First Impressions: The Make-or-Break Moment
Whether you're heading out on a hot date, meeting the in-laws, or launching a new business venture, first impressions count. This is doubly true on social media, where reactions can spread near instantaneously — you only get one shot to do it right.
While it's our job to make your business pop, sometimes the result exceeds even our high expectations.
Why first impressions matter online:
- Instant reactions: Social media spreads opinions immediately
- One chance: You can't undo a bad launch
- Lasting impact: Initial perception shapes future engagement
- Viral potential: Good or bad, first impressions can spread quickly
- Trust building: Professional presence establishes credibility
- Competitive edge: Stand out from day one or risk being forgotten
About Sweet Soul Patisserie
One such recent success story is Sweet Soul Patisserie, a French bakery based in Christchurch.
Business profile:
- Type: French bakery and patisserie
- Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
- Stage: Pre-launch, brand new business
- Product: High-end French pastries and cakes
- Challenge: Making a successful market entry
- Goal: Strong launch with engaged local following
The Two-Month Pre-Launch Strategy
A couple of months before their official launch we built pages across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and started to populate them with interesting, visually arresting content.
Why two months out from the launch date?
So that as we ramped up the advertising and more people discovered the business there would already be a wealth of compelling material waiting there to build anticipation in advance of the opening event.
Pre-launch timeline strategy:
- 2 months before launch: Create social media pages
- Week 1-4: Populate with compelling visual content
- Week 5-6: Build content library and audience base
- Week 7: Ramp up advertising campaigns
- Week 8: Create launch event pages
- Launch week: Full promotional push
Benefits of early presence:
- Content depth: Rich library of posts already available
- Anticipation building: Creating buzz before opening
- Audience priming: Followers ready and waiting for launch
- Professional appearance: Established presence, not rushed
- Algorithm advantage: Time to build platform credibility
- Testing ground: Learn what content resonates before launch
Multi-Platform Approach
Platforms established:
- Facebook: Primary platform for local community engagement
- Instagram: Perfect for stunning food photography
- Twitter: News updates and local conversation
Why multiple platforms:
- Different audiences on each platform
- Instagram perfect for visual bakery content
- Facebook for events and community building
- Twitter for local news and engagement
- Cross-platform presence shows professionalism
- Multiple discovery touchpoints for customers
The Launch Event Strategy
Speaking of events, we built event pages for the launch and used a precisely targeted ads campaign to ensure that everyone in the surrounding areas who fit their target demographic knew when, where and what to expect from the all important first day.
Event campaign components:
- Event pages created: Dedicated launch event on platforms
- Precise targeting: Surrounding areas only
- Demographic filtering: Target customer profile
- Clear information: When, where, what to expect
- RSVP functionality: Building commitment to attend
- Ads campaign: Ensuring maximum local awareness
Target audience definition:
- Geographic: Christchurch and surrounding suburbs
- Interests: Food, baking, French cuisine, coffee culture
- Demographics: Food enthusiasts, cafe-goers
- Behavioral: People who visit bakeries and cafes
- Look-alike: Similar to existing French bakery customers
The Power of Visual Content
When savvy targeting is combined with gorgeous imagery, your chances of striking social media gold multiply.
The good folk at Sweet Soul Patisserie understood the importance of showing off their brand visually, providing us with sumptuous photography that had us feverishly looking up flights to Christchurch to sample the impeccable looking cakes (unfortunately the boss wouldn't give us the time off!).
Visual content quality:
- Professional photography: High-quality images of products
- Sumptuous styling: Food presented beautifully
- Mouth-watering appeal: Imagery so good we wanted to book flights!
- Brand consistency: Cohesive French bakery aesthetic
- Product showcase: Showing off the artistry and quality
- Instagram-worthy: Highly shareable, visually stunning content
Why visual quality matters for bakeries:
- Food is inherently visual - you eat with your eyes first
- Beautiful pastries photograph exceptionally well
- Instagram and Facebook favor image-heavy content
- Quality imagery signals quality products
- Shareable content extends organic reach
- Creates desire and immediate appetite appeal
Community Engagement Strategy
Populating the page with interesting tidbits of local news and engaging with the local community added to the community feel of the page.
Community content included:
- Local news: Christchurch events and happenings
- Community engagement: Responding to comments and messages
- Behind-the-scenes: Preparation for launch
- French culture: Education about French baking traditions
- Local connections: Partnerships with other Christchurch businesses
- Neighborhood focus: Positioning as part of the community
Media Attention and Organic Growth
We've since had news outlets reaching out to the Sweet Soul Patisserie team, looking to provide them with even more publicity.
Earned media results:
- News outlet interest: Media reaching out proactively
- Additional publicity: Coverage beyond social media
- Credibility boost: Third-party validation from media
- Extended reach: Audience beyond social followers
- PR value: Free publicity from successful launch
- Snowball effect: Success breeding more success
The Impressive Results
With their social following growing in leaps and bounds every day, dozens of positive reviews popping up on the pages, and a smashing launch, this new business has made that all important first step into the marketplace count.
Campaign achievements:
- Rapid follower growth: Growing in leaps and bounds daily
- Dozens of positive reviews: Social proof from happy customers
- Smashing launch: Successful opening day event
- Media attention: News outlets seeking to cover them
- Community engagement: Active, engaged local following
- Strong market entry: First impression mission accomplished
- Sustainable momentum: Continued growth post-launch
The Success Formula
What made Sweet Soul Patisserie's launch successful:
- Early preparation: 2 months of pre-launch activity
- Quality content: Stunning professional photography
- Multi-platform presence: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
- Targeted advertising: Precise local demographic targeting
- Event marketing: Well-promoted launch event
- Community engagement: Local news and conversation
- Professional management: Expert social media strategy
Lessons for Your Launch
How to replicate this success:
- Start early: Build presence 2+ months before launch
- Invest in visuals: Professional photography is essential
- Multi-platform: Establish presence where your audience is
- Local focus: Engage with your community
- Event strategy: Make launch day an occasion
- Targeted ads: Reach exactly who you need
- Expert help: Professional management maximizes results
Beyond Launches: Ongoing Success
Looking to bring something new to the market, ramp up your existing activity, or prepare for an upcoming event?
We can help with:
- New business launches: Like Sweet Soul Patisserie
- Existing business growth: Ramping up current activity
- Event promotion: Grand openings, special occasions
- Rebranding: Fresh start with new identity
- Location expansion: Opening new stores
- Product launches: Introducing new offerings
The Bottom Line
Sweet Soul Patisserie's success demonstrates that a well-executed social media launch can exceed even high expectations. By combining:
- Early preparation (2 months pre-launch)
- Stunning visual content (drool-worthy photography)
- Multi-platform presence (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
- Targeted advertising (precise local reach)
- Community engagement (local news and conversation)
- Professional event marketing (launch day promotion)
This French bakery made their all-important first step into the marketplace count, earning:
- Rapidly growing social following
- Dozens of positive reviews
- Media attention and coverage
- A smashing successful launch
- Sustained momentum and growth
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
We'd love nothing more than to help you make it a roaring success. Expert social media management without the onerous long-term contracts — at Easy Social Media you can have your cake and eat it too.
Get in touch and let's make your launch as sweet as Sweet Soul Patisserie's!
