Restaurants, bars, bar/restaurants not only are doing well with Inbound Internet Marketing but need to have a social media persona in order to compete in today’s marketplace.
By nature restaurants need a tribe to appear every night in order to stay in business. People come because they enjoy the food or they are there to hang out. Restaurant owners and marketing people must take advantage of this opportunity (because if you don’t others will). So how to start?
First you must be aware and active on four social media tools:
Yelp – Yelp is an internet based website that reviews business. Most of the reviews are based on the service industry and focused on restaurants. If you have a fairly active restaurant then you probably have a listing created on the site. You need to take ownership of this listing. This is fairly easy to do. If you do have any questions email me and I will walk you through it (for free!).
You need to be paying attention to what people are saying about you. You may have some good reviews and maybe some not so good reviews. Listen to what the reviews are saying. Leave a note for the good reviews and address the negative (in a positive constructive way) is very important.
As in life the negative reviews will teach you more lessons then the positive and customers may not be always right but they are never wrong.
foursquare – Mostly a smart phone app (but you can access it online) allows people to “checkin” a restaurant or bar. People can win “badges” or become “Mayor” of a location by checking in. Members can see “reviews” and comments others have made. I think foursquare will take over Yelp in the future. So you must take ownership of your location….NOW! Also I really like foursquare’s ability to let people check in to a location and receive an offer from the owner. Check in and get a free app with dinner. Reward your Mayor (the person who has checked in the most). Why? Because not only do they like your place but they are social media savy and will spread you good will to others.
OpenTable – A site used to take online reservations but also has reviews. You need to be aware of what people are saying about you. At the very least you need to join this site and track the buzz about your place.
Google Alerts – Go to Google Alerts and get alerts concerning your restaurants name. If someone makes a online comment you may get a alert on it. This is not a fool proof method but it helps.
There…four social media sites you need to know if you are a restaurant, bar or bar/restaurant. Want more tips how you should be using social media? Email me and I will be happy to help. john@inboundinternetmarketing.com
