Sweet Success: How Askinosie Chocolate Can Maximize Social Media on a Small Business Budget

In an industry typically dominated by mass production and unknown sourcing, Askinosie Chocolate of Springfield, Missouri, has taken a transparent, ethical, and personal approach to chocolate making. Founded by Shawn Askinosie, a former criminal defense attorney turned chocolatier, and now managed alongside his daughter, Lawren Askinosie, the company embodies doing well by doing good. 

Photo by Pixabay

With fewer than 50 employees, Askinosie has built a reputation nationwide for its bean-to-bar chocolates, direct-trade practices, and community-focused mission. From sourcing cocoa beans in the Amazon, Ecuador, Tanzania, and the Philippines, to profit-sharing with smallholder farms and empowering women in origin communities, Askinosie Chocolate has stayed true to its values. Their story is unconventional, heartfelt, and purpose-driven, and they can produce content that thrives on social media. 

However, like many small businesses, Askinosie faces a common limitation: limited time and no full-time social media staff. The good news? A huge team or budget is not necessary to make an impact online. Here is how Askinosie Chocolate can use social media to amplify its story, deepen customer loyalty, and drive sustainable growth without sacrificing what matters most. 

Why Does Social Media Matter for Askinosie?

Contrary to popular belief, social media is not just for big brands and viral trends. It is a powerful tool that small businesses can use to build relationships, tell authentic stories, and demonstrate the "why" behind the product. For Askinosie, social media offers a low-cost way to expand reach and reinforce customer trust.

Askinosie is currently active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. These platforms work well for sharing the company's narrative, but there is room to increase posting frequency, especially on LinkedIn, and to incorporate more video content, which performs well across all channels. 

Choosing the Best Platforms

Photo by Plann

When resources like time and money are tight, it is more beneficial to focus on fewer platforms and strategic posting. For Askinosie, the best options are:

• Instagram: Best for displaying product photography, behind-the-scenes factory tours, and artisan crafts
• Facebook: Ideal for engaging with existing fans, promoting events, and sharing blog content or news features
• LinkedIn: Great place to share founder stories, through leadership surrounding ethical business practices, and sourcing transparency

If resources allow, YouTube Shorts or TikTok for short-form, casual videos like "A Day in the Life at the Factory" could enhance reach.

Posting Frequency

To be consistent without a full-time marketing team, it is important to set realistic expectations. The key is consistency over quantity.

• Instagram and Facebook: Post 3 times per week
• Product features or seasonal specials
• Storytelling- mission-based (partnerships with farmers, profit sharing, etc.)
• Behind-the-scenes videos or photo content
• LinkedIn: Post 1-2 times per week
• Founder notes, milestones, community impact stories
• Employee highlights, ethical sourcing practices

Social media management tools like Buffer, Later, and Hootsuite help make it easier to schedule posts in groups, which saves valuable time. 

Connecting Content

Askinosie Chocolate already has an abundance of content opportunities embedded in its story. Here is an example of how to turn the daily work into compelling posts:

1. Tell the Origin Story

Most businesses don't begin with a lawyer who quits a successful law practice to become a chocolatier, then travels to remote regions to source cocoa beans ethically. Sharing small posts or short videos about this transformation builds authenticity and emotional connection between the brand and its consumers.

"Our story is like any other: Father quits successful law practice, falls in love with making chocolate from scratch and dumps his entire life savings into starting one of the first craft chocolate companies in the US." is an attention getter. 

Their story doesn't end there. Shawn's daughter, Lawren, not only joined the mission early on, but she now serves as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Lawren brings a strong focus on empowering female cocoa farmers and young girls in origin communities. This angle connects with purpose-driven consumers on a deep level and deserves a spotlight on platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Photo by I'm Zion

2. Show the Process

Include followers in the process of how the chocolate is made. Bean roasting, tempering, wrapping, etc.

These processes don't need to be fancy, but should be genuine. Pushing out a 30-second video of someone wrapping chocolate bars or pouring the liquid chocolate is intriguing and easy to film.

3. Highlight the Impact

Askinosie doesn't just make chocolate. It empowers cocoa farmers and supports community education programs like Chocolate University. By sharing stories from the field, partnership updates, or even quotes from communities being served, emotional engagement and long-term impact can be deepened. 

4. Feature the Team and Customers

Shine a spotlight on employees who handcraft the chocolate. Repost the content from retailers and consumers who love the brand. A simple "Meet the Maker" post helps create a real connection. 

5. Educate the Audience

Posting "Did you know?" facts about the processes and policies is a great way to engage the audience. It's even better if these posts are carousel posts or short reels. 

Goals: What Should These Posts Do?

Every post from Askinosie Chocolate should aim to do one or more of the following:

• Build brand awareness (especially outside of Springfield)
• Strengthen customer loyalty
• Increase online sales
• Highlight Askinosie's impact and values

Over time, a community is developed that believes in what it represents when purchasing chocolate. 

Efficient Practices for Small Teams

• Batch content monthly
• Spend one afternoon shooting photos and videos for the upcoming month
• Use Canva templates
• Create branded designs to reuse for quotes, education facts, and product announcements
• Repurpose everything
• Turn a blog post into several social media posts. Clip a 2-minute video into four 30-second reels
• Encourage input from the team
• Ask employees to send in photos, videos, and content ideas

Sweet Success

At Askinosie, social responsibility is baked into the business. This commitment to purpose and quality can be applied on social media with a little consistency and a lot of care. As founder Shawn Askinosie and CMO Lawren Askinosie put it: "We're dedicated not just to making the best quality chocolate you can buy, but to making it in such a way that the more you learn about it, the better you feel about it."

With the right social media strategy, Askinosie Chocolate can do exactly that. Help the world feel good about what's in their hands, hearts, and food. 

References

Our Story⎪Askinosie Chocolate. (2015). Askinosie Chocolate. https://askinosie.com/pages/our-story

Park University. (2024, May 2). The Rise of Video Marketing: Harnessing the Power of Video Content.         Park University. https://www.park.edu/blog/the-rise-of-video-marketing-harnessing-the-power-of-            video-content/

Zalani, R. (2024, July 28). A Guide for What to Post on Major Social Media Platforms. Buffer: All-You-        Need-Social Media Toolkit for Small Businesses. https://buffer.com/resources/what-to-post-on-each-        social-media-platform/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qN-FbGZfIM