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The Secret Recipe for Getting 600 More Facebook Fans in One Month
Sugaree’s Bakery, in New Albany, Miss., was founded in 1997. It’s a small batch bakery where the baking is done by hand, five days a week.The business specializes in layer cakes that bring the flavors of the Deep South to homes across the country, because customers can order a Sugaree’s cake from anywhere in the United States through an online order form.
Micha Foster, Sugaree’s manager, says that in January, the bakery decided to devote more attention to growing its Facebook Page. “We really wanted a way to promote our online orders, and Facebook seemed like the way to do it,” she says.
In four steps, Micha grew Sugaree’s online presence by nearly 600 fans. Here’s how she did it:
1. A Dash of Facebook Ads
The first step that Micha took was to launch Facebook advertisements for Sugaree’s. Given the fact that every cake the bakery makes is photogenic, that gave her a lot of material to work with.
There are a lot of people out there who like cake — and as Micha learned, many of them are on Facebook. She says that, in just a few weeks, the Facebook ads boosted the bakery’s fan count by more than 300.
But there was still something missing.
2. Sprinkle in a Social Campaign
In late January, Micha saw Constant Contact’s new Social Campaigns tool and decided that it might sync up well with her other social media efforts.
She also tested the bakery’s social campaign as a way to finally get the word out about the online orders for cakes. Sugaree’s offered a 20% discount on any online order for fans and new fans alike.
3. Preheat the Promotions
The most important part of any social campaign, of course, is the promotion. You can host the most beautiful, generous, and exciting campaign, but if no one is visiting your Page, the efforts will be lukewarm at best.
Micha launched Sugaree’s social campaign on February 15. Before she even got a chance to promote it, however, someone had redeemed the coupon.
“We got an online order an hour after we put the campaign on our Facebook Page,” Micha says.
The next day, she sent out an email to promote the offer further. Over the next four days, Sugaree’s Bakery got more than 200 new fans. In the following week, the Facebook Page got another 100. And what better way to encourage fans & purchases than posts like this:
4. Mix Together Ingredients and Serve
Fan growth is steadily climbing for Sugaree’s. As of this writing, the bakery’s Page has nearly 3,000 fans and the campaign is still going strong.
Combining Facebook Ads and a social campaign is a major reason for Sugaree’s success. The two channels can work in tandem to promote any business or organization, because the ads drive new visitors to the Page and the campaign’s offer encourages people to “Like” the Page — and share that offer with friends.
Nowadays, Sugaree’s Facebook Page is much more active than before, with fans both Liking and commenting on most posts.
Micha’s tendency to use rich media, such as photos, when posting has made most everything she shares on her Page popular among her fans. Now, Sugaree’s Facebook Page serves as a great place for people to check out the latest deals on the bakery’s cakes — or just talk about how much they love them.
What’s your secret recipe for promoting a Facebook Page? Let us know in the comments section below.
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