Given that a really high percentage of restaurants go out of business within their first year in New York City, you can’t afford to miss anything when it comes to promoting your food and business. Social media can help make you a success.
So what should you be doing?
Social media is a huge prospect and can seem overwhelming to a business owner or manager. There is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Instagram, YouTube, and the list goes on for miles it seems. Newer social media channels are popping up as well like Vine. Finding and creating quality content for your social media outlets, answering client emails and responding to reviews (good and bad) takes time.
Without a doubt, time promoting your restaurant online is well worth the effort. If you could spend an hour a day to promote yourself and increase your business as much as 25%, would you do it? Social media is not about how much you are doing but the quality of what you are doing. Dedicate a half hour to an hour a day on social media, but make it a quality half hour.
What you need to remember
1. Social Media is not all about self-promotion. I like to call it the soft sell. You can post pictures of amazing dishes and a video of how to make an appetizer. You can promote specials and menus as well. Just avoid over-whelming your audience with constant messages about why they should buy from you. Your reviews and food should speak for itself.
2. Post fun, interesting stories and facts. The ratio for self-promotion, human interest and establishing yourself as an expert is about 30/30/30.
Where you need to be
1. Facebook – Without a doubt Facebook is one of the biggest social media sites on the planet. For $1.00 a day you can add likes to your Facebook page. Is it as good as people that find you on their own? Probably not, however, it is getting your name out there and when people remember you, it is always a good thing.
2. Twitter – Twitter is a little more expensive at $3.00 per day. Twitter in the restaurant industry is huge. You can tweet daily specials and articles. You can tweet pictures now. Tweet pictures of events that are happening right now.
3. Google+ – You must must must be on Google+. First, it affects your search results. If you are not registered on Local, you need to be. It is critically important for every restaurant to be listed on Local and verified. 2015 is the year of local search and unique content.
4. LinkedIn – For business to business, there is no better place to be. Making connections on LinkedIn for your business in the way of suppliers and industry experts is an amazing way to stay connected and build your reputation. LinkedIn ads start at $10.00 per day.
5. Yelp – Here’s the skinny on Yelp. Are they ridiculously expensive? Yes they are. Yelp also fuels Siri which is on every IPhone in America. Does it pay? I’m not sure, however I do know that Yelp is critically important to restaurants. You should AT LEAST be listed. Claim your business listing, put up professional pictures and fill out all the information.
Note: If you get a bad review, don’t ignore it, address it. Even upset customers will appreciate the attention. Most people just want to be heard. Ignoring a customer complaint on social media today is like ignoring a phone call in the 80’s.
6. FourSquare – Personally I have never had much success with FourSquare, however I have known Social Media Managers who have. The checking in feature is something that can be useful to a neighborhood bar or bistro.
7. Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, and tumbr. All of these sites have their merits when it comes to social media. Pinterest is one of the fasted growing sites in the world. It is perfect for a visual representation of your food. Instagram and tubmlr also are very visual sites.
8. YouTube – YouTube is the fastest growing site in the world. Over 6 billion hours of video are viewed per month on YouTube. It also reaches more customers than cable tv in the age range of 18-34.
Stay tuned for our next feature on ‘Developing a Social Media Plan for your Restaurant’.