What You Can Learn From the “Cake Boss”

Cake Boss is a show about Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey.  The show, which premiered on TLC in 2009, stars Buddy Valastro, the shop’s owner — and his family — and depicts their everyday lives running the bakery.

Due to the popularity of the show, business for Carlo’s Bake Shop — as well as tourism to the Hoboken area — has skyrocketed.  Anyone who lives in the Hoboken, New Jersey area instinctively knows that if they need a wedding or specialty cake, Carlo’s Bake Shop is the place to go.

So what does a reality television show have to do with your business?

Besides all the drama and entertainment, when you watch a reality show based on a “real business,” you get a true sense of how the business operates.  Fans of the show see Buddy and his team in action.  They begin to understand the process they go through from concept to finished product.  Most importantly, viewers see the satisfied look on the customer’s faces when Buddy presents them their cake.

The Cake Boss also likes to show his audience he’s always innovating.  He’s always trying new cake decorating styles, baking tricks and techniques.  You also, in the process, get to know Buddy and his team.  They come across as authentic, trustworthy, but most importantly…they really know how to make great cakes.  Instead of telling the audience they can make beautiful specialty cakes, they just show you!

You’re not the Cake Boss, but you can be.

Now you might not be able to afford a television crew who will follow you around all day, but you can start building an audience by “showing” people who you are and how you work by using online video (for example) and social media (YouTube, etc.).  You can blog, make videos, and distribute content on channels like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook that paints a 360-degree picture of your business.

You can combine a bit of drama and entertainment (how you had to jump through hoops to close a deal at the last minute) with how-to and educational information specific to your industry.  Most importantly, you can show the look on your customer’s faces when you present them with your finished product (if your in a business where this makes sense).

Start filming you and your team in brainstorming sessions:  the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Show your human side with actual proof of why people should work with you and by the time people actually meet you they’ll feel like they actually know you.

Think you have what it takes to be the next Cake Boss?

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive (Toronto, Canada) and a professional member of Social Media Club.  He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands – to mid-sized B2B companies – to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet start-ups ranked in the 2009 PROFIT 100.  Follow Mitch on his other adventures in new media at [mitchellfanning.com].