70. Baking it Down - Collab Basics 101 (for the July 29th Christmas Collab)

🎄 Squeezin' the Most out of a Collab

We're Havin' a Cookie Collab on July 29th. You're invited. But here's how to squeeze the most "marketing" juice from said collab.

🎅 First off - what are collabs? 

Collabs aren't unique to the cookie world - but they are just as fun across the board. The concept is pretty simple. A group gets together, works to create a concept using a theme, and on a set day and time, they post up the completed work on social media.

🎅 But like - why do it?

Great question. Different collabs have different goals. For example - here are some of our past collabs and their goals:

• 📆 June 2021 - Logo Cookies Cookie Collab - to turn your cookie into a logo to push your skills
• 📆 July 2021 - Then ‘n Now Cookie Collab with Sugar Cookie Marketing - to demonstrate to your audience how much you've advanced
• 📆 Oct 2021 - Main Street Cookie Collab with Sugar Cookie Marketing - to feature a business as a cookie and get corporate leads
• 📆 Dec 2021 - Meaning of Christmas Collab - to give back to the community 
• 📆 May 2022 - Susan Reed Cookie Collab with Sugar Cookie Marketing - to raise awareness of an industry scam
• 📆 July 2022 - Christmas in July Cookie Collab with Sugar Cookie Marketing - to work ahead on Christmas offerings

So yeah, different collabs can have different goals. And that's the benefit of them. Whether working ahead or helping your community, these collabs give you a great excuse to put yourself out there and try something new. The goal of the Christmas in July collab is to work ahead so, come Christmas, you're not runnin' around with all the baking pans, none of the time, and none of your Christmas offerings to post.

🎅 So that's it? It's just "because"?

Close - but there's a bit more marketing to a collab. When everyone posts up on social media, they not only agree to participate but also to engage with others who participated. This is a form of manufactured engagement, and while social media companies dislike the practice, it still works, so we're still doin' it until reported otherwise. 

🎅 How does that work??

When you make a post, that post is "shopped around" to users on a social platform. The more users that engage with the content, the more the algorithm thinks, "Wow, this content is keeping users on our platform! We should show it to even more users!" This is the beauty of collabs. While the goal is not to follow other bakers, other bakers will comment on your posts allowing your post to reach more of your audience. A win-win. Not only can you involve yourself in a fun industry event, it also benefits your social reach. 

🎅 Okay - I'm in. What do I have to do?

I knew I liked you! It's pretty easy. Here are the steps:

1. Before July 29th, bake, decorate, and photograph something you plan on selling this Christmas / Holiday. It's got to be Christmas or Holiday themed - that's the key.
2. On July 29th, at 11 AM Eastern (time zones - they're important here) you'll post your photo + caption to Instagram.
3. This is Instagram-only. Facebook doesn't work well with hashtags yet unfortunately. 
4. Use the hashtag #sugarcookiemarketingcollab in your copy. This is probably the most important step. 
5. Once you post, go engage with any content posted on that date at that time using the group collab hashtag. 

🎅 Easy as Pie - er... cookies? 

Yep! And if you want some additional tips - listen to this week's podcast about Cookie Collabs! We threw in a few more tips to really squeeze the most outta this collab.

Any more collab tips? Feel free to start a thread in