I love a good pop-up shop. Last year, Nestle hosted a space on King St. West where you could create your own Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar. This year, Nestle has created a space on Queen St. West where you can create your own Kit Kat chocolate bar.
Browsing Tag
chocolate
I usually don’t pay attention to Groupon unless there’s a deal on Starbucks gift cards. But when a couple friends found a chocolate-making workshop on the site, I signed up to attend with them.
You know I love ordering custom cupcakes, but I haven’t done any real baking myself in a long time unless Pillsbury cookies count. It’s actually quite fun to decorate and customize treats without paying extra for someone else to do it.
Inside The Mad Bean cafe on Eglinton Ave West, we sat together and learned about the history of chocolate. For example, I discovered that the Mayans were the first to discover chocolate and for a long time, only the wealthy enjoyed it. (They didn’t have Walmart or convenience stores back then!) Spanish princess Marie-Therese was one of the most influential public figures who introduced chocolate to others, such as at her wedding.
Then we got to sample chocolates with cinnamon, ginger and cayenne. They were all so good!
Reaching certain social media milestones, such as reaching a benchmark in your number of followers, can be very exciting for a social media manager. What’s more, you may be pleasantly surprised to discover how much your followers want to celebrate with you. That’s why it’s beneficial to plan ahead and prepare a mini content strategy that you will be ready to execute when you see those magical numbers.
I’m a bit of a screenshot-aholic and some of the photos I’ve collected are posts that my favourite brands published when they acquired lots of followers. Now I’d like to share some of my top picks with you and I hope they will inspire your social media marketing.
Justin Trudeau
Once Canada’s Prime Minister acquired 2 million Facebook fans, his team produced a short video to describe their demographics. Every Facebook page admin has access to these kinds of insights, so it was easy to create, but the average person couldn’t see this information until the video was released and probably found it interesting. By listing the distant locations of where his fans live, he cemented his position as a global leader while expressing gratitude for their support. The video was so engaging that even TV personality Jillian Harris liked it!
It’s one thing to “Like” a cafe on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
It’s quite another to learn about who schmoozes with espresso lovers online daily.
Position: Social Media Consultant
Employer: Aroma Espresso Bar
Education: English, York University; Public Relations, Humber College
Favourite blog: Too many to mention. Is Twitter a blog?
Favourite mobile app: Twitter – it keeps me connected to news and ideas from dozens of industries and areas, all day every day.
Professional role model: I keep track of what the top professionals in my industry are doing, and try to adopt their best practices to fit within my roles and responsibilities. My father always told me the little things can make the biggest difference, so I try to pay attention to detail, make connections, and do my job the right way.
In 140 characters or less, what makes Aroma the best option for Canadian coffee aficionados?
Besides our freshly-brewed coffee? The wide scope of healthy and made-to-order menu items available, the customer service, and chocolates!
Which menu items do you recommend for first-time Aroma customers?
If you’re a coffee lover, obviously grab an espresso. The hot chocolate is among the best in Toronto, steamed milk over chocolate pralines. Our Sweet Potato Lentil salad has a devoted following, and people swear by the Grilled Halumi sandwich. Our alfajores melt in your mouth, and of course, save room for the complimentary chocolate!
As Aroma continues expanding internationally, how does Aroma maintain a consistent online presence?
As of now, there are several Twitter and Facebook accounts associated with the various Aroma Espresso Bar locations around the world. Speaking on behalf of Canada, Toronto is the only city with an Aroma Espresso Bar (actually, 10 as of this writing and two more a mere weeks away from opening). We consolidated all our GTA locations under one common social media umbrella to facilitate reaching all our customers in a timely manner, as well as to maintain consistency across all locations.
We strive to post a few tweets a day, and a few Facebook posts a week. The most important use for social media in our case is the ability to talk directly to our customers. We try to acknowledge everyone who mentions us online, whether positive or negative. If you’ve taken the time to visit our location and tell us or your friends about it, we want to thank you personally. It’s the least we can do.