Organic Social Media Success IS Possible!

Have you ever been told that it's impossible for your social media posts to gain serious traction, without spending $ on sponsored ads? While ever-changing algorithms can have an impact on how your posts are seen by existing and potential followers, organic posts are still very successful. You do NOT have to spend money for online ads, especially if that takes you beyond your marketing budget.

Take this post (pictured below) for example, would you believe it reached a massive 226.9k people on Facebook, with 3.2k reactions? The same post reached 11.4k people on Instagram, with 837 likes. Zero dollars spent. We have managed this account for @leodasmaui for almost six years and our posts normally reach audiences of at least five figures. In 2022, this account reached 998.5k people on FB, with a further 287k ppl on IG. Again, zero paid advertising dollars spent.

The key to getting your posts to reach far and wide without spending heavily on advertising is fairly straightforward:

• Engage your followers, respond to their messages and comments. If you grow and nurture your online community, they will become your biggest advocates

• Make good use of User Generated Content (UGC). Customers/guests create some incredible content, as seen in the picture above. This image was taken by a guest—we asked for permission, tagged it correctly, and reposted

• Use “National Days” and events to your advantage. The picture above uses the #nationaldessertday hashtag - be on the lookout for national and international days like this, adding those hashtags can really further the reach for your content

• Be consistent. Over the course of the last six years, we have posted consistently for this client, using a recognizable online voice, a strong sense of branding, and regular post timing. It works!

• Of course, it helps if your subject matter is something highly photogenic that everyone loves, in the case of dessert from Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop!

If you would like to learn more, or feel like you need help achieving your social media marketing goals, please get in touch!

Looking Back at a Successful 2022

Hi everyone and happy new year, it has been a while!

Hard to believe, but 2023 sees Cake Media Maui entering its seventh year of business and we are excited to continue working on lots of upcoming social media management, graphic design, website builds, and special events, while growing our client base.

2022 may have been our best year yet, and we were incredibly proud to receive several accolades for our small female-owned Maui biz.

In May, we were honored and humbled to receive a Pele Award, awarded to Cake Media for Logo Design—specifically Jenny’s beautiful work for surfboard shaper John Carlton’s Pearl Surf Designs. The annual Pele Awards sees more than 1000 people enter their work across 15 categories and, needless to say, we were over the moon to win for Logo Design and to represent Maui among some of HI’s finest creatives.

Pele Award win for Logo Design, 2022!

Award-winning design for Maui’s Pearl Surf Designs.

Special congratulations to Jenny for this celebration of your artisitry. You deserve this recognition for all your hard work, dedication, and boundless creativity!

 This was followed by a monumental win in the “Best of the West” Media awards from the American Advertising Federation when it was announced that Jenny was Media Professional of the Year, acknowledged for Cake Media’s “excellence in media and service to their community.” The Western Region comprises of five district operations supporting the states of Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, so to take home the win from Maui was a huge and incredible honor!

In September we received yet another surprise, when we were included as one of “The Best Food Photographers in Maui” by Peerspace! They described our work as:

“Specializing in event and food photography, this expert photo team is the life of the party and the garnish on top of a juicy, well-cooked steak. The meat of their imagery is based on brand identity, so they’re pretty much color-grading wizards. As self-proclaimed coffee connoisseurs, they’ll have your cup of joe looking like it’s just walked the red carpet to the table.”

What a year! Mahalo to all our supporters and clients for helping us to grow and experience these achievements, it simply would not be possible without you!

Our Top Tips to Survive Working From Home

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen huge numbers of people start working from home. For many, it’s the first time they have worked remotely and the loss of companionship and potential dip in creativity and productivity can put extra strain on an already-stressful situation.

Here at Cake Media, we are used to working from home. It has always been that way and there’s a lot to love about it – certainly the flexibility it gives us, the ability to work from anywhere with Wi-Fi and precious time to spend with our young children. However, it is not without its challenges - from distractions around the home, to feelings of isolation and the sense that you can never really unplug.

Pre-Cake Media, both of us worked remotely – Jenny as a designer and Laura as a writer. Between us, we have chalked up approximately 14 years of working from home. Our experiences have shown us what works and what doesn’t and we wanted to share a few tips for anyone new to, or struggling with, working from home.

1. A Dedicated Workspace

It doesn’t matter if it’s a laptop on your coffee table, a desk in your spare room, or a computer in the corner of your living room, try to dedicate an area in your home to be your go-to workspace. Using a designated “office” space will mentally prepare you for work every day. 

2. To-do List

 If you go into your work week with a clearly defined list of what you need to achieve and when, you will hit the ground running. Prioritize each task, set manageable deadlines and break your week into a day-by-day list of goals. We find it extra helpful to set aside a few minutes on Sunday to make our list for the week ahead.

3. Daily Routine

It sounds so simple but this one is key. Start your day as if you were going to work at the office – set your alarm so you don’t sleep in, take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, make coffee, whatever morning routine works for you. It doesn’t have to be too rigid, but try to arrive at your desk around the same time every morning – you will really feel like you are there to work and your productivity will benefit as a result.

4. Video Conferencing

We aren’t going to deny it, remote work can be a lonely endeavor.  In 2019, a study of 2,500 remote workers by online brand development agency Buffer found that loneliness was the second-most reported challenge, experienced by 19% of respondents. It’s something we have struggled with ourselves. In more “normal” times, we would suggest going out to a coffee shop, a library, a shared workspace – somewhere where you can get the sense of working alongside or among other people. But with current social distancing measures, video conferencing is a lifesaver – bot only to collaborate and communicate with your colleagues but also to stave off feelings off isolation. FaceTime or WhatsApp video chats work well, we also love Slack for its text-based instant messaging and group discussion for the workplace. If you have started using Zoom recently, you may want to be aware of their privacy and security issues. We have chosen not to use this app any longer.

5. Take Breaks 

It’s easy to get lost in your work, pausing only to wonder why your neck aches or why you suddenly feel so tired. Sitting in one position all day doesn’t do anyone any good and we can’t stress the importance of breaks enough. Stretch, get a glass of water, take the dog on a quick walk, move your body, have lunch away from your desk – whatever you can, work it into your day and you will come back refreshed. 

6. Music and Noise-Canceling Headphones

If you have problems focusing, we feel you! Noise-canceling headphones are a game changer, allowing you to block out background noise and focus on the work in hand – listening to your favorite music is an added bonus!

Is there something about working from home that you struggle with, that we haven’t mentioned above? Let us know in the comments as we would love to help.

Please stay safe and be well, thank you for visiting!

Social Media Influencers. How to be a great one!

Influencer marketing is when a brand or product is promoted by a person with a large follower base on a specific social media platform that has the power to influence consumer behaviors through reviews or endorsements.

At Cake Media we work with many social media influencers on behalf of our clients. Some food bloggers, some travel enthusiasts and others that specialize in more niche areas.

Here are some tips on how to stand out as a truly great influencer:

1. Be Authentic. Really!

Stand out from the majority of influencers in your field by ensuring that your posts are organic and relatable, this creates trust between you and your followers. If your followers do not see you as authentic they will be less likely to engage with your posts as often and therefore (due to some social media platform algorithms) this will negatively effect your opportunities to appear in their feed.

2. Be true to your opinions in a professional manner.

Use your innovative thoughts and ideas to establish yourself as the ‘go-to’ in the industry. Give honest but professional reviews or endorsements of the brands that you are working with.

3. Be Consistent.

Sharing consistent content is key because this is how people develop and maintain a connection with you. Though their engagement you can secure a place in your follower’s feed. Choose quality over quantity when posting. For fresh ideas on content creation read more of our Blogs below!!!

Updates to Facebook Business Pages

Ever since Facebook introduced their “meaningful interactions” update in January 2018, engagement on business pages has dropped significantly. Despite the fact that 80 million businesses use Facebook pages and every week, two out of three people on Facebook visit a local business or event page, that drop has been by than more than 50 per cent over the last 18 months, according to this report from BuzzSumo and Buffer.

The update to the Facebook algorithm prioritized posts from friends and family, which made it much harder to get page content seen in news feeds. However, Facebook recently announced a series of changes to mobile versions of its business pages to make connections with their user base “simpler and more valuable.”

This is how the social media giant aims to improve those connections through their new layouts, which will be different for each page category:

Recommendations

Facebook has retired their star rating system for customer reviews. Instead they have added recommendations to pages, this allows users to write in-depth reviews of at least 25 characters in length, with pictures and text. They have also added category-based business tags which are easily selected, easy to search for and work like hashtags for your business.

As Facebook say, “People can easily indicate if they recommend your business to others by simply answering "Yes" or "No", and can explain why with tags, text and photos. By selecting a tag, they can help themes emerge in the feedback from Recommendations, making it easier for potential customers to see what your business is known for.”

Actions

People will now be able to tap on a simplified and prominently featured selection of buttons to take actions like book an appointment for a haircut, order a pizza, send a message or write a Recommendation, all on mobile. Page managers will have the option to select the action buttons that make the most sense for their business.

Increased Visibility for Stories

Page Stories were added to Facebook in 2017, yet have never been as visible as those on Instagram and their original home, Snapchat. With Facebook’s new changes, the content can now be viewed by simply tapping on the business page profile photo.

Customized Business Info

Businesses can now feature information such as hours and prices, recommendations and restaurant menus much more prominently on their pages, as well as special events and offers.

Events

700 million people use Facebook Events each month and now businesses will be able to sell tickets directly through Facebook Pages. Facebook is also creating event-specific ads to help with promotion and marketing.

Jobs

To help more local businesses hire people, Facebook are expanding Jobs to all people and businesses across the world in the coming months.