Social media tips for foodies to make customers hungry for more

Trying new things

2n6 Sweets is an independent pick-n-mix style sweet shop in Tenterden, Ashford. Run by Sarah James and her hubby and launched in November 2019, they only had around four months of trading before the first lockdown. Over the past year they've  needed to pivot and grow the business to be even more tasty upon re-opening in April 2021.

The results speak for themselves, with the couple believing they've managed to grown their customer base more during lockdown than they would have had the shop actually been open for business. They put the success firmly down to their use of social media. 

Sarah has learned social from scratch by consistently trying different things. She primarily uses Instagram because her products are visual, and she finds Facebook harder to get traction.

It has been a rollercoaster experience for them both as they'd just pre-ordered all their stuck when they were forced to close their doors before the Easter of lockdown one.  

Sarah says “I had a basic website but no way of selling through it. We had to sell our stock, so I knew I had to get to grips with social media as that was going to be my selling platform.” 

They created six different products, posted on social media and started selling with amazing results. They introduced contactless collection whereby they took orders through Instagram and Facebook and then customers collected their goods. The strategy worked quickly and in no time they'd sold all the Easter stock. “That was the start of thinking let’s see how else we can utilise these platforms to keep our business going to make the public more aware of what we are doing," added Sarah.

“We gained more customers through that than if we had just stayed open and lockdown hadn’t happened as we don’t have that High Street footfall."

Build your brand

Oliver’s Pantry is a quirky coffee bar in Ripon, Harrogate and specialises in making irresistible fresh, uplifting sweet and savoury treats. Louise Grant, the owner of Oliver’s, took lockdown in her stride. She delighted the people of Ripon with her social media posts throughout the pandemic, helping them feel warm, happy and connected in spite of being unable to open fully.

“My mission has been to build up my brand loyalty throughout lockdown ensuring that whether they are local or they come from Durham, those customers remember us as that fun and heart-warming coffee bar they saw on social media and want to visit us,” said Louise.

"I have learned everything by doing and learning about Reels, Stories and how to create that wider audience. That is something I want to learn more about. It is all about keeping us in the forefront of people’s minds. I did everything from cookery demos to Christmas wreaths. We are not just a café, we provide a feel good factor. I want people to think 'That is the place we have to go'. There is a lot of competition but I want to keep people engaged."

Having built the cafe's social media following organically to 500 on Instagram and 2,000 on Facebook, Louise is now learning more about how to track and attribute sales directly to her social media activity.