Cupcakes: A lesson in social media
Credit to Sugarbloom Bev ;o) on Flickr
Recently, designer cupcakes have caused quite a stir. From a TV show to wedding cupcakes, it’s hard to avoid these miniature cakes. But something happened to propel a classic cupcake to such stardom in the recent years because cupcakes have been around since… 1828. It has been almost 200 years and only now has it inspired many to open their own “cupcakery” (Google it, you’ll be surprised). Sprinkles, the self-proclaimed “progenitor of the haute cupcake craze” has only been around for about six years. So what took so long?
My guess? The Internet happened; to the bakery, food cart and restaurant world. Namely: social media. Social media is effective in engaging people because its sole purpose is to connect friends and share amongst a community. When you think about other things that share that same goal, things just work together.
In the world of cupcakes and food carts, social media is a key to success. Take Koi Fusion out of Portland for example. Hot off of the wheels (quite literally) of the Korean taco success from Southern California Koi Fusion does little to innovate from a successful business model. Dish up a delicious mix of Korean BBQ in a taco truck and engage a small group of devoted Twitter followers to follow your food truck around the city. Soon enough you end up with thousands of followers playing a tasty game of hide-and-seek, each follower telling their friends about the experience. The exclusivity of getting the location of the truck via Twitter is unique; it makes us feel included, part of a community that exists permanently on the net.
So the conclusion? Cupcakes and food carts have recently become popular due to a sense of community and sharing achieved only by engaging their customers (and customers with customers) online through social media outlets. Can your small business benefit from this type of interaction? Yes, but with varying degrees of success and implementation. Just remember that social media is a tool not a staple to success.
