Instagram post and reel ideas for bakeries
A bakery should post what makes people hungry and what gets them in today: trays coming out of the oven, the morning's specials, the hands behind the dough, and clear preorder deadlines for holidays. Reels are best for process shots. Carousels are best for menus and how-to-order steps. The ideas below are written for a sample bakery.
Updated
Bakeries have an unfair advantage on Instagram. Nobody needs convincing that a croissant looks good. The hard part is posting something other than the same glossy pastry shot every day.
Our advice: show the work. Dough being folded before sunrise. Someone piping the same rosette for the fortieth time. The empty case at 2 p.m. with a note that says sold out, come early tomorrow. That last one tells people exactly when to show up, and it is more honest than any filter.
Then make ordering easy. A carousel with this week's specials. A reel that walks through how to place a custom cake order. A clear cutoff date for holiday preorders, posted early and repeated, because people miss it the first time.
Below you will find a month of ideas with hooks, goals and calls to action, five captions to adapt, and a finished carousel and reel for a sample bakery. Swap in your own bakes, your own team and your own voice.
Finished examples
Before you post for bakeries
- List allergens plainly on every special and custom order post, and say what you can't promise.
- Put the holiday preorder cutoff in your bio and on every holiday post until it passes.
- Show the real case, empty shelves included. It tells people when to come in.
- Ask before you film anyone on the team, and name the baker behind a bake when they're happy to be named.
Ideas
carousel · How to order
How to order a custom cake in four steps
Hook: Order a custom cake in four steps
Order a custom cake in four steps. Tell us the date, pick a flavor, write the message and choose a pickup time. Swipe for what the order form asks. Start your custom order.
Call to action: Start your custom order
reel · From the oven
Sold out by 2 p.m.? Come early or order ahead
Hook: Sold out by 2 p.m. again
Sold out by 2 p.m. again. Our bakers start before sunrise, and the case empties fast. Come early, or order ahead and skip the line. Order ahead for pickup.
Call to action: Order ahead for pickup
reel · From the oven
The first tray of the day, straight out of the oven
Hook: Still warm. Still on the tray.
Call to action: Come in while it's warm
carousel · This week's specials
This week's specials, one slide each
Hook: Here this week, gone by Sunday
Call to action: Visit us this week
reel · The people behind the dough
Folding the dough before anyone's awake
Hook: Folding dough while the street's still asleep
Call to action: Follow for more from the kitchen
carousel · Holidays and preorders
Holiday preorder dates, all in one place
Hook: Holiday preorders close sooner than you think
Call to action: Preorder for the holidays
reel · The people behind the dough
Rosette after rosette: a decorator's morning
Hook: Rosette number forty
Call to action: Follow for more
carousel · How to order
What to tell us when you order a birthday cake
Hook: Birthday cake order? Tell us this
Call to action: Start your order
reel · The people behind the dough
Meet the baker who starts before sunrise
Hook: Meet the first one in every morning
Call to action: Say hi at the counter
carousel · How to order
Pickup or stay a while: how a morning at the counter works
Hook: How a morning at our counter works
Call to action: Come by this week
reel · From the oven
One loaf, start to finish
Hook: One loaf, start to finish
Call to action: Come in for a loaf
carousel · How to order
Allergy questions to ask before you order
Hook: Allergies? Ask us these first
Call to action: Ask us before you order
reel · Regulars and neighbors
The regulars who know our menu better than we do
Hook: You know who you are
Call to action: Tag your bakery buddy
carousel · How to order
Ordering for the office: trays, timing and pickup
Hook: Feeding the whole office?
Call to action: Order a tray
reel · Holidays and preorders
Packing holiday preorders, box by box
Hook: Every box, packed by hand
Call to action: Preorder for the holidays
carousel · This week's specials
Today's case, from left to right
Hook: Today's case, left to right
Call to action: Visit us today
reel · This week's specials
Get tomorrow's bake list by text
Hook: Know what's baking tomorrow
Call to action: Join the text list
carousel · Regulars and neighbors
Thank you, neighbors: a year of mornings at the bakery
Hook: A year of mornings with you
Call to action: Come say hi
reel · From the oven
Decorating a custom cake from blank to done
Hook: From blank cake to birthday cake
Call to action: Start your custom order
carousel · Holidays and preorders
Holiday hours and last pickup days
Hook: Last pickup day before the holidays
Call to action: Plan your pickup
Hooks
- Still warm. Still on the tray.
- Sold out by 2 p.m. again
- Order a custom cake in four steps
- Holiday preorders close sooner than you think
- What 5 a.m. looks like here
- Here this week, gone by Sunday
- Rosette number forty
- Feeding the whole office?
- You know who you are
- From blank cake to birthday cake
Captions
- Order a custom cake in four steps. Tell us the date, pick a flavor, write the message and choose a pickup time. Swipe for what the order form asks. Start your custom order.
- Sold out by 2 p.m. again. Our bakers start before sunrise, and the case empties fast. Come early, or order ahead and skip the line. Order ahead for pickup.
- Still warm. Still on the tray. It comes out before the doors open, and it's gone soon after. Come early if you want it warm. See you at the counter.
- Holiday preorders are open. Pick your bakes, pick a pickup day and order before the cutoff. People miss the date every year, so we'll keep reminding you. Preorder for the holidays.
- Here this week, gone by Sunday. Swipe for this week's specials and what goes with each one. They stay until they sell out. Visit us this week.