bake - March 2013 - 38

Gaining the Upper
Hand with Facebook
Setting up a Facebook page is only the ﬁrst step in establishing

transparent in your actions — simply deleting negative posts

a solid online presence for your bakery or pastry shop — social

can give the impression that you are pruning your bakery’s

media can actually achieve the opposite of your intended effect

image and ignoring customer complaints. “We might get a

if you don’t invest the proper time and energy.

comment from someone who received a loaf that was too dry
or not the right shape or size,” Garner says. “We immediately

Rudi’s Organic and Gluten-Free Bakery in Boulder, CO, distrib-

get on and tell them, ‘It’s not up to our standards and we want

utes breads, buns, tortillas and more throughout the US and

to make it up to you — we’ll send you a free coupon.’ Then

parts of Canada, but the company isn’t quite at the level of

we message them privately to get contact info and tell them,

Wonder Bread or Sara Lee in terms of brand-recognition and

‘That’s not the way it’s supposed to be – we appreciate the

breadth of distribution. Despite the company’s smaller-scale

feedback and want to hear more.’”

status, Rudi’s has had a great deal of success using Facebook
to spread awareness and boost its fanbase. Maggie Garner, the

Rudi’s current campaign, the “Toast-A-Gram,” is an interactive

senior marketing manager for Rudi’s, oversees planning and

Facebook app that allows users to submit their own images

execution of social media campaigns.

and text, which Rudi’s then transforms into a Toast-A-Gram: a
virtual, customized piece of toast with the sender’s picture/

“We use Twitter and Pinterest too, but Facebook is the

text in the middle. “The idea was to create awareness for Rudi’s

priority,” Garner says. “We are smaller and have fewer

Organic Bakery and provide another channel of engagement

resources to disperse between all the networks. We use

for our fans,” Garner says.

Facebook for messaging, sharing recipes, rich content and
nutritional tips on organic eating, and telling fans about non-

The campaign had more than 500 entries in its ﬁrst week, and

GMO-speciﬁc legislation.”

Garner says it’s picking up with more entries each day. The
company’s previous Facebook campaign was the “Let’s Doodle

Whether it’s you, a variety of employees or a dedicated adver-

Lunch” app. The format was similar to the Toast-A-Gram, but

tising/social media staff, someone has to consistently deliver

instead parents could send in their children’s artwork and

content to prevent your Facebook or Twitter pages from

Rudi’s would, free of charge, send back a unique sandwich

becoming stale with the appearance of neglect. You can manu-

lunchbox with the artwork printed on top.

ally update the page yourself regularly, assign speciﬁc days
of the week to a handful of employees, or use programs like

To spread awareness of “Let’s Doodle Lunch,” Rudi’s contacted

HootSuite or TweetDeck (primarily for Twitter) to schedule

a number of food bloggers and sent them giveaway packages

future posts and measure the reach and success of your posts

to encourage reader response and involvement. Each blog, in

and campaigns.

addition to mentioning the new Rudi’s campaign, offered to
send one of their lucky readers the package, which was a Rudi’s

Garner emphasizes the importance of quickly addressing nega-

tote bag ﬁlled with crayons, oil pastels, colored pencils, paints,

tive Facebook posts on your bakery’s page, while still remaining

a sketchpad and other art supplies.

38 < MAR 2013 | bakemag.com
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bake - March 2013

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