Dulce Bun House: Succeeding in a Digital Era
As part of my "Digital Context" module, my lecturer Steven Ryan has challenged us to analyse a local business that creates engaging content for its audience. The business that I have chosen that I believe does this is Dulce Bun House.
Dulce Bun House opened its doors in 2017 and has had huge success since. They provide high-quality sweet treats, ensuring all ingredients are locally sourced to provide their customers with an exciting and pleasurable experience. The owners, Eileen Domiati and Amin Domiati have dedicated themselves to the prosperity of the business, resulting in receiving The Cork New Business Award in 2018, as well as many nominations for other awards such as the Cork Business Awards
Their presence on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram allows Dulce Bun House to create content that will capture their audience’s attention effectively. They regularly update their social media to provide their customers with engaging content, that keeps them intrigued and wanting more. Their delicious sweet treats are often featured on Instagram, allowing their audience to see what they have to offer, and enticing them to experience the irresistible buns, waffles, coffees, and more.
The recent arrival of the company on the social media platform Tiktok has also contributed to interactions with customers. Although their following is small on the platform at the moment, the effective use of popular songs and the cinematic quality of their videos is bound to create more success for the company in the future. By keeping up with trends across all social medias it gives the company the opportunity to attract a larger audience, which will, in turn, push its content further.
The Dulce Bun House website is a reliable source of information for customers about the company. The simple yet effective layout of this website provides a background of the company, a menu, and a contact section where consumers can ask questions or make comments. This interaction between company and the audience allows the consumer to feel a connection to the brand. It is important for a customer to know that their opinions are known and taken into consideration within a company. If the company can successfully interact with the consumers and answer queries or concerns, it can create a sense of brand loyalty and the consumer will return time and time again. I believe that by providing this space for contact, Dulce Bun House is effectively promoting the potential for this brand loyalty.
Another company that effectively uses social media is Ballymaloe House. In comparison to Dolce Bun House, Ballymaloe House is much more successful with its social media, with over 27k followers on Facebook and over 28k followers on Instagram. This is due to it being an established brand, providing many more products and services on a national scale. Ballymaloe House updates its social medias regularly, in order to keep its audience engaged.
Ballymaloe House provides high-quality content across all of its social medias, creating an experience for its audience through its imagery alone. It is evident that these images are taken professionally, resulting in a more polished finish in contrast to Dulce Bun House's in-house, more authentic pictures. These images convey a sense of luxury and exclusivity, which is a reflection of the brand itself.
Influencer Marketing is an effective method that allows businesses to gain brand recognition quickly. Due to influencers capturing the attention of a specific audience, they can often be used to distribute content to a target audience for businesses. This use of influencer marketing can be very effective for small brands trying to expand their social media presence. It is important that the personality of an influencer matched that of the brand, allowing the brand to be conveyed through the influencer. The efficient use of an influencer by a brand can allow content to be spread quickly across many platforms.
Oftentimes, If an influencer is popular within the target audience they will be persuaded by the content, and the personality of the influencer, to mimic their behaviour. This simply means that if an individual sees a popular creator, whom they can relate to, use a product or service, they will be persuaded to purchase that product or service.
In today's era of social media, the most effective use of influencer marketing is through the platform Tiktok. TikTok is the most used app in the world, with over 1 billion active users. The app uses data analysis to learn about each user and their likes and dislikes. Each person’s feed is specifically catered to them. By using Tiktok as a way to create content, businesses are more likely to reach their target audience. Although this may be effective at reaching one specific audience, influencers can be used to reach a larger audience on a much broader scale. This allows a business to penetrate an audience larger than its intended target audience. Many Irish Tiktok influencers such as Miriam Mullins and Lauren Wheelan partner with small brands to help promote them on the app.