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

Hi Cera, thanks for joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I currently run all of the socials myself and have learned its many pros and cons. Growing up with the internet has allowed me to be pretty savvy with the many social network trends. My customers have a wide age range so making sure content appeals to almost everyone is super important. Playing around with content and seeing what resonates most with a new or existing customer helps me for future posts. I believe customers value hearing my voice through posts and engagement versus a cookie-cut response. The tricky part of social media is setting aside time to create valuable content for viewers. As a small business owner, balancing time with family and work is tough to do when social media is ever-present. I’ve considered hiring help for content creation and management. I believe the investment will quickly pay off and customers will enjoy seeing the businesses growth through a solid media presence.

Cera, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a baker, food enthusiast and mom of one. I’ve been baking and/or in the kitchen most of my life, thanks to the guidance of betty crocker and my mama. Food has always been a large focus in my life so as a young teen, I had aspirations of becoming a part of the pastry world. I’ve received my associates in baking and pastry from the Art Insitute and then quickly began working at many loved Nashville restaurants and bakeries. Working through the field I gained tons of knowledge and understanding of ingredient appreciation and how to create a composed dish. I also worked both front and back of house, allowing me to see through the eyes of the customer and the chef. So now with creating my own business, I’m able to produce quality baked goods that might remind you of a childhood favorite or open your eyes to a whole new flavor profile. My bakes are always changing and I’m always tweaking recipes to create the best product possible. Whether it’s a chocolate chip cookie or a seasonal cake, there’s always room for improvement. I’m most proud of the community of people who have come together to support me and my family either through ordering customs to visiting me at pop up events. I hope to continue to create space for people to feel comfortable enjoying my bakes without any guilt and shame.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Growing clients in the food industry can be a little tricky. Food is so personal and people really love to know who’s in the kitchen hand-making that product. Many people come up and ask how long the bakes take and how many people are assisting in the kitchen. People want to know bakes are quality so visiting popups is the best way for clients to understand my brand as a whole and enjoy the weekly offerings. This way I can create a relationship with clients so that in the future if they decide to place a custom order, they know the level of quality and care I take with my bakes.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is the quickest way to engage your customer so I realized that trying to stay consistent with content would be a big goal. I’ve never been a huge content poster but like most of us, enjoyed consuming content. Since food is so visual, I knew having quality images and videos would be a big help to boost my following. Over the years, I’ve improved these things, and again, staying somewhat consistent in posting has helped my following grow. Customers also enjoy content that’s well rounded, and at times surprising. Keeping posts light and fun creates a nice space to allow people to interact and engage with polls, questions and etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thechambrayapron.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechambrayapron/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechambrayapron/

Image Credits
Isaac MacDonald