Fellow bakers, cake artists, cake designers, and cake decorators; these times have been hard for us. This forced isolation has made us face our fears, live in uncertainty, and wonder about our future and the future of our business.

Only one thing has remained true during this time and even better than ever and that has been the Internet and Social Media.

We have faced this 30 days so far ( for me) of quarantine, without work or just some few loyal clients, but in the other hand filled with new friendships from around the world, days full of tutorials and live events on Facebook and Instagram, learning for free from the best in the business and trying to keep ourselves busy and entertained so we can focus on the positive instead of falling into depression.

We have seen a rapid increase in live tutorials and online classes. Everybody is going live and teaching something, but why? Maybe in the desperate attempt to keep our business alive, our just to keep ourselves busy, maybe because possible future customers are online more often and have a better chance to see our products or maybe because we are bored and need something to do.

All the reasons above are more than valid and I can only encourage everyone to do it.

However,

These are sensitive times and we don´t want to be just selling when maybe our friends or customers are having a hard time with this virus, are sick or have lost someone. We cannot escape from that reality as much as we want to.

So, here comes the title of this post: what to post and how to post it during this quarantine.

I´ve been reading a couple of articles on digital marketing where I got inspired for writing this post, but I wanted to give you an input form a cake business point of view.

We should be communicative, talk about what you do, show your product and don´t stop marketing. It will be a waste of an opportunity now that more people are online every day. However, don´t expect a lot of sales, instead let´s focus on growing your community, help your clients, offer solutions and build a relationship.

For our cake business, this will translate on keep showing your wonderful cake art, even if you are not doing anything new show your older pics. Mention that special client, tell the story behind your cake, find new friends online with your cake passion and things in common, offer your clients to reschedule their orders and maybe send them a cookie or a treat to tell them that you are thinking of them.

Watch the tone of your posts, remember that people are more sensitive than ever. We need to be more human, be empathetic, offer compassion, provide value to your audience and even ask for help.

Post positive captions to your pictures but without forgetting the current situation. Share positive posts and be there to help others.

Try to be empathetic, I know we are in the middle of a hard time, but you can´t ask a client to understand that you can´t cancel an order in a harsh way and from your desperation and fear. When you empathize with your client situation, this person will feel appreciated and will listen to your option to reschedule instead of canceling and order.

Some ideas for your Social Media Posts and where to post them

• Inspirational quotes
• Older posts or pictures
• Baking at home
• Creative work
• Offer help on a topic (like a recipe or a decorating tip)
• Educational videos, lives, Instagram lives, IGTV or stories
• Update your profile accounts: New pictures of you, location, links, about page
• Share some awareness of the virus situation, without going too deep into the negative and keeping the prospective of your cake business.
• Help others selflessly: help your client or share a fellow cake artist´s work.
• Be there just to talk and keep each other company
• Join groups related to cake decorating and baking and interact as much as you can.
• Meet people from around the world, comment and share their work.

And most importantly, remember we have more time! Use that to your advantage: Learn, think, create, reformulate your business, see things from a different point of view, enjoy what you were missing when you had your busy schedule and stay active in social media, you never know where that can lead you in the future.

I really hope this post has helped you and that you have enjoyed it because I loved writing it for you.

Stay safe, stay home and stay creative.

Don´t forget to like, comment, subscribe and share.

Love,

Cristina