Speaking at the Business of Baking for Beginners seminar at the IBIE Sept. 17-21 in Las Vegas, Mitchie Curran of Mitchies Munchies, a cake and sugar arts specialist in Las Vegas, emphasized that consumers shopping online – a growing segment for the bakery business – have a short attention span. So, make your messaging count.

“We have 3-7 seconds to capture a user’s attention online,” Curran said, outlining several key strategies to follow on your business’s social media platforms:

Keep your handles consistent so they are easy to find.

Use the same profile pics across all social media platforms.

Follow specific brands and vendors you patronize, local communities (chamber of commerce) and dream accounts (who you look up to).

Don’t follow (on your business account) celebrities and your family.

Stop posting selfies every day. “You’re not selling you. You want to relate your posts to your business.”

Make sure to keep your posts relevant to your business: events, products, reviews, short videos.

“Social media is a two-way street. Interact and engage,” Curran emphasized.