SmallBusinessNewz

I've probably exchanged less than twenty "hello"s with one of my coworkers, and been engaged in only fifteen minutes' worth of conversations with another.  But because these fine individuals have been known to bring baked goodies to the office, they're something special in my book, and it turns out that a focus on food may also be great for businesses.

No one's suggesting that you put a plate of cookies on the front desk (although that would be awesome).  Instead, understand that Hitwise's Heather Hopkins discovered, "[V]isits to Food and Beverage - Lifestyle and Reference (a category that includes recipe websites) have been climbing as stock prices have been plummeting."

Also, "[W]e see an annual increase in visits to recipe websites at this time of year.  The increase starts with back to school and then peaks on Thanksgiving weekend, only to retreat for a few weeks before searches rise in time for Christmas turkeys."

So consider tossing some recipes onto your website and into your newsletters and sales brochures.  Even if food doesn't really relate to your products and services, good-tasting stuff is hard to turn down.  And when people wind up saving the recipes or putting them to use, they'll also be connecting with something that's tied to your brand.

Recipes that Hopkins found to be particularly popular included those for apple pie, soup, banana bread, sugar cookies, and chocolate chip cookies.