Value Proposition – You Have the Time to Make Amazing Cupcakes
- Design artisan cupcakes in a few clicks
- Perfect for any occasion
- A delicious gift with a personal touch
SMART Goals
Specific: Utilize the businesses owned social media platforms that have a substantive following to promote the new custom cupcake web app. With limited funds to explore paid advertisement, it will be important to rely on guerilla marketing techniques. A powerful advertising tactic will include a promotion event on the social media platforms: users who like the social posts will be entered into a draw to make a dozen free custom cupcakes through the web app. Users who Like and Share the post will be entered into this draw twice. Users who Like, Share and Comment will be entered 3 times. The winner will be provided a one-time use coupon code for when they check-out after crafting their cupcakes.
Measurable: Social media posts on Instagram and Twitter can be easily measured by the number of likes, shares, and interactions. The website should have Google Analytics, or something equivalent, to provide insight as to who is accessing the web app and when.
Attainable: No additional skills are required to make these posts, and the business has an in-house graphics designer that can create the posts.
Relevant: The custom cupcake web app and its success are of great importance to the business. While it may not be initially possible to aggressively advertise the new web app – paid advertising, SEO, pay-per-click, CPM, sponsorships, etc – the initial success is vital. Increased revenue as a result of this marketing campaign can be directed back into paid marketing efforts.
Time-bound: Within 2-months of utilizing social media platforms, and guerilla marketing tactics, the business will measure success by KPI’s.
Key Performance Indicator:
The KPI is to increase awareness of the business – specifically, the new web app that allows customers to custom design artisanal cupcakes. The KPI of the marketing campaign that revolves around the new web app is highly specific, and its success will be measured by the following:
- The business website will have increased traffic by at least 15%
- Minimum of 5000 unique visitors to the web app
- A minimum of 200 likes, 100 shares, and 100 comments on all social media platforms for each post
These objectives will be reviewed 2-months after the marketing campaign has started. The campaign itself, depending on initial success, can be invigorated with additional capital and marketing methods.
Appropriate Channels:
Hopper’s Cakes should focus their advertising efforts on the following, in order of importance:
Social Media:
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter combined with a Prize Event on each platform to generate reach.
Email:
Email customer lists with a stylish ad featuring the new cupcake designer.
Display:
A display featured outside their store, with a tablet setup for public use in-store to test (COVID-19 protocols be observed for regular cleaning, with an attached stylus that is wrapped in antimicrobial fabric)
Video:
Prioritize the creation of a TikTok account, using trending video ideas, effects, and music to promote their product. Over 40% of TikTok consists of 30-49-year-old people, many small businesses have seen rapid success and growth by clever marketing tactics on this platform.
However, it shouldn’t promote the new cupcake designer – in fact, it should avoid direct promotion of the business itself. The account name, and a link within the profile to the website should be (initially, at least) the only mention of the business. Hopper’s Cakes should focus on their product to generate interest:
- 30-second to 3-minute videos featuring how to make a type of cupcake, potentially one that is popular and in-store – no recipe is too secret.
- A running series of the owner, or a staff member, enjoying a cupcake after it’s made, potentially in an interesting way each time: some examples include without hands, dropped from a roof, upside down, only eating the (edible) wafer, have a baby “cake smash” one, give it away to a customer who is in the store (give them heads-up and ask permission).
- Test forms of humor, using popular audio-covers such as the “Oh no, our table, it’s broken…” for failed creations or create a unique one which can result in a trend.
Food on TikTok (or, “FoodTok” as it is affectionally referred to) has the potential to generate stunning growth if performed correctly. From anecdotal observations, and as a content creator myself, that means creating content that is educational or humorous – or both. This also results in a form of a guerilla marketing that large businesses/corporations have actively invested in. Duolingo is an example that comes to mind recently – their lovable mascot has taken to TikTok threatening to physically harm people who do not learn more languages (“Spanish or vanish”). Duolingo’s legal department and staff are seen in some videos to be greatly disturbed by their mascot’s actions: the mascot seems to act outside of both reason and law with impunity.
This content has generated millions of views, likes, interactions and significant interest in Duolingo – the internet has found the mascots murderous nature to be hilarious and endearing. While not strictly an example of FoodTok content, it is an example of how uncommon marketing strategies can be wildly successful. It is the only video platform that Hopper’s Cakes should actively work towards building a following on: they could even promote the TikTok on their other social media platforms to help growth. It would take time, and knowledge, to generate a following TikTok – because of this, it will not be part of the KPI; however, success on this platform could lend to future campaigns, further broadening their potential audience.