At midday on Saturday something amazing happened on Preston’s historic Flag Market opposite the Harris Museum.
An excited crowd had gathered and the theme tune to the Greatest Showman song filled the air.
Onlookers might have been forgiven for thinking a reality TV star had descended on Lancashire but it was much bigger than that.
As the soundtrack to A Space Odyssey bellowed out of the loud speakers, curious shoppers stopped what they were doing to see what was happening.
There were magicians, circus acts and a DJ but the focal point of the day was a giant wrapped present in the centre of the famous square.
Red and yellow flares were set off and at midday the covers were pulled away for the big reveal…. a shiny new spud tram!
But here’s the thing. This was no ordinary spud tram and it’s the best example I’ve ever seen of how to build your brand on social media, especially TikTok.
Quick recap. The Hot Potato Tram has been a fixture in Preston since 1955.
The current custodians are siblings Jacob, 28, and Harley Nelson, 21, – aka the ‘Spud Brothers’.
The duo have used social media to build on an established brand and now have 2.1 million followers on TikTok and another 438,000 on Instagram.
Jacob and Harley Nelson – aka the ‘Spud Brothers’.
They recently appeared on stage in front of 25,000 people at the Lytham Festival and they’ve just released a catchy song on iTunes called The Greatest Spuds on Earth.
The pair have become global sensations with customers travelling from as far afield as Australia, Turkey, Spain and German to taste their famous hot spuds.
The siblings, whose username is @TheSpudBrothers, have built a cult following on TikTok with one video getting more than 73m views!
What’s their secret sauce? Brilliantly curated videos, clever use of merch, slick promotions, great spuds and an extra dollop of fun.
It’s a winning combination – evidenced by the daily queues of hungry customers that feature in their social media posts – and it’s an object lesson of how to scale your business on TikTok.