Promoting the items that your bakery sells doesn’t have to be complicated, especially when you’re focused on promoting them online. With all the social media platforms available, though, it’s easy to get bogged down with the options—so, what is the best way to promote your desserts online? To promote your bakery's desserts online, you can use a site like Pinterest to share your event desserts like birthday or wedding cakes, create a giveaway, show off your process in a blog or video series, promote sales through social media, or create a photo contest. Regardless of what social media platform you’re using, you need to focus on developing a marketing plan. How do you do that? What’s the benefit of promoting online, and what are the best ways to do so? Read on to find out more how you can utilize social media to promote your desserts. How to Start Marketing Your Desserts There are a few steps you need to take before considering all the unique ways you can promote your desserts online. First, you need to make sure you have a viable online presence to do so. What do you need to create that online presence? There are a few avenues you should take—the first being claiming your location as a Google Business. When you Google something (like desserts in your area) you want your business to be the one to pop up on the side—that informational box on your Google search. The best way to do that is to claim and control your Google Business. It can be very easy and completed by going to the Google Business website. Once you’ve done that, you can control your contact information, hours, and even your photos and other contact information that you would like your potential customers to find. This feature is free. Once you’ve created that, it’s time to make your website. In many cases, creating your website can be just as easy as you making it yourself. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and SquareSpace all provide easy instructions on making your own website without needing to code—most will have some sort of “what you see is what you get” visual creator. Doing your website like this can save you money—in most cases, for a website subscription and a domain, you’ll pay about $250 annually. Once you have your website finished and your Google Business claimed, it’s time to consider a social media platform. There are many advantages and disadvantages to social media pages, and one of them is overloading yourself by making too many profiles. Choosing one or two is your best idea. But how do you choose? There are a few things to consider: Your audience. What kind of demographic are you selling to? What sort of people are coming into your bakery and buying your desserts? Consider this before choosing a social media platform. If you’re looking to an older crowd, consider using Facebook. If you want to reach a younger crowd, something like Instagram or TikTok is your best idea. Your goals. What do you want to achieve by posting on social media? Are you looking for awareness of your brand, or are you looking to make sales? Consider that as well before you choose a platform—Facebook is a great platform for those who already have dedicated followers, while something like TikTok is great for brand awareness. Your posts. What are you hoping to share? If you want to share photos or videos, a platform like Instagram or TikTok are your best options. If you want to stick more to text, Facebook or Twitter are best for that sort of engagement. Regardless of what platform you choose, it’s important to pick one or two and stick with them. If your business has too many places to post, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and bogged down by the amount of marketing—which leaves other areas of your business without focus. Keep your marketing tight and don’t forget to cross-promote. Ways to Promote Your Desserts Online Now that your business is set up and you have a marketing plan, it’s time to start promoting your desserts online. The following are some ideas on how to do so. Use Pinterest to share your recipes, hacks, uses, and other features of your desserts. Pinterest is a social media platform, but many use it for so much more—like searching for recipes or getting ideas for future projects. Many people will gather ideas for party planning or even weddings using the site, so shouldn’t you be promoting your desserts in a place where people searching for them can find it? Another great feature of Pinterest is the ability to catalog photographs. You can have different Pinterest Boards for different types of desserts, so if someone stumbles upon one, they can find past designs that your bakery has done—and give them even more incentive to call and order theirs. Create a giveaway online. A tried-and-true method for promotion, consider a giveaway that you promote on your website and social media platforms. This doesn’t have to be a regular option, nor does it have to be larger scale—even if you’re just giving away a free dozen cookies during a raffle drawing, it’s enough to get people engaged. What’s the best way to get them engaged? Encourage them to like or comment on your page. That way they’ll get all your best updates from then on, and if they don’t win, they can participate in any other giveaway you may have in the future. Create a blog series or video series outlining step by step how you make a certain dessert. While it doesn’t matter whether you write it or record it, people love the play by play of how things are made. You can do this with just about any dessert you’d like, as long as you don’t mind people knowing your process. You can also use this chance to go live on your social media pages, which can draw people—as long as you promote the event long before you actually do it. These can be posted on your website in blog form with photos, or you can use something like Instagram or TikTok to post your instructional videos. Depending on your demographic, you may find success with these—which can only lead to more profit. Promote different sales and offerings through your social media. Whether it’s a pastry of the day, a meal deal with a coffee and a donut or cookie, or a baker’s dozen free item, you can post all of those offers online. These sorts of sales catch the eye of any type of follower, and you can benefit from them scrolling through their feed. Other sales and offerings include any sort of holiday promotion, pay it forward trends, and day-old deals that you can promote online. Create a photo contest. What’s a great way to get content without having to hire a photographer? Create a photo contest. Ask your customers to take photos of their favorite baked goods and desserts and have them snap a few photos to post to your social media. The winner of the best one or the most liked can receive a gift of a free dessert. One thing to remember is putting a clause in your contest sign up—that you own the photos once they’re public. That way you can use the ones you like in your own promotional materials. However you decide to use your website and social media pages, it’s important to do one thing—actually use them. It can be one of your most powerful promotional tools, but if you don’t use them and build up an audience, your posts can fall flat. Make sure you spend time encouraging people to follow your pages so when you do post those promotional ideas, they’ll be reaching the largest amount of people possible. Promoting desserts online doesn’t have to be stressful, but you do need to create a plan—and if you stick to that plan, your sweet treats will reach as many of your dedicated followers as possible. RELATED QUESTIONS What can a bakery do for a community? There are many ways a bakery can be a benefit to the community. They offer specials for local events and often give back to the community. You can purchase the freshest bakery items possible using local ingredients, and their customer service tends to be much better than chain bakeries. Local bakeries also tend to fill a niche in the community, and supporting one means you are supporting a local small business. What desserts and baked goods sell the best at a bakery? In most cases, cakes and breads sell the best out of a bakery. If you’re looking for more desserts, pies, cookies, and donuts follow cakes and breads in popularity. While this is the national average, be sure to consider what’s most popular in your region before deciding which desserts to offer in your business.

5 Ways To Promote Desserts Online for your Bakery

by

Promoting the items that your bakery sells doesn’t have to be complicated, especially when you’re focused on promoting them online. With all the social media platforms available, though, it’s easy to get bogged down with the options—so, what is the best way to promote your desserts online?

To promote your bakery’s desserts online, you can use a site like Pinterest to share your event desserts like birthday or wedding cakes, create a giveaway, show off your process in a blog or video series, promote sales through social media, or create a photo contest.

Regardless of what social media platform you’re using, you need to focus on developing a marketing plan. How do you do that? What’s the benefit of promoting online, and what are the best ways to do so? Read on to find out more how you can utilize social media to promote your desserts. 

How to Start Marketing Your Desserts

5 Ways To Promote Desserts Online for your Bakery.

There are a few steps you need to take before considering all the unique ways you can promote your desserts online. First, you need to make sure you have a viable online presence to do so. 

What do you need to create that online presence? There are a few avenues you should take—the first being claiming your location as a Google Business. When you Google something (like desserts in your area) you want your business to be the one to pop up on the side—that informational box on your Google search. The best way to do that is to claim and control your Google Business. It can be very easy and completed by going to the Google Business website. Once you’ve done that, you can control your contact information, hours, and even your photos and other contact information that you would like your potential customers to find. This feature is free. 

Once you’ve created that, it’s time to make your website. In many cases, creating your website can be just as easy as you making it yourself. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and SquareSpace all provide easy instructions on making your own website without needing to code—most will have some sort of “what you see is what you get” visual creator. Doing your website like this can save you money—in most cases, for a website subscription and a domain, you’ll pay about $250 annually. 

Once you have your website finished and your Google Business claimed, it’s time to consider a social media platform. There are many advantages and disadvantages to social media pages, and one of them is overloading yourself by making too many profiles. Choosing one or two is your best idea. But how do you choose? There are a few things to consider:

  • Your audience. What kind of demographic are you selling to? What sort of people are coming into your bakery and buying your desserts? Consider this before choosing a social media platform. If you’re looking to an older crowd, consider using Facebook. If you want to reach a younger crowd, something like Instagram or TikTok is your best idea. 
  • Your goals. What do you want to achieve by posting on social media? Are you looking for awareness of your brand, or are you looking to make sales? Consider that as well before you choose a platform—Facebook is a great platform for those who already have dedicated followers, while something like TikTok is great for brand awareness. 
  • Your posts. What are you hoping to share? If you want to share photos or videos, a platform like Instagram or TikTok are your best options. If you want to stick more to text, Facebook or Twitter are best for that sort of engagement.

Regardless of what platform you choose, it’s important to pick one or two and stick with them. If your business has too many places to post, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and bogged down by the amount of marketing—which leaves other areas of your business without focus. Keep your marketing tight and don’t forget to cross-promote. 

Why Is a Bakery Shop A Good Business To Start

Ways to Promote Your Desserts Online

5 Ways To Promote Desserts Online for your Bakery.

Now that your business is set up and you have a marketing plan, it’s time to start promoting your desserts online. The following are some ideas on how to do so. 

Use Pinterest to share your recipes, hacks, uses, and other features of your desserts. 

Pinterest is a social media platform, but many use it for so much more—like searching for recipes or getting ideas for future projects. Many people will gather ideas for party planning or even weddings using the site, so shouldn’t you be promoting your desserts in a place where people searching for them can find it?

Another great feature of Pinterest is the ability to catalog photographs. You can have different Pinterest Boards for different types of desserts, so if someone stumbles upon one, they can find past designs that your bakery has done—and give them even more incentive to call and order theirs. 

Why it is Not Hard to Work in A Bakery 

Create a giveaway online. 

A tried-and-true method for promotion, consider a giveaway that you promote on your website and social media platforms. This doesn’t have to be a regular option, nor does it have to be larger scale—even if you’re just giving away a free dozen cookies during a raffle drawing, it’s enough to get people engaged. 

What’s the best way to get them engaged? Encourage them to like or comment on your page. That way they’ll get all your best updates from then on, and if they don’t win, they can participate in any other giveaway you may have in the future. 

Create a blog series or video series outlining step by step how you make a certain dessert. 

While it doesn’t matter whether you write it or record it, people love the play by play of how things are made. You can do this with just about any dessert you’d like, as long as you don’t mind people knowing your process. You can also use this chance to go live on your social media pages, which can draw people—as long as you promote the event long before you actually do it. 

These can be posted on your website in blog form with photos, or you can use something like Instagram or TikTok to post your instructional videos. Depending on your demographic, you may find success with these—which can only lead to more profit. 

Promote different sales and offerings through your social media. 

Whether it’s a pastry of the day, a meal deal with a coffee and a donut or cookie, or a baker’s dozen free item, you can post all of those offers online. These sorts of sales catch the eye of any type of follower, and you can benefit from them scrolling through their feed. 

Other sales and offerings include any sort of holiday promotion, pay it forward trends, and day-old deals that you can promote online. 

Create a photo contest. 
5 Ways To Promote Desserts Online for your Bakery.

What’s a great way to get content without having to hire a photographer? Create a photo contest. Ask your customers to take photos of their favorite baked goods and desserts, and have them snap a few photos to post to your social media. The winner of the best one or the most liked can receive a gift of a free dessert. One thing to remember is putting a clause in your contest sign up—that you own the photos once they’re public. That way you can use the ones you like in your own promotional materials. 

However, you decide to use your website and social media pages, it’s important to do one thing—actually use them. It can be one of your most powerful promotional tools, but if you don’t use them and build up an audience, your posts can fall flat. Make sure you spend time encouraging people to follow your pages so when you do post those promotional ideas, they’ll be reaching the largest amount of people possible. Promoting desserts online doesn’t have to be stressful, but you do need to create a plan—and if you stick to that plan, your sweet treats will reach as many of your dedicated followers as possible. 

9 Benefits of Having a Bakery in Your Community

Frequently Asked Questions

What can a bakery do for a community?

There are many ways a bakery can be a benefit to the community. They offer specials for local events and often give back to the community. You can purchase the freshest bakery items possible using local ingredients, and their customer service tends to be much better than chain bakeries. Local bakeries also tend to fill a niche in the community, and supporting one means you are supporting a local small business. 

What desserts and baked goods sell the best at a bakery?

In most cases, cakes and breads sell the best out of a bakery. If you’re looking for more desserts, pies, cookies, and donuts follow cakes and breads in popularity. While this is the national average, be sure to consider what’s most popular in your region before deciding which desserts to offer in your business. 

To learn more on how to start your own bakery business check out my startup documents here

This blog post is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.