Numerous bosses appear on camera and shoot clips for TikTok, a low-cost effort that can yield significant benefits even when simply tearing apart a loaf of white bread. A master baker successfully utilizes TikTok marketing, while companies are increasingly investing in social media. TikTok stands out as a valuable platform with over 20 million users in Germany. Authenticity and personal connection are key to success. Podcasts are also trending as a marketing tool, but face challenges related to discoverability and audio quality. Companies utilize podcasts for internal communication, recruiting, and brand strengthening. Mathias Elshoff boosts revenue and visibility through TikTok videos, leading to an influx of new apprentices.

In these times, what could possibly be the biggest concern for a baker? The rising costs? Hesitant customers? Perhaps the shortage of skilled workers and apprentices? Mathias Elshoff, a baker and entrepreneur from Nordwalde, offers his unique take on this question. Behind his bakery counter, he presents pudding pretzels, nut corners, and pig ears. Picking up a cookie, he takes a bite and remarks: “There is always so much delicious food everywhere.”

For “Elshoff’s Country Bakery,” it’s not just a casual statement because Mathias Elshoff has been posting videos on TikTok daily for almost a year now; even the scene with the cookie is shared there. A clever line, and the clip is ready. No spotlights, teleprompters, or wind machines needed. What may seem insignificant is perhaps the most successful campaign that Elshoff’s bakery has ever had – just requiring a baker and a smartphone.

Initially skeptical, Elshoff thought, “What should I talk about? Nobody would be interested.” He was mistaken. A seemingly mundane video where Elshoff explains why he wouldn’t let his bread be sliced has garnered 4.6 million views. Another clip showing him tearing apart white bread received 2.7 million views. Hundreds of thousands watch him knead dough or demonstrate how to bite into a Berliner without getting jam on your shirt.

Companies are allocating more resources to social media marketing as per the Dialogmarketingmonitor by Deutsche Post surveying around 1,500 firms about their advertising activities – projecting €1.9 billion by 2023, one-third more than in 2020. Although over half of the companies engage in social media marketing, it costs them an average of only €1,200 annually mainly spent on paid advertisements.

Nevertheless, social media platforms hold intrinsic value even without paid promotions. With over 20 million users in Germany alone, TikTok becomes an essential medium for businesses to tap into – whether small enterprises or large corporations – all attempting to leverage the platforms’ potential through sometimes quirky videos.

Once a month, Master Baker Elshoff spends several hours in front of the camera lens. Today’s filming takes place at his branch in Altenwalde in Münsterland while regular sales continue uninterrupted. An older couple sits at a table in the corner sipping coffee; occasionally someone buys eggs or rye bread. “Is it okay if you’re in the shot?” Elshoff asks the two young saleswomen. “Not really,” one replies. So he adjusts the tripod once more before beginning – attaching a microphone to his shirt and saying: “Test, test.”

A few years back, advertising professionals might have frantically rearranged tables, set up lights, and cleaned flour traces off ovens in the bakery workshop. Nowadays, all Master Baker Elshoff needs is a tripod with a smartphone attached to it. He sports a white polo shirt with the inscription: “…no yeast in bread!” This is where it all began.

For his first video of the day, Elshoff has prepared a prop: a white plastic bowl containing brown dough mass that anyone can mix with one of his baking mixes and some water to make bread themselves. He spends about two minutes explaining how to bake bread from it before wrapping up the shoot; approximately 30 such clips are filmed today.

In another clip pointing at a black-and-white photo on the wall depicting a man wearing a flat cap: Great-Grandfather Alex – the founder of Elshoff’s Country Bakery is shown alongside Elshoff’s grandfather and great-grandmother conveying Elshoff’s message: “At Elshoff’s Country Bakery we bake with tradition.”