Facebook for baking business
How to Set Up Your business Facebook Page for visibility and customer retention
Almost every single customer you work with inside of your baking business is going to find your business ONLINE. Word of mouth is also a good way to generate business, but at some point, these people will judge you on your social media presence (or lack of it).
If your social media is set up well, this will support their “trust factor” with you, allowing them to buy from you with more confidence.
Make sure your online social accounts have these important aspects:
Easily searchable
Clean and concise
Branded consistently
Contains contact information and updates
Check out my tips below on setting up your Facebook Business page on the highest order generating platform for bakers.
One of the most popular questions about using social media for business...
Q: Which social media platform generates the most sales for local baking businesses?
A: Facebook is in the #1 spot for generating sales, with Instagram growing quickly.
Currently, Facebook has proven to be the most efficient and useful place to be seen and generate orders, for local baking businesses.
Most of your clients are current Facebook users, and are already actively searching for local products on the platform.
Easy peasy. Now you just have to make sure they like what they see, when they find your business there!
We will focus on setting up the Facebook platform first. You can move onto Instagram when Facebook is taken care of, if you are interested. Some people find success with Instagram, depending on their locations and ability to post consistently with quality images. (Think well lit photos with balanced compositions.)
On Facebook, the platform will walk you through the set up process for your Business Page.
READ THIS ARTICLE FIRST so you know what to do, the first time around!
To set up your page, consider following the steps below:
Make sure you set up a Business Page for your business (not a personal page for your business) and that your reviews tab is visible for customers to see and click on.
If you are using a personal page currently, copy and paste all the info into a business page and invite all your friends from the personal page to like and follow the new business page, plus they can add their reviews for you there. Using a personal page for business sales goes against platform rules, and your account could be shut down without notice.
Insert your business name PLUS your location and top product, as the page name.(Example Page Name: The Purple Lotus Bakery - Saint Louis, MO Cakes).
Many people searching Facebook for sweets, search for the item and location together.
(Example search keywords: Saint Louis Bakery Cakes).
Adding your location AND main products to your name will also help with SEO and Google rating for your Facebook Page, in Google searches.Insert your logo, personal headshot or signature product into the Profile Picture section and DON’T change it very often. Your logo is best here, but I know not everyone has one when starting out. You can use the Canva app to create a simple, effective logo. You can also order low cost logos from Etsy.
Choose a rectangular, good picture to place as the banner/cover image on your page. Have the image be of a close up of your products or a table full of your products. You can change this image as needed, or by the season. Think of this "banner section" as an advertisement area.
Insert your contact information and a short business description in the About section. In your description, make sure you mention your ideal client group, how you help them, what you offer, and a call to action.
(Example description: “Here at the Purple Lotus Bakery, we specialize in helping detail-oriented brides design the wedding cake of their dreams! We offer personalized style meetings, and even provide color themes and gorgeous cake stand rentals, to make it easy and convenient for you to get the perfect wedding cake. Call us at 123-123-1234 to book an appointment or a tasting!”Create individual photo albums for types of products, even if you only have a few photos. If you sell dessert cakes and wedding cakes, make 2 seperate albums, not just one “cake” album. You want your album categories to not be too general or too specific. Insert your best photos into these galleries.
Crop or choose not to use photos with messy backgrounds, visible hands, lots of clutter or photos that are out of focus.PHOTO NOTE: DO NOT POST PHOTOS OF OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK, PHOTOS FROM THE INTERNET THAT AREN’T YOUR WORK, OR ANY ITEMS YOU DO NOT INTEND TO MAKE AND SELL IN YOUR BUSINESS.
BECAUSE OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES, IT ALSO ISN’T SMART TO POST PRODUCT PHOTOS CONTAINING TRADEMARKED CHARACTERS, SUCH AS MICKEY MOUSE.
Add new information consistently. Post any new product photos, promotions, business news, menu offers or just general information on your newsfeed and make sure you manually share any ad posts by creating new posts, rather than sharing posts. Sharing posts get a lot less eyeballs in the algorithm, so make sure each time you post, it’s an original post.
Join as many Facebook groups as possible. Post your bakery business ads as often as allowed on local craft, sales, connection and location-based groups in your area. Check rules in each group, and take note of when and how you can advertise on each page. Make joining groups a priority, and search quarterly for new groups to join. Share weekly/monthly offers, promotions, flavors, share finished designs or advertise availability.
Check out my other articles on Marketing 101 for Beginners, Gaining More Clients and the Human Bakery Business Funnel.
Need help with the planning and initiation process of getting your bakery business up and running?
I have a course right here that can help you along the way.
The Planning Course
The Bakery Business Guide: Part 1 - Plan for Success
This course is online, self-guided and contains the Build a Better Bakery signature BLISS model of business building, taking you through some of the most difficult steps of conceptualizing a baking business. From brainstorming, to investigating, networking and consistency, the course helps to prepare you for for first few years of your baking business experience.
We will also fill out a unique baking business plan template together.
Enjoy lifetime access and high video and audio quality, plus tons of printable resources.
