Choosing from the Social Media Menu for Restaurants

The two most important sites for restaurants looking to delve into the world of social media are Twitter and Facebook. In the case of small restaurants, the use of both is arguably more important than having a Web site for the restaurant.

Why? Because both Twitter and Facebook are free and they are easy to manage. Owning and running a restaurant is hard enough work without having to learn about Web hosting, FTP, domain registration, RSS feeds, HTML, URLs, SEO, and all those other acronyms and terms.  With Twitter and Facebook setup is quick and easy and you are tapping into an existing network of over 250 million social media users.

The great thing about Twitter is its ability to turn customers into word-of-mouth marketing machines. For example, a quick Twitter search for Starbucks returned over 100 tweets in the past hour alone, most of which were about either being at, going to, or leaving a Starbucks location.

On a much smaller scale, take a look at local Orange County restaurant The Newport/Naples Rib Company.  It’s not even on Twitter yet but that doesn’t mean loyal fans aren’t tweeting about them:

• “Naples Rib Co. – the best ribs in LBC!”
• “Mondays suck! At work, slow morning… Lookin foeward to Newport Rib Co. 4 Mel’s B-day lunch”

Having an account on Twitter and monitoring what is being said about your restaurant (and most importantly—responding when appropriate) is an easy and effective way to engage customers and build your restaurant’s brand identity in the world of social media. Building a Twitter audience can also serve as an “army” of fans to offer counter-balance to the occasional bad customer review.

A Facebook fan page is one of the quickest and easiest ways for a restaurant to develop their brand online. Within minutes, a restaurant can build a Facebook fan page and have it published on the site. Facebook has a template where you can enter contact information, hours of operation, photos, discussions, links, events, reviews, and updates about your restaurant. With a little time and work, you can build your fan base and in turn, build your in-store revenue.

The one thing to always remember is to cross-promote your Twitter and Facebook accounts. They are not competitive, they are complimentary. Twitter is your quick appetizer and Facebook is the main course. Use them both and you can end up with a balanced social media plate.

For some more information, check out these links:

• Restaurants a-Twitter about site’s capability to expand the reach of their customer service
• Twitter Tweets spread the word on Tampa Bay area restaurants
• Restaurants & Twitter, The Right Recipe For Online Marketing
• Restaurants using Twitter to entice customers
• Every restaurant needs a powerful Twitter and Facebook account
• Are Small Restaurants Dishing It Up Properly On Twitter?
• Restaurant Chains Are All A-Twitter
• Local restaurant’s ‘Twitter Tuesday’ draws social networking fans
• Local Restaurants Embracing Twitter
• 3 Things All Restaurants Should Do to Market More Effectively on Facebook
• Facebook: The Writing’s on the Wall 

Photo courtesy of infomatique.

Tags: agency, Facebook, maples, new media, newport rib company, orange county, public relations, restaurants, social media, Starbucks, twitter