Sweet Success: Social Media and Cupcakes
“I think I know why you love cupcakes so much,” my boyfriend said to me one evening, as we were enjoying a rich vegan chocolate cupcake from Whole Foods.
“Oh yeah,” I replied. “Why do you think that is?”
“Well, they’re pretty, they’re small, and they’re very ‘girly,’” he said. “They remind me of you.”
His ‘sweet’ comments were rewarded with a kiss on the cheek.
Now, I’m not someone who recently jumped on the cupcake bandwagon. I’ve been a fan of the bite-sized sugary snacks for some time. The sweet treats have exploded in popularity in recent years, due in part to famous bakeries like Magnolia Bakery in New York. Cupcakes have become part of pop culture too, with appearances on SATC and Entourage.
Call me crazy, but the popularity of cupcakes seems to coincide with the rise of social media. I once heard someone say that during economic downturns, there are few items that see an increase in sales: liquor, lipstick, and comfort foods. Obviously, cupcakes fit into one of those categories. As we’ve seen, social media has blossomed within the last few years, due in part because many businesses have opted not to spend money on traditional advertising and PR campaigns.
I stumbled upon an interview with Mari Luangrath, the owner of Foiled Cupcakes in Chicago. It turns out, Ms. Luangrath uses only social media to promote the bakery. Word-of-mouth marketing (something Doe-Anderson knows a lot about) has helped Foiled Cupcakes to become one of the most successful shops in the country.
Foiled Cupcakes celebrates the Stanley Cup with these Chicago Blackhawks-themed cupcakes.
Sprinkles Cupcakes is certainly not the first business to use Facebook to communicate with their customers, but the Beverly Hills-based bakery has made the most of the world’s largest social networking site. Many small businesses have latched on to Facebook to promote themselves for two reasons: a.) With 300 million users, it’s pretty safe to say that’s where your potential customers are spending their free time and b.) A Facebook profile is cheap to operate and maintain, unlike a website.
According to my research, the best blog out there for all things cupcake-related is Cupcakes Take the Cake. They’ve scored an unbelievable amount of press (The New York Times, CNN, and Real Simple are just a few media outlets that have featured the blog) as well.
As demonstrated here, if you utilize social media channels properly, it can be the icing on the cake for your product, service or brand.
Check out these lovely Twitter-inspired cupcakes.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by DoeAnderson, Kama Korvela. Kama Korvela said: Cupcakes and social media have more in common than you think: http://tinyurl.com/2as4eoz #cupcakes [...]
I so totally need some of those Tweetcakes…. Great article, as usual, Kama!
Thanks, Kat. If my cake decorating skills were a little better, I’d attempt to make the Tweetcakes!
Hey, Kama: Thanks for the shout out! I completely agree with everything you’re saying – cupcakes are a great “comfort food” and they’re considered the new “affordable luxury,” which is probably a good reason why there are so many cupcakeries popping up nationally during this particular recession.
The thing that’s been so fun for us is the social media aspect of it. We don’t have a cupcake truck; we don’t tweet our location and tell people to come find us; we simply use social media to connect, engage, converse, and get to know people. It seems like the more real and approachable we are with people, the more they engage, and the more they tell their friends they’ve had a positive experience. That’s all we’re really going for. And it’s been a blast!
Thanks again for mentioning us. I’ll continue to read your blog. Great job!
Thank you for the kind words, Mari. You’re doing such a super job with social media and growing your business. And it’s obvious you’re having a ton of fun doing it too! I just wished I lived a little closer to Chicago so I could try some Foiled Cupcakes!
[...] have a new addiction. Unlike my most recent addiction (cupcakes), this one is calorie-free and inexpensive yet satisfying. Yes, I’m talking about [...]