How To Market Your Small Bakery Business Online in Kenya

If you want to start a small bakery business in Kenya, or you already have one started; you definitely know the importance of marketing your bakery business.

It’s also important to realize that; in this day and age, a majority of your target market is online. That means that your bakery business brand should also be online. This is very important in order to reach your target customers and make sales that will contribute to your bakery’s success. There is a name for this type of marketing that you have to do online in order to attract the type of customer you are targeting and make your sale. It’s called Inbound Marketing.

Inbound marketing, as defined by Hubspot, is marketing in which you create content online that attracts your dream customer. This content helps you convert the customer into a potential lead and then close the sale and the lead becomes an actual customer of your brand or bakery business. After the sale; you then continue to delight your customer by maintaining them as an existing customer by offering content (offers, loyalty/reward programs, etc.) that keeps them loyal to your bakery’s brand.
This type of marketing has steadily increased popularity in the baking industry. Home Bakers, Bakery shops & even large bakery businesses are using inbound marketing to attract and convert customers in order to make sales and be successful in their businesses. Due to its nature of targeting a specific type of customer (your target market), it’s more economical and is therefore very popular with small businesses that can market with a more restricted budget, but with effective results. You as a small bakery owner should also take advantage if you haven’t already started. Today I want to share four ways you can use inbound marketing for your small bakery business.
1. Using Social Media Platforms

I’m sure if you have a small bakery business, you most likely have one or two social media pages for your bakery brand. If you don’t, you need to create pages for your small bakery business. This is a large part of sharing your bakery business brand online and is a necessary part of inbound marketing.

As a baking business, visual marketing is very effective for your small business. It’s therefore very effective to share pictures of your delicious products on your social media pages in order to attract your target customers. You can choose three or four social media pages that you are comfortable with and feel will be effective in your marketing efforts. Examples are: Instagram, TikTok & Facebook; if you’re able to manage – also open Twitter & even Pinterest pages. You don’t have to use them all daily, you can choose two to work on for starters.

Make sure you post often and consistently (eg. you can post at least 3 to 5 times a week on each platform). You can plan ahead and schedule your posts, but it’s important to make sure you also engage with your fans/followers as well.
You can also join Facebook groups that are highly popular for retail, consumers and industry-related interests. These types of groups can help you connect with the right customers in your area looking for your baked goods; as well as for brand building.

P/S: If social media marketing seems overwhelming to you as a baker; consider joining our Online class where we share Social Media marketing knowledge specifically for Bakers. Click here for full details & to enroll. 

2. Social Media Ads/Digital Ads
Another effective part of inbound marketing is running ads on social media. Four Online platforms that offer digital ads are Facebook, Instagram, Google & Twitter. These ads are usually more effective since you choose your target audience and you’re also able to get insights into the progress, effectiveness and interaction that your ad gets from potential customers. This is very important since its measurable marketing that helps you adjust in order to reach your type of customer and allows you to have a higher chance of closing sales.

I can personally attest to the effectiveness of Facebook & Instagram ads which I have used periodically over the last 7 to 8 years. Surprisingly, these ads can be quite economical since the charges are based on engagement with your ad, so if you didn’t get much engagement, it doesn’t cost you a lot. You can start with a lower budget and work your way up. It’s important to note of course that the higher the rate of an ad, the more effective it can be if you target it well. An example of a one day ad on Facebook is $5, which is a rough estimate of Kshs. 500. This kind of ad can get you possible cake sales of about Kshs. 2,000; and if you target more effectively, even more sales are possible. P/S: Please get knowledgeable on how to use the above digital ad platforms before investing any money into them and make sure you understand them first; you can get both free (e.g. search on Google) knowledge & advice or even paid knowledge – sign up for courses. 

3. Blogging
This is an important and effective part of inbound marketing for your small bakery business; if you choose to start. You can start a business blog in which you can share content that will be targeted to the type of customer you’re looking for. An example is of this bakery blog of mine, the way I share information on baking and tips on baking for business. That helps me attract the type of customer I’m targeting for my baking classes business.
If you are a bakery selling cakes, you can share different pictures of your products or projects (e.g. wedding cakes) you have baked and sold. You can get creative and look at what kind of information your target customer is looking for online and create content that will attract them. Content on your blog doesn’t have to always be written. It can be pictures or videos as well. Make sure to think of a particular goal or objective you want to achieve on your blog before starting it. It will give you a good direction in which to follow while posting. Make sure you post consistently on your business blog; it’s not easy but if you plan yourself, very achievable.

4. Website
It’s very important to have a website for your small bakery business. This is your own little piece of real estate online. Social media is very important and effective; however, it’s still not entirely your space. If Facebook or Twitter were to close today, you wouldn’t have your page to market on. That’s why it’s always important to have a website for your business. This is where you can describe to your potential customers about your business and the baked products that you sell as well as any other services you offer. It’s also very advisable to link your blog to your website (or even better; have them on the same site/platform). This will ensure that the content you share online will attract your customers to your website as well. If possible, especially if your bakery business model is delivery based, include an e-commerce segment on your website for easy ordering for your customers.

If you can be able to use these four ways of marketing online for your small bakery business; your chances of business success will be very high. So get to it bakers and bakerettes! ^_^

For more detailed insights on creating a marketing strategy & a plan, How to get started on Social media marketing, running ads & many other marketing tips – Enroll for our 60-day Social Media marketing Online Class for Bakers.

Thanks for reading, make sure you share this post in order to help another bakery owner or future owner just like you ^_^

PS: Post edited and updated for relevance – 2022