Social media success is icing on the cake for Lewiston baker

Creator Spotlight

Brittin Fleshman

Brittin Fleshman, owner of b’s bakery in downtown Lewiston, has loved baking since she was a little girl.

The 2016 Lewiston High School graduate baked with her mom and grandmas growing up and used her Easy-Bake oven so much her mom printed recipes from the internet because using store-bought mixes got too expensive. That was the start of her appreciation for scratch baking, Fleshman said, which today is all she does.

She honed skills for frosting and decorating cakes, like working with fondant and piping buttercream, during a nine-week course at Spokane Community College, all of which she said helped her grow into the baker she is now.

Fleshman sells her creations in her shop at 812 Main St., open Fridays and Saturdays, and posts them to social media, where she has thousands of followers. We asked about her social media presence and how it helps her share her craft.

Inland 360: What social media platforms are you on? How many followers do you have on each?

Brittin Fleshman: Instagram and Facebook are my most used for the bakery. We have a bakery account on Facebook with about 6,500 followers, an Instagram with almost 3,000. And then I have a creator account on Instagram for baking under @bakingwithbrittin that has a little over 27,000 followers.

360: What was your goal when you started uploading your creations to social media? Has that changed as your career has progressed?

BF: My goal originally was to share what I was creating. In the beginning I only shared photos, but as social media changed into a more video-based platform, I also changed my content. I began making videos of what I was creating, editing them and posting them, and it started to build some traction. People love to watch videos of others creating things. I have stepped away from creating a lot of content, but I’m hoping to get back into it.

360: We first came across your Instagram when your “pancake stack” cupcake video went viral. The post from July 31, 2022, has 183K likes, and a Food Network repost has 96.8K. Was that your most-viewed post?

BF: I actually have another video, from Sept. 9, 2021, of this little pumpkin cheesecake I made in a tin that says “Hey Punkin” on it that has 362,000 likes. It was the original video that went viral and got me to 10,000 followers, which was like a crazy goal back then. I honestly forgot about it until now. It was really crazy when that went viral — people were enraged by the word ‘punkin’ which is probably why it went viral, because it really wasn’t anything special.

360: How does your social media presence contribute to your business? How much time would you estimate you devote to your social media presence?

BF: I think social media presence is very important to a business. It’s a mostly free way of advertising. I have slacked off over the last year and plan to work on getting it up this next year. Usually I spend a few hours every week, but I used to spend a lot more time. I think it’s a really important way to continue your relevance as a business now. A few years ago it didn’t matter as much, but everyone is on social media these days.

360: What suggestions do you have for entrepreneurs getting into the social media scene?

BF: Keep going! You’ll learn as you go, and that’s OK. My videos a few years ago were not the same quality as they are now, and that’s just from learning from experience. You’ll find what works for you. !

— Mary Stone, Inland 360