A delicious look at Facebook and Twitter for chefs, foodies, and restaurateurs.
Ingredients
- 5 foodie panelists
- 1 founder of Restaurant Intelligence Agency
- A bunch of Tweets
- A sprinkle of Facebook posts
- A variety of blog content
- 4 oz. of a good red wine
Directions
1. Preheat your digital presence. Heating up to the idea of social media can be a challenge. Hoosier Mama Pies’ Paula Haney, who admits she’s not very tech savvy, thought that social media was a waste of time. For Liz Mendez of Uva Chicago, traditional PR and marketing wasn’t effective for the brand that she and her husband wanted to build for their restaurant. Both Paula and Liz realized that they needed to get online and get engaged – or else they would be missing out on a huge opportunity for connecting with their customers and fellow foodies.
2. In a large bowl, combine promotional content with general industry content. Then, throw in a handful of “@ replies” and give other blogs some love. Keep your content homegrown and fresh by balancing posts about your bar’s drink recipes with general industry content, like a Chicago magazine article on new trends for autumn cocktails. Paula of Hoosier Mama Pies insists that you need to keep your tone sweet (much like her pies, I’d image), while Liz Mendez follows a simple rule: Don’t talk about anything that you wouldn’t talk about at the bar (i.e., no politics, religion, or bad mouthing anyone else in the business).
3. Hand select who will be creating and posting social media content for your restaurant. Figure out if you’ll be in charge, or if you’ll have a sous-chef, so to speak, in charge of running your blog, Twitter handle or Facebook account. Chef Curtis Duffy thinks that someone inside the restaurant needs to be the one tweeting. Paula of Hoosier Mama Pies says she can tell when it’s not the right voice or when it’s a “canned” tweet, so it’s important to keep the tone authentic.
4. Don’t let online criticism simmer. Use your social media assets to respond to your customers. Phillip Foss, Chef and Owner of EL Ideas and The Meatyballs Mobile, says that if one person is commenting about a particular dish or a customer service issue, then probably another 10 customers have thought the same thing. Both Shelby Allison of The Whistler and Liz of Uva agree that you need to address customer complaints posted online with a brief public apology and then, follow up with the customer by an email or a phone call to pacify the issue.
5. Let your social media concoction bake for a few weeks and continue to stir in new content. People are equally interested in being “regulars” at your food joint as well as being “pals” with the owner, said Shelby of The Whistler, who thinks her social media presence has allowed their restaurant to make these personal connections. Liz of Uva says being active on her blog makes her more approachable in real life and that their customers are more likely to reach out and connect in person. Social media allows restaurateurs to connect with their customers at a whole new level, which grows loyalty and satisfaction – a recipe that is delicious for everyone!
Yields: The opportunity for a top-notch business with customers who keep coming back – to both your blog and your restaurant – for more.
Note: The red wine is optional. But who doesn’t love a good red wine?
In this photo: Rich Gamble, Publisher & General Manager of Chicago Magazine
