Keely Siciliano of Dawn Foods offers ideas on key strategies to develop for using social media effectively.

• Before posting to social media, bakeries must first have a strategy in place, including which social media channels they are going to be active on and can support. There are many out there and some are going to be better suited for you than others, so it’s important to prioritize. Then, determine how often it’s feasible for you to post – whether it’s three times per week, once a day, etc.
• Next, it’s helpful to understand the priority content your bakery would like to post for the week. This doesn’t have to be a formal process, but I recommend creating a list of content ideas before the week starts. For example, does your bakery have a special on pies on Saturday you’d like to promote? Consider these factors in advance to get the most out of your social posts.
• If budget allows, paid geotargeted social advertisements can also be a successful strategy for bakeries looking to reach new customers and boost store traffic. By using geotargeting, social media users at a location nearby can receive advertisements for your store. Attaching a special offer or discount to the advertisement can be even more effective. The great thing about advertising on social media is that it’s relatively inexpensive in comparison to other paid tactics and allows for so many creative ways to target the audience you’re looking for.
• On a similar note, do a Google search for the best bakeries or donuts in your town—for example, “Best donuts in Metro Detroit” and see where you rank.

If you’re not showing up in the search results, take a look at any links to blogs or lists that showcase your competition. Sometimes all it takes is you reaching out to the blog owner requesting your bakery to be listed on these top-performing sites or even consider inviting the blog owner to your bakery to experience your products.

LTOs are one of the most effective key messages for a baker looking to boost sales, Siciliano explains. The secret is to ensure you offer your LTO long enough for a customer to get to the store while short enough that customers feel a level of scarcity and urgency.

“For example, a wildly popular bakery in my hometown is known for their much shorter LTOs—every weekend, they have a new and incredible donut flavor for that day only, never to be made again,” she says. “You can imagine the FOMO that creates in their followers to help drive traffic.”

Finally, bakers should also leverage online tools and strategies when working with suppliers.

“At Dawn, we offer an eCommerce solution for our artisanal bakery customers to submit orders online whenever is most convenient, allowing bakers to save time so they can focus on what matters most – reaching their customers,” Siciliano says. “Simplifying many of the back-of-house tasks, like ordering and inventory, can free up time for bakers to get creative with their online presence.”