Digital Dining: It Pays to Be Social

As a restaurant owner or manager, you are probably well aware of the power of social media. When hunger strikes, today’s digitally connected diners simply pick up their mobile phone and check Yelp or Urbanspoon to find a restaurant, read reviews, and make decisions about where they want to eat.

At your restaurant, they may use that same mobile phone to “check-in” on Foursquare. They may snap a photo of their meal, “hashtag” and post it on Instagram or Foodspotting. They can “like” you on Facebook, “tweet” about you on Twitter, and later, post their own review of their experience on the exact same site where they originally discovered you.

Consider the following statistics:

• Six out of every ten American adults use social networking sites.
• More than a quarter of U.S. consumers have recommended a brand, product or service to a friend via social media within the last three months.

Yep, there’s no doubt about it. Your customers are using social media to make the most of their meal. But how about you? Are you making the most of social media?

Social Media for Restaurants

Social media works two ways. As a restaurant owner or manager, you should be putting social media to work as well. Social media is a powerful way to:

1. Reach out and attract new customers.
2. Monitor your reputation and resolve customer complaints.
3. Gain feedback and insights to what your customers like – and don’t like.
4. Promote and show new menu items.
5. Give prospective visitors an “inside look” at what goes on in your restaurant.
6. Increase awareness with contests, discounts and giveaways.
7. Promote special events — such as grand openings, wine tastings, and live music.
8. Assist with recruiting new employees.

Tips to Consider

With so many options available, choosing the right social media outlet for your restaurant can be a daunting task.  Here are three tips to consider when deciding which social media platforms might work best for you:

1. Define your goals. While the power of social media is a little difficult to measure, determining what you want to achieve can be an important step. For many restaurants the goal may be “become part of the conversation.” As one restaurant owner we talked to put it, “People are talking about us — my goal is to not only listen, but also respond.”

2. Determine who you want to reach. Every social media network has their own demographic. While Facebook may be universal, sites such as Instagram  and Tumblr are more popular with younger adults. Women under 50 tend to be fans of Pinterest. Sites such as Foursquare and Twitter tend to resonate more with urban residents. Take stock of who your restaurant patrons are — as well as who you want them to be — and decide which outlets work best for building your community.

3. Decide what you want to share. Reaching out on social media can be taxing and time-consuming. Consider what your own capabilities are and what your bandwidth may be for building and maintaining your social media presence. If you take pictures with your smart phone, outlets like Instagram might be a nice fit. If you like to keep things short and sweet, a Twitter feed might be the way to go. Want to poll your patrons and interact with them directly? Facebook is a natural fit.

For more ideas on how to make social media part of your restaurant’s marketing mix, check out the National Restaurant Association’s Social Media section. There, you’ll find a bunch of great resources, including a guide for monitoring online reviews.

Got your own ideas for how to make social media work? We’d love to hear about it!. Please post your story below.