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Posted By RCI,
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2021
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Looking to celebrate this Valentine’s Day in a big way, but with little extra effort? If you already make chocolate-covered sandwich cookies or pretzels, the following ideas will require very little, if any, additional ingredients and minimal effort. Keep reading for five quick and easy tricks to make your existing treats #adorbs this Valentine’s Day. “PAW-some” Puppy Pretzels Package these adorable pretzel treats with a printable tag that says “Puppy Love” or “You’re PAW-some!” and watch these puppies leap off the shelves. Credit: For Modern Kids Love Bug Sandwich Cookies All you need is some red confectioners coating, dark chocolate and candy eyes to transform your chocolate-covered sandwich cookies into lady bugs for Valentine’s Day. Credit: Cakegirls® Sweet Emoji Sandwich Cookies It’s okay to get emotional about how cute and easy these emoji-inspired cookies are. Dip in yellow confectioners’ coating and candy eyes and heart sprinkles. This particular example from Cakegirls® used an edible ink marker to draw the faces, but you could also pipe expressions with dark chocolate. Credit: In The Kids Kitchen "Beary" Cute Sandwich Cookies Pour on the cuteness by transforming chocolate-covered sandwich into bears. Use chocolate wafers for the ears and pipe on light pink confectioners’ coating for the snout and a heart sprinkle for the mouth. Credit: Sweet Simple Stuff Peanut Butter Cookie Broken Hearts Why mend a broken heart when you can eat? Transform everyone’s favorite peanut butter sandwich cookie by cutting it in half diagonally and covering it in red coating and a drizzle of chocolate. Consumers are sure to fall in love with these adorable treats this Valentine's Day! Make sure to share plenty of photos of your Valentine’s Day treats on social media and your e-commerce site for greater exposure and sales potential. If you plan to make a small batch of these fun treats, let consumers know they’re available for a limited-time only in your social media posts and your online store. This will cover you if you do sell out (we hope you do!) and also encourage shoppers to buy by creating a sense of urgency. Make note of the quantities you made and sold to help determine whether to bring them back this time next year. Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.
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Chocolate
Nutter Butter
Oreos
Pretzels
Social Media
Valentine's Day
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Updated: Monday, April 27, 2020
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Does your New Year’s resolution include improving your brand’s social media presence? If not, maybe it should. Did you know that 78% of consumers’ purchases are impacted by companies’ social media posts, according to a study conducted by customer intelligence company, Market Force.
A great first step towards improvement is to rate your social media presence as a consumer, right now.
Wait. Before you start tallying the number of followers on your Facebook page, I’m not referring to your numbers. I’m referring more to the aesthetics and the content provided on your social pages. Sure, these things are important to assess the overall performance of your social media efforts, but for now, just focus on the overall look and feel of your social media pages.
For example, how do your posts and product photos look? Are they visually appealing? Bright and colorful? Do they make you want to buy what you see? Are your followers engaged (liking or sharing your posts)? Are comments being replied to within 24-48 hours? How often are you posting? If you’re on Facebook or Instagram, you should make it a goal to post at least once a day. Do your posts always include images or videos? Did you know your posts will see more than two times more engagement if images or videos are included? Do your posts only include sales or do you offer inspiration for celebrating various holidays (from Valentine’s Day to National Potato Chip Day)? Beware: If you’re only posting when your products are on sale, you will attract followers who do not want to pay full price or are conditioned to expect reduced prices. Instead, focus on other areas of your business that make you stand out…like the fact that you make your own confections! “Behind the scenes” photos and video from the candy kitchen are as good as gold.
While assessing your social media page(s), the goal is to be as neutral as possible. If this difficult for you, ask a trusted friend, staff or family member who matches your ideal target market and will give you honest and constructive feedback. Note: If teenagers aren’t your target market, don’t ask your 16-year-old niece/neighbor/employee for feedback.
Next, focus on your company information. Imagine you’re a consumer interested in purchasing your products. What could a consumer learn about your business from your social media page? Are your physical and web addresses present? Are your store hours listed and up-to-date? How can they contact you? Is a phone number and email address listed? Next, your social media pages are, yet, another opportunity to tell your story. Make sure there is at least a short blurb about your company story, which may include when and how your business was started, what makes your products special? Do you hand-dip your chocolates or use state-of-the-art machinery? Do you like to experiment with unique flavors or use centuries-old, family recipes?
Once the questions above have been answered, assess what your business is doing well and what areas could be improved. This will help you determine your next steps. If done well, managing your social media page(s) will require an investment of time—especially if you post one day at a time. Improve efficiency by creating and scheduling social media in batches—such as a week or month at a time.
Careful consideration of the details reviewed in this week’s post will help you to improve your social media presence and create a strong brand for your business in the coming year! Let us know in the comments below if you assess your social media presence on a regular basis and what tactics you have found successful.
Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.
Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.
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Marketing
Social Media
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Updated: Monday, April 27, 2020
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How Instagram-worthy are your holiday treats?
Sure, they taste delicious, but how would a potential new customer know if they’ve never tasted your confections? No surprise, social media, like Instagram and Facebook, can be an effective tool for reaching consumers, however if A.) you’re not sharing photos of your products on your social media sites daily or B.) they don’t stand out from other holiday gifts, you could be missing out on a massive opportunity to gain new customers this season.
A study by Forbes has shown that 78% of consumers’ purchases are impacted by companies’ social media posts. So, if you’re looking for a boost in sales, consider transforming these classic confectionery treats into holiday showstoppers to help your business standout this season.
Rice Cereal Treats
Cookie cutters aren't just for cookies. They also make a great tool for creating fun seasonal chocolate-covered rice cereal treats. Make the most out of your collection of cookie cutters, by repurposing common shapes to create new and unique designs. After realizing that their gingerbread man treats weren’t selling as well as other designs, Bomboy’s Home Made Candy gave the tired cookie cutter new life by turning it upside down and transforming it into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This little reindeer proved to be a hit!
Make fall and summer designs last into the holidays! If you have cookie cutters shaped like a ghost or even an ice cream cone, just flip them upside down to transform the shapes into cute elves. Did you know a pumpkin cookie cutter can be repurposed to make a jolly Mrs. Claus?
Caramel Apples
Traditionally a fall treat, a little creativity can help transform caramel apples into a festive holiday gift. For inspiration, mimic Santa’s jolly belly by adding his signature black belt and big gold buckle around a red caramel apple coated in red sprinkles or luster dust. Bring Frosty the Snowman to life by adding a jumbo marshmallow to the top of a caramel apple before dipping them both in white chocolate. A few chocolate chip “buttons" and a red licorice scarf will help tie it all together. Lastly, add candy eyes, a red nose and antlers, of course, to create everyone’s favorite reindeer out of a classic chocolate-covered caramel apple. There’s lots of ideas online for creating Rudolph’s antlers—from the easiest to the most realistic, you may want to try pipe cleaners, pretzel twists or sugar cookies for your antlers.
Marshmallows
Jumbo marshmallows make a quick and easy canvas for creating holiday magic. Put three jumbo marshmallows on a stick, coat them in white chocolate and decorate to make marshmallow snowmen pops that are too sweet to pass up. Click here to watch a tutorial by Two Sisters Crafting. All you need to make adorable gingerbread marshmallow pops are, your choice of caramel-coated marshmallows or marshmallows covered in peanut butter confectioner’s coating, some piped white chocolate and tiny sugar decorations.
Sandwich Cookies
If you don’t think of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when looking at your favorite sandwich cookies, changing your perspective may increase your holiday sales. When RCI member Vande Walle’s Candies coated Nutter Butter sandwich cookies in chocolate and embellished them with a pair of candy eyes, pretzel twist antlers and a bright red nose, these cute reindeer treats reportedly “flew out the door,” they were so popular with their customers! For another spin on this idea, try substituting the Nutter Butter cookies with Oreo cookies on a stick.
More than ever, consumers are looking to social media for unique and memorable gift ideas this holiday season. Posting photos of your festive holiday treats on social media regularly will help your company capture the attention of consumers while they’re making their shopping list this season.
Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.
Tags:
Caramel
Caramel Apples
Christmas
Creativity
Elf
Gingerbread
Holidays
Marketing
Marshmallow
Member Ideas
Nutter Butter
Oreo
Reindeer
Rice Cereal Treats
Santa
Snowman
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Updated: Monday, April 27, 2020
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Now that fireworks from the 4th of July have fizzled, it’s time to look forward to the next major holiday! Many Americans have already started making arrangements for Labor Day on September 3, while our Canadian friends may be counting down until Civic Day on August 6, however, any bacon fan worth their salt is already salivating for International Bacon Day(otherwise known as “IBD” by bacon fanatics) on September 2.
Even if you don’t regularly observe IBD, you can agree the salty flavor and crunchy texture of bacon, paired with sweet chocolate is a match made in hog heaven (okay, maybe just heaven). There’s a seemingly endless array of ways to pair bacon with chocolate. Whether you’re working with bits, chunks, strips or not-so-delicate bacon roses, this little piggy may bring with it different requirements from your local health department that you should be aware of before you grab that skillet.
Here’s some ideas, if you decide to go whole hog:
If you don’t want to take the risk of using real bacon in your recipes, consider using bacon flavoring or smoked bacon sea salt for a more subtle flavor. Make your bacon confections sizzle by sprinkling with Sizzling Bacon Candy. Check out this past post about how to preserve the pop when incorporate popping candy into a truffle center.
If you really want to make your local bacon fans squeal, ask your fans to share ideas for bacon-related confections they’d like to see at your shop or let them vote for their favorite once you’ve narrowed down some realistic options. Not only is this sure to create some excitement amongst your fans, it will help identify if you have enough of an audience to really bring home the bacon!
Tags:
Bacon
Candy Making
Chocolate
Creative Flavors
Marshmallow
Popcorn
Recipe
Social Media
Trends
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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As of today, there are 59 days until Black Friday. For many shoppers, Black Friday is the official, un-official kick-off to the holiday shopping season! "With 82 million searches for gifts on Pinterest and pinners spending twice as much as the general public, it’s time for you to make Pinterest a priority," says business2community.com.
If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, it is a social media platform that allows users to share and save content to virtual collections called “pinboards” or “boards.” A 2016 study by the Pew Research Center found that 31% of adult internet users are on Pinterest—which ranks the platform #3 behind social media giant, Facebook (79%) and just barely behind Instagram (32%). The same study also reported “nearly half of online women use the virtual pinboard (45%), more than double the share of online men (17%) who do so.”
According to Pinterest for Business, it only takes 15 seconds to create an account. If you already have a personal account, Pinterest recommends converting it to a business account to take advantage of additional features like Pinterest Analytics and advertising. Click here for four simple steps to help you get started.
Once you’ve created your business account, consider creating a few holiday gift guides as boards to leverage Pinterest for your holiday marketing. By using existing product photos, this can be a relatively easy way to expand your reach of holiday shoppers. Don't forget to promote your gift guide on your website, social media sites, blog, in-store, etc.
Group popular products together that make great holiday gifts or create guides based on fun themes that will help shoppers find the perfect gift from your candy shop. For example, if you carry an assortment of products that feature nuts, group them together in board titled “Gift Guide for Nut Lovers.” Even better, partner with a local nut roaster or even a local grocery store by featuring some of their products and perhaps they’ll return the favor by sharing your gift guide with their social media followers.
Gift guides can also focus on various price ranges. Depending on what makes the most sense for your business (don’t forget to consider shipping expenses), consider featuring a collection of items that fall into the “Under $25” range or the $50-$100 range.
For retailers looking to increase their holiday sales, Pinterest could represent an untapped potential for your business to reach new customers. See below for additional resources available to help you make the most out of your Pinterest account. Happy Pinning!
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Holidays
Marketing
Social Media
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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Email marketing can be an effective and budget-friendly marketing tool. But how do you grow your list with qualified leads to maximize your reach? We’ve compiled five easy ways to grow your list below.
1. Guestbook in Store – Take advantage of holiday sales traffic in your store by inviting customers to sign up to receive your emails to find out about future sales and promotions. When creating a sign up sheet, remember the more information you request, the less likely they will complete the sign-up so only ask for the necessary info.
2. Events and Meetings – Since you’re a chamber member (if not, see post here about why you should be), you’ll be attending networking events and meetings. As you receive business cards from your new contacts, ask them if it would be okay to add them to your email list so they can see when their favorite chocolates are on sale.
Take your list-building efforts to the next level by co-hosting an event with another local business (think coffee shops, boutiques, etc.) to reach a new audience of potential customers.
3. Email Signatures – Create a customized email signature for everyone in your company to use. A simple sign-up for coupons button with a link to the sign-up page can produce a great response.
4. Website Sign-up – Include a sign-up box on your website to invite visitors to subscribe to your company sales and updates.
5. Sales Calls – Do you have sales representatives making visits on your company’s behalf? Be sure they are inviting the contacts they make to join your email list to stay in touch and receive the most up-to-date company information. You could even print some business card size promotions to hand out that share how to sign up.
Use your email marketing list to reward loyal patrons by sending them a coupon during the month of their birthday or host drawings to giveaway free or deeply discounted goodies. Don't forget to communicate these perks to entice more sign ups. And no false advertising. If you advertise coupons and giveaways, make sure you follow through.
Do you have other ideas that you use to gather email addresses for your list? Share them in the comments below.
Tags:
Customer Service
email marketing
Events
Marketing
Social Media
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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So, you’ve got a Facebook page. You may even keep pretty active at posting photos, but you don’t have a graphic designer on staff to design interesting and engaging graphics to make your social space really pop. Don’t break the piggy bank to hire a designer just yet!
There are plenty of FREE tools available that allow you to create the very images you’ve been dreaming of, and with no graphic design degree required. All you need to get started is a stock image or a photo shot from your smart phone and a little creativity. Read on for reviews of three recommended design tools and a graphic for National Lollipop Day - each graphic was created in less than five minutes.
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| Graphic created usingCanva |
This free tool helps non-designers create social media graphics in minutes by adding text, filters and your own color scheme. Their library of over 100 professionally designed layouts for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and more makes it quick and easy to design elaborate graphics in just a few clicks. Upload your own photos or choose from over 1 million stock images (most only $1 each).
In addition to templates for social media graphics, Canva also has design templates for flyers, infographics, photo collages, letterheads, gift certificates, business cards and more.
Adobe Spark is a free tool for creating beautiful graphics for social media as well as various printed materials. Like Canva, Adobe Spark Post has many professional design themes making design quick and easy, however, it also has a fun, time-saving feature which allows you to use a cursor to preview multiple pre-designed text, design and color themes all at once. Stuck on creating the perfect color scheme? Adobe Spark also offers a feature where you can browse hundreds of suggested color palettes to polish off your look.
What really stands out about Adobe Spark is the ability to animate your graphic from the iPhone or iPad app version, Adobe Spark Post, (Click here to view a tutorial from Beth Ziesenis of YourNerdyBestFriend.com).
If you like to share photos of your products and the day-to-day operations of your business, PicMonkey is a great option for you! Another free option to create attractive social media graphics, its capabilities are more focused on the photos and, currently, doesn't offer design templates. The free version equips you with basic photo editing tools and a large selection of frames, collage templates and other special effects, including fonts and overlays. Or for just $3.33/month annually, you can take advantage of some pretty impressive upgrades, like advanced photo editing tools (say goodbye to unwanted wrinkles or blemishes), over 1,000 graphics, double the effects and filters and premium fonts through PicMonkey Royale.
In summary, each of these tools will save you the cost of hiring another employee or taking up design courses yourself just to create graphics for your social media posts. Depending on your time and skill level, it is recommended that you test each one to determine which best fits your needs. You may even discover that you like to use more than one tool for different purposes.
Tags:
branding
Creativity
Graphic Design
Marketing
Owning a Business
Photos
Social Media
Video
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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| #BehindRCIChocolateBootCamp |
Make your business more relatable by offering glimpses behind-the-scenes through social media. In addition to sharing product photos, look for ways to tie in images that illustrate recipe development and testing, family dynamics (if you’re a family business) your company culture, and daily routines when appropriate. Plus, use a hashtag, like #behind>yourcompany< for followers to track all your insider footage in one place.
By welcoming followers behind the scenes, your business will feel more genuine and relatable than competitors who only share glamour shots of their products.
Tags:
Behind-the-Scenes
Family Business
Social Media
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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The Pareto principle is a common rule of thumb in business that suggests 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customer base, as one example. This principle can be applied to many facets of business and marketing, but today we’re going to focus on content marketing that will compel consumers versus repel them.
It may be easy to lean on platforms like email blasts and social media to push product, promote the sale or urge online ordering! Be careful not to inundate your followers with messaging that is purely focused on making the sale. This approach can actually cause followers to lose interest and, perhaps, even mistrust your brand.
You will have better success at building a loyal following of consumers who are genuinely interested in your company, the products you sell and the people who make them, if 80% of your content is devoted to sharing valuable and useful information that helps to weave your brand’s story. Leave the remaining 20% to the sales pitch.
Here’s a few ideas to spark your imagination:
- Sharing interesting facts about your company history is always a win, especially when paired with a photo.
- A peek behind the scenes can convey a sense of transparency and makes your company more trustworthy.
- Add a personal touch by congratulating staff on important milestones, such as employment anniversaries, birthdays, babies, graduations, weddings and etc.
Tags:
branding
Marketing
Owning a Business
sales
Social Media
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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Thanks to the evolution of technology and social media, advertising is everywhere. Aggressive advertisers have created an over-saturated world of ads in print, on television, the radio and especially online. We, as consumers, have also evolved to become more turned off by advertising, making it nearly impossible to get our attention.
That’s where content marketing comes into the picture. Although it has recently become a popular buzzword, the concept of content marketing has been around for over 100 years. The trouble with content marketing can be simply coming up with topics that aren’t perceived as “salesy,” but are relatable and interesting. Here’s one for your toolbox… customer success stories.
Not to be confused with testimonials, which can feel generic and contrived, customer success stories are weaved around a customer solving a problem using your product (e.g., finding the perfect corporate gift for clients) or an outstanding customer service experience. In some cases, customer success stories may require a little more leg work to find, but are more believable when sourced from individuals who shared their positive experience organically. By keeping a pulse on what people are saying about you online, or what's happening in your store, you can identify people who are doing interesting things with your products – a company that thanks clients with your chocolate bars emblazoned with their company logo, a bride who made a dessert tower with your truffles or a teenager who raises money to purchase a dozen boxes of chocolates to give senior citizens who live in the local nursing home. Seek these people out and ask them if they would be interested in filling out a questionnaire about your company. Their stories could prove to be a valuable asset to your brand.
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branding
Customer Service
Marketing
Social Media
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