August First

I recently sat down with Jodi Whalen, co-owner of August First Bakery & Café, to discus how they utilize social media for the bakery. 

 

CD: What social media platforms does the bakery use?

JW: We have a Facebook page, a blog, and a twitter account

CD: How do you use these different platforms?

JW: Essentially, we use them for all the same thing, trying to communicate with our customers to create a community for the people who come into the bakery. On out blog we post upcoming event and allow people to place orders of baked goods around holidays. Twitter is utilized most often to post the day’s menu for people to view. We also post out menus to Facebook, which is where we find most of our interaction with the public.

CD: Has using social media helped your business?

JW: I think it definitely has. It makes it much easier to advertise ourselves to the public as social media is an amazing way to spread the word. It also means we don’t have to spend quite as much advertising in more traditional areas such as newspapers.

CD: What are the drawbacks to using social media?

JW: Well, the thing I worry about is sort of being labeled as a “hipster” spot because of our use of twitter and Facebook. I don’t want people who don’t use computers as much to feel excluded from being part of our community.

CD: Could you explain a little about the Bread Bike?

JW: Yes, this is our “old school” way of spreading the word about our bakery and also just earning some extra money. The Bread Bike is a bike with baskets attached that we fill with out homemade bread and send out riders to sell the bread from neighborhood to neighborhood. We think of it like an ice cream truck for bread.

CD: How do you see August First using social media in the future?

JW: I hope to continue to interact with the public and post menus to excite possible customers. I also hope to collaborate with the public through seeing what type of food or pastries they might like the bakery to provide for them.