Using
Social Media to
Maximize Your Restaurant
by Paul Katsch
From the viewpoint of the Marketing
industry, social media has changed everything. According to the 2013
Social Media Industry Report released by Social Media Examiner, 97%
of marketers participate in social media. If you haven't noticed,
technology has revolutionized the way consumers search and engage
with products and services. Rather than a “push” industry, where
corporations research what they think consumers will want and then
make it available, technology shifts the paradigm. In today's “pull”
industry consumers tell corporations what they want via social media,
and those who react first get the business. So how does this affect
the restaurant industry and what can you do to embrace this new
interface?
The National Restaurant Association
estimates that the restaurant industry will see $660.5 Billion in
sales during 2013, a whopping 4% of the GDP for the entire United
States. The truth about social media is that your customers are
already looking for you and talking about you. It's up to you to
decide if you're going to participate in that conversation or let
your competitors grab the spotlight. So how do you get started, where
should you focus your time, and how do you get the most bang for your
buck? Like many things, social media requires the most time
commitment in the beginning while you're learning, but by using your
resources, setting an integrated social media plan, and a posting
schedule it's much more manageable than it may seem. Don't have the
time to commit? Look to a Marketing Manager, or hire a social media
intern from your local college to lighten the load.
So you've decided you want to actively
pursue social media, but there are so many sites that it can be quite
overwhelming to get started. I highly recommend the resources and
podcasts available on SocialMediaExaminer.com, as the social media
industry is constantly changing they offer regular updates from
industry leaders. In their 2013 Social Media Industry Report they
list what marketers rated as their top focus, interests, and areas
for future growth. The top sites were listed in this order: Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogging, and YouTube, followed by Google+ and
Pinterest. 69% of marketers are planning on investing more in
YouTube, and 66% are planning on increasing blogging efforts. So
whats the point of maintaining ALL of those different sites? 75%
replied the saw increased traffic, 69% reported their efforts gave
them insight into their marketplace, and 65% saw it as a tool to
develop a loyal fan base. Now the National Restaurant Association
reported that 66% of restaurant patrons would likely support
establishments with loyalty and reward programs, so are you using
your resources to bring these consumers back to your establishment?
Each of these social media tools could
take hours to fully explain their use and opportunities, and if
you're serious about being an industry leader I highly recommend you
explore more resources to get a better grasp on each. In the simplest
form, here is a brief description and the opportunities associated
with the sites I previously listed. Facebook is the juggernaut of the
social networks, with over 1.1 billion active monthly users (665
million daily!). 751 million of these users are on their mobile
devices, which is a challenge and opportunity to share your content
in a mobile-friendly format. So what can you do with Facebook? Share
updates, spark conversations, and ALWAYS reply to comments as it
makes your customers feel unique and appreciated which will increase
their loyalty, engagement, and your potential of going viral. Also,
create Facebook events and share other specials and promotions with
appealing graphics. Twitter is more news oriented than Facebook,
giving users 140 characters to spark conversation or lead to videos,
photos, blogs, and webpages. Imagine your tweet as a newspaper
headline, send your message to trending topics with a “#” hashtag
word, or talk to other users and businesses with “@+username”.
With 500 million registered accounts, 21% of the world's internet
population are using Twitter each month, with the 55-64 year old
demographic growing quickest. On Twitter you can follow influencers,
spark conversations, and find interesting content to share, but its a
great place to exist as a central newsfeed for the articles you blog
and photos of your food to keep your restaurant top of mind.
LinkedIn is geared for professional
networking with over 200 million users, and it's important to
remember not all your social media marketing should be focused
directly on your customers. You can also engage with industry
experts, B2B, news agents, and your own employees and managers.
LinkedIn is a great way to connect to people you already know, learn
from like-minded groups, create a business profile so others can
learn about your establishment, and post job openings so the most
qualified candidates worldwide can find you. The next biggest social
media focus is blogging, which can be done from a number of sites
such as WordPress or Blogger. Your blog should represent your brand,
in a consistent voice that echoes through all of your social media
accounts. The best way to engage on your blog is looking at it like
having a dinner guest over. You don't want to do all the talking, but
you want to bring up topics that will get people to respond and share
with you as well, maintained at a steady and regular pace. If all you
ever post is about your own restaurant, it will work for some, but
you risk losing credibility with others who may have been genuinely
receptive to your marketing if it had been packaged differently.
YouTube can be used for a number of things, promotional videos, clips
of excellent events, or turn your managers and chefs into virtual
celebrities. People like to see faces, and supplementing your other
social media with short, crisp, clean, and fun videos is a great way
to quickly turn up your exposure.
Google+ is similar to existing social
networks, but differs in the fact that it really helps your SEO
(Search Engine Optimization) and can really help streamline between
your Google+ page, your Blogger blog, and your Picassa photo album.
With 359 million monthly users, this site should definitely not be
overlooked. Last, but certainly not least, let's discuss Pinterest.
Though there are more men joining the site, it hovers around 97%
female and is one of the fastest growing social media sites today.
Especially for professionals in the food industry, you need to be
using Pinterest to share photos of your best dishes. By posting
photos of your best plates online, you can download a Pinterest
extension for Google Chrome, and pin those images right from the
website to your board. Pinning this way creates a link, so as users
share your photo, anyone that clicks on it will be directed back to
your website. Ultimately, thats the goal with all your social media
endeavors, grab users' attention, give them something they want to
share, and let them promote your business for you.
If you've studied social media before,
it's likely that most of these sites are familiar to you, so I'd like
to share one NEW social media site that can help differentiate you
from the pack. DinnerWire offers a free app for your patrons and a
superior reservation management system for your front of house needs.
Unlike other sites than run solely off of patron reviews (good AND
bad!), you can set up your own restaurant profile for FREE,
highlighting your restaurants best features. Patrons can find your
restaurant based on their location, food preferences, and a number of
other criteria such as venues with live music. From the app they can
call, make a reservation, check-in, recommend your restaurant to
their friends, then leave a photo and review. With a simple sign-up
through Facebook or Twitter, they can share their photos and reviews
with social media friends and family. This also creates a new
opportunity for you as the restaurant owner. DinnerWire was designed
to “Connect Foodies to Great Restaurants and Chefs”. It was
created to turn your chefs and managers into local celebrities,
simply by having them login to create their account. They can follow
other influencers, and their fans will follow them and their reviews.
By having your chef engage with your customers, it creates a stronger
relationship between your restaurant and patrons. It also gives you
the opportunity to promote your best meals with a picture and review
that will be shared directly with the people most interested in your
cuisine.
DinnerWire for Restaurants:
DinnerWire for Foodies:
Overall, work with your own team to
determine which social media sites are best for you. It's important
to first have a discussion on your goals with social media, how you
want to position your brand, and what kind of online persona fits
your company. Creating a friendly and consistent voice encourages
users to build a meaningful relationship with you. You're after more
than a one-item-sale, you're developing repeat business that will
come back over and over with their friends and family. THAT is the
goal of social media for restaurants.
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