suburb. We set up a professional Instagram account and revived the Facebook page. We conducted an initial content shoot to build a library of high-quality imagery and video, and then moved to a fortnightly shoot schedule to keep the content fresh and seasonal. The posting schedule was five times per week on Instagram and three times on Facebook, with a focus on Reels, recipe inspiration, and the weekly specials drop.

Month one was about building foundations. We posted consistently, refined the visual style, and tested different content formats. Follower growth was modest — about 400 new followers — but engagement was strong. The before-and-after Reels of meat preparation and the "How It is Made" content for their house-made sausages performed particularly well. The owner was sceptical but noticed a handful of new faces in the shop who mentioned Instagram. Month two, things started to pick up. A Reel showing the preparation of their signature lamb rack went semi-viral locally, reaching over 60,000 accounts — almost entirely within Adelaide. That single piece of content brought in over 200 new followers and, more importantly, a noticeable spike in foot traffic the following weekend. The Thursday "Weekend Specials" posts were now being eagerly anticipated, with customers commenting and sharing them. By month three, the pattern was undeniable. Weekend sales were up 18 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. The owner reported that multiple customers each weekend were mentioning Instagram or Facebook as the reason for their visit. We introduced a "Butcher's Box" concept — a curated weekend pack promoted exclusively through social media — and the first drop sold out in four hours. Months four through six saw compounding growth. The Butcher's Box became a weekly sellout. The Instagram following grew past 5,000 genuine, local followers. Google reviews went from 27 to over 80, driven by our review request strategy integrated with the social media content. The shop began attracting attention from Adelaide food bloggers and local media, further amplifying the reach. By the six-month mark, weekend sales had increased by over $30,000 per month compared to the same period the previous year. The shop had hired an additional staff member to handle the weekend rush — a problem they were delighted to have.

Not all content performed equally. Here is what actually drove the results. The weekly Thursday specials post was the single most commercially valuable piece of content. It created urgency ("Limited stock — get in early Saturday"), gave people a reason to visit every week, and turned the shop into a weekly destination rather than an occasional stop. These posts consistently generated 50 to 100 comments, with customers tagging friends and family. Behind-the-scenes Reels showing the butchery craft were the best performers for reach and follower growth. A 15-second Reel of the head butcher breaking down a side of beef was captivating content that people shared widely. These videos did the heavy lifting of attracting new audiences. Recipe content — simple videos showing quick, delicious ways to cook specific cuts — drove both engagement and sales. When we posted a recipe using lamb cutlets on a Wednesday, lamb cutlet sales spiked that weekend. The direct connection between content and sales was unmistakable. Customer testimonials and user-generated content built social proof. We encouraged customers to tag the shop in their home-cooked meal photos and reshared the best ones. This created a community around the brand and provided an endless stream of authentic content. The provenance story content — visits to the farms, interviews with producers — performed modestly in terms of reach but was crucial for building the brand narrative. Customers who engaged with this content became the most loyal and highest-spending customers.

This case study is about a butcher shop, but the principles apply to almost any Adelaide business. First, you do not need a huge budget to see huge results. The investment in social media management was modest compared to the return. The key was consistency and quality, not spending. Second, your content is already happening inside your business every day. You just need to capture it. The butcher was not doing anything differently in their shop — they were simply showing people what they had always been doing. Third, weekly appointment content is transformative for retail businesses. Giving your audience a reason to check in every week builds habit, and habit builds sales. Fourth, social media success compounds over time. Month one looks very different from month six. The businesses that quit after four weeks because they "did not see results" are giving up right before the curve starts to bend. Fifth, local is your superpower. You do not need to reach a million people. You need to reach the right people in your area and give them a reason to choose you. If you are an Adelaide business owner reading this and thinking "Could this work for us?" — the answer is almost certainly yes. Every business has a story worth telling. The question is whether you are telling it.