We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Audrey Marcum a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Audrey , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

As someone in the food development and content creation space, social media has played a huge role in my growth strategy. In fact, I first started Audrey’s Table on Instagram before establishing a presence on other media channels or building my own website, just to test the waters and see if the kind of content and recipes I was creating would resonate with people.

It’s evident that social media can play a huge role in the brand awareness and success of a business, especially as channels like Instagram and TikTok become more of a marketplace. With this shift, I think many brands think that the success of their business correlates with producing more content, more frequently. I don’t see it this way. In the food and recipe development industry, I think that producing content at a high rate can be to the detriment of brand authenticity and lead to lower quality content.

As someone trying to build their brand through social media channels, it’s been a struggle to not get down on myself for producing less content or not being constantly active on all forms of social media at all times. Especially when other brands are doing it and the social media algorithms often favors frequent activity by propagating it to more people. I went through a few months where I tried to post at least every day or every other day, and while I was getting a lot of views, I felt like my content wasn’t 100% true to who I am and the kind of recipes that I’d want people to actually cook. I just didn’t have the time or creative energy to properly test a recipe and think about the ingredients and techniques that would best suit a dish.

After this period, and some intense burnout, I realized I’d rather produce less content and have it be a dish or recipe that I’m truly proud of and feel confident that people will love when they make it. Because, in the end, that’s what’s going to make people want to stick around – recipes that are well thought out and delicious. Even if this strategy means growing my brand at a slower rate, at least I know the content I’m creating is intentional, high-quality, and true to the creative process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From an early age, I cultivated a love for all things baking, appreciating the precision and artistry it demands. I was obsessed with perfecting the french macaron, cupcakes, cookies, and breads (and still kind of am). But with time, I learned to love the more fluid, flexible style of cooking and the option of straying from the original recipe. As I continued to learn new cooking techniques and test out different flavor pairings, either self-motivated or gleaned from the restaurant job I had at the time, I found a lot of joy in sharing my creations with friends and family. This sense of connectedness with others through food is what really motivated me to start Audrey’s Table and to start sharing my own unique cooking style with a broader community.

Today, my style is a blend of both precision and creativity thanks to my passions for both baking and cooking. I aim to design recipes that are creative and approachable for anyone who wants to experiment and have a little fun in the kitchen. Many of my recipes are whole foods-focused using seasonal ingredients. My goal is to deliver recipes that are inviting, flavor-packed, and are ultimately fun to eat and share with others.

At the end of the day, I believe that food is a way to connect and unite people, and I often find myself looking forward to every meal I can create and share with others at the table. This is why I named my brand “Audrey’s Table” – I wanted it to reflect not just the recipes and meals I create, but the sense of community I hope it can bring to others.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Connecting with likeminded individuals. I absolutely love meeting and interacting with other people who admire food and cooking as much as I do. Since building my brand, it’s been an amazing experience to talk and share ideas with other super knowledgeable people in this space. It’s such an uplifting feeling to be supported by this community, and they inspire me to continue exploring my own creativity in the kitchen.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

When I first started building Audrey’s Table, I kept asking myself: Why should people care? And what will encourage them to stick around? For me, the answer kept coming back to community. I truly believe building a strong, diverse community has been and will continue to be the key to success

To achieve a sense of belonging with and loyalty to a brand or content creator, followers need to feel heard – they need to know that their opinion and questions matter. In this industry, social media plays a huge role in connecting with and building that community. I try to respond to people’s comments or questions, ask my followers questions and gauge their interest in certain recipes through polls, and try to uplift other brands and content creators in my space. When you grow a following, you have to be aware that everything you do is out there for people to see. So by fostering a positive community in a welcoming space, you attract people who are seeking that, too.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.audreys-table.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreys.table/