I run a tiny bakery, and social media is HUGE for us. I’ve been seeing a lot of influencer partnerships, but I’m not sure if our little budget will allow for them. To be honest, it seems difficult to even identify the correct influences. Does anyone have experience with this? What kind of budget even ought to cross my mind? I came upon this website named Afluencer; is it well-known? They appear to concentrate on micro-influencers and smaller companies, which may be ideal for us. Would love to hear your opinions or suggestions.
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Most influencers are, in my opinion, money pits.
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Not at all on a tight budget. You must personally get hands-on experience; shoot quality images and publish them on Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform. Ensure that your Google business page is set up with attractive images. Inform local businesses and organizations that you offer catering services and that you would be happy to give them a discount if they leave cards with baked goods for people to take.
This is one of those tasks in a company that most people detest performing but which only requires a small amount of time and effort.
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Something that seems to be it at a local bakery of mine is a free cookie for every person who walks in the door. Nothing huge, just a medium size chocolate chip cookie I dunno what the material costs are but I would assume something like $0.25/cookie.
This is not a free plate of cookies you have to choose to grab from yourself, this is the person behind the counter who hands you a cookie in wax paper before you have even said hello or what you would like to order. And you get that cookie before they even know if you are ordering $100 of goods or one cookie.
It has made the place a local legend and seems to me brilliant you could test it out for a week for a couple of hundred dollars total and you’re ONLY spending money on people who WILL be giving you money the hope is they come back more often and also tell others about it.
Just a thought of what I’ve seen work super well near me.
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Goddamn, I would buy things from a bakery where I knew they offer complimentary cookies. Haha, hook line and sinker
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With my product-based firm, I’ve attempted micro-influencers far too much because I’m an optimistic person. I’ve handed out numerous dozens of free products, but I’ve never noticed a rise in sales as a result of their real posts. Posting original content is preferable to waiting for the system to favor you. If you follow other bakers and bakeries you can get inspired by the type of behind-the-scenes content they publish - people lap that up. I believe that bakeries are generating more money from sponsored views than from their real baked goods at this moment. 
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Honestly, I think employing other people to promote your posts is not as beneficial as simply you or the cakes/products you make. That’s one thing if it’s a dermatologist, physiotherapist for workouts, etc. However, the food and ambiance of a bakery should be the main attractions.
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I’m not a fan of influencers and dislike the term. They can’t prove their influence brings in business unless I spend more by offering discounts. It seems you use social media well, but here’s a general tip, it’s easy though I’m a computer geek to spend some time online posting about what’s happening at your shop. If you don’t already have business-related social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, set them up and post pictures of your food. Also, explore local subreddits or Facebook groups that allow business posts; these have boosted my business visibility significantly.