TEN REASONS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Been hearing the buzz about social media but not sure how to make it work for you?

New construction, conversion, or re-flagging restaurants can make great use of Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other social media tools... Here are a few ways to do it:



1. To Replace the Boring Old Newsletter. Rather than sending out a monthly newsletter to update your clients, create a Facebook Fan Page for your new restaurant. Use the status update tool to do just that - update your fans about the status of the restaurant's construction or conversion. No detail is too minute - people really are interested in the hand-woven wall covering - but don't overwhelm. Once a day is plenty.



2. To Compound the Power of People. Whether you like it or not, your staff is using Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and everything else. Rather than fight the inevitable, put the power of their connections to good use. When you hire new employees, send out announcements to your fans and followers. Then, have your new hires invite their friends to become fans of the restaurant.



3. To Record History Painlessly. Post photos of construction progress to Flickr or a photoblog. While you wait for corporate to approve your official images, direct potential clients to these shots so they can start to visualize the finished product with you. Take and post pictures of clients on site tours, then email the link as a follow-up. When you're ready to put together the opening day slide show for the staff, you'll have lots of images to use.



4. To Supplement (or Replace) Printed Brochures. Even the most beautiful artist's renderings of your dining room are useless after opening day. Save money and paper by uploading your latest PowerPoint to a service like SlideShare. You can point interested parties there with a link and make real-time changes. Bonus: you avoid storing, and then throwing away, boxes of outdated rack cards later.



5. To Establish Your restaurant as an Expert. i.e.: Is your restaurant positioned to corner the market on wedding parties? Begin to establish your credibility before you open by posting wedding party planning tips. Link to vendors who do great work, and post pictures of their cakes and bouquets. In short, be a part of the conversation, and contribute valuable information - not just sales pitches.



6. To Get Customer Feedback Before You Mess Up. Many, many policy decisions are made by two people drinking coffee on no sleep three weeks before opening. Rather than waffle or deal with backlash later, open the discussion to your fans. You may not follow their advice (no, I don't think we'll allow beer sales to 13-year-olds), but you will get some interesting perspective.



7. To Find Out What Your Clients Care About. Lots of new restaurant partner with a local charity to make contacts and generate buzz (in addition to giving back). Ask your local tweeps (followers on Twitter) for ideas so you can gauge how well your support will impact your strategic goals.



8. To Set Yourself Apart. Regardless of the supposed ubiquity of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for business, most restaurants either don't do social media or don't do it well. You have to be a part of the conversation rather than spitting out a sales pitch with every status update. If you get it right, you will be one of the few.



9. To Crack Yourself, and Your Fans, Up. Everyone appreciates a mental rest stop. There are zillions of hospitality-focused diversionary websites out there. Post an occasional link to one of them. Even if you're the only one laughing, you'll still be laughing, and you can use as much of that as you can get while opening a restaurant.



10. To Humanize Your Business. The point of using social media for your new restaurant is to humanize the business and create an emotional connection with your fans. Trying to create a "template" for social media is like building a snowflake factory - at best, you're boring, and at worst, you fall apart before you even hit the ground. Be real. Really.




Related Post: Ten Ways to Engage your Facebook Fans


Interesting Read: The new reality of Facebook marketing



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michelpiton@gmail.com
+66(0)877733413


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TEN WAYS TO ENGAGE YOUR FACEBOOK FANS

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And this is a new post from lazygourmet...



By Susan Deluzain Barry




After you've set up a Facebook fan page, you still have to have something to say! As you build your community of fans, keep in mind that relentless pitching will get you laughed off the virtual stage. Remember, today's fans just might turn into tomorrow's customers, or, even better, your unpaid word-of-mouth sales force. Make sure that you're talking about what they want to hear.



1. Set up comprehensive Google Alerts to deliver the latest news to your inbox. Try topics like "business travel tips," or "things to do in [your area.]" Everything you get won't be wort posting, but you'll get some tidbits that will interest your fans.



2. Use an aggregator site like AllTop.com. This site pulls together tons of resources on tons of topics, and it lets you build a page of content feeds that interest you.



3. Encourage fan photos, videos, and stories. It's often illuminating to see your property through someone else's eyes, and people love to tell their own stories. Think about a free night for the best photo or story featuring your restaurant/resort.



4. Put yourself in your fan's shoes. Don't post something that you would be annoyed to read from your least-favorite business, much less your most-favorite. More than a couple of posts per day, and more than a couple of sales pitches per week, and you will get ignored.



5. Schedule 30 minutes a week for content brainstorming. Put it on your calendar, and spend the time writing down as many things as you can come up with to post about. Take notes and memos when you think of things, and ask your co-workers to help.



6. Use your page for value-added promotions. Don't just ask your followers to visit your new website; give them an exclusive discount rate code to use for upcoming soft dates. Your fans should benefit from paying attention to you - with first dibs on news, offers, and events.



7. Ask questions. The fans of your restaurant/resort want to help you determine your next steps. Ask them to help you choose which charity you'll support this quarter. Take a poll about what time the pool should close. And, PS, actually care about the answers.



8. Don't be afraid to court controversy. Take an issue that inspires passion - like resort fees or early departure charges - and ask your fans what they think. Create a space where people can debate - just try to keep yourself above the fray.



9. Be funny. Everyone appreciates a mental rest stop. Post occasional links to diversionary sites that you like, or tell crazy stories about your place - there's no shortage. Don't be afraid to court hoteliers as fans with inside jokes, either; every time a front desk clerk comments on your posts, they get spread to people you might never reach.



10. Don't fake it. Your fans can tell whether you are sincere about being part of their online community. Social media is at its best when it lifts the curtain to show the human side of a business. Cut the corporate speak, and connect.




About Susan Deluzain Barry:

Susan Deluzain Barry worked as a hotel Director of Sales and Marketing for ten years, opening and reflagging Four Points by Sheraton, Sheraton, Westin, and W properties.She now helps businesses use social media as the owner of Hive Marketing and writes about her adventures at www.entrepreNEW.blogspot.com.
You can follow her on Twitter @hivesusan, become a fan of Hive Marketing on Facebook, or email her personally at susan.barry@hive-marketing.com.



Related posts: Restaurant Marketing Inaction




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WINNING WEBSITE STRATEGIES

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And this is a new post from lazygourmet...



To win in this next coming season, you will need your restaurant's website to contribute to your reservations production. So, here is a countdown of the Top Ten Tip-Offs that your restaurant website needs attention.



It's time to seek advice from a Hospitality Internet Specialist, when:

10…You do a generic search and can't even find your own website.
9…People see your website and can't tell if your place is in Rayong or Ranong.
8…That template you used to make your site, looked good until you published it.
7…Your home page takes longer to load than "Apocalypse Now".
6…People click a link on your site and nothing happens.
5…People see your website and assume it was designed by a tagger.
4…People need a GPS device to navigate your super cool website.
3…You think Meta Tag is a cool game kids play in elementary school.
2…Your site is so out-of-date, the photos still feature shag carpeting.

And Number 1…
You're the owner and, even you, don't refer people to your website.



Some things in life are self-explanatory and other things take some time to understand and implement. Given enough time and specific interest, any general manager or restaurant owner can learn to develop and implement a workable Internet marketing program. Of course, finding the time and developing the interest most often prevents this from happening. During hard economic times like this, time is not our friend. Loss of time could mean loss of opportunity.



It's a common scenario to hear "we can do that ourselves" and the usual response is "of course, you can", but, in reality, it rarely happens. The problem is that the road to success is littered with good intentions; that road can be bumpy and twisting, but you need to get to the success end of the road, as quickly as possible.



It All Has a Familiar Ring to It

Many times, it's more cost-effective to put tasks in the hands of an expert to get things done, quickly and properly. The time and efficiency factor looms big in the decision to collaborate with a specialist. Can you do these things yourself? Sure, but will you?



What Kind of Help Can you Get?

The difference between hospitality website design and website development lies primarily in the way one views the use of the Internet. For a long time, the focus was directed towards simply having a presence on the Net; many people knew that it was a smart thing to do, but most of us had no clue as to what the potential might be.


As the popularity of using the Internet to research and book restaurants/hotels increased, more hospitality professionals discovered the virtues of search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising. In many cases, this was the total extent of their Internet marketing programs…until now!



Today, a good Internet marketing program includes site market positioning, revenue management, search engine regional marketing, link strategy, package marketing, promotion creation, email promotion mailings, guest comment referrals, website design optimization, and more. Your collaboration with an Internet specialist should go far beyond simply having a website designed and published.



Marketing your hospitality business on the Internet is a complete process; it begins as a collaborative effort with an Internet specialist to position your restaurant within the marketplace. Work with a specialist to develop a complete marketing program for the Internet.



Only one question remains, can you do it yourself? Of course you can, but will you and how long will it take?




Related post: Restaurant Email Marketing; Restaurant Online Marketing




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michelpiton@gmail.com
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RESTAURANT ONLINE MARKETING

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And this is a new post from lazygourmet...

Although many restaurants have a web site, most are really rather lame - displaying only a couple of photos of their place and simply posting their phone number for people to make reservations.

This is adequate, but a web presence should mean much more for restaurateurs than just showing some information. And yet, most of the restaurateurs are doing next to nothing to promote their business online.

A web site is a great vehicle for you to communicate with your existing and potential clients, so why are most restaurateurs not using their website more to do their online marketing?

There are probably some reasons, likely including the lack of technical knowledge and Internet experience of many restaurant owners. But having a solid web presence doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. Online marketing is a great way to cheaply advertise and promote your business if you follow these 10 rules:

1. Have a clean and easy-to-navigate website. Hire a web designer if you need to, but make sure that you know how to update your site. Some restaurant owners outsource all their web services, including updating and maintenance of the site. This is a big mistake - since you should be posting information frequently, and relying on an external partner means delays, inaccuracies, etc.

2. Don't choose form over substance. This is a mistake that many web masters/designers make. Just because they can use fancy flash intros, with music and sophisticated graphics doesn't mean that these effects should be used. There is nothing more annoying than visiting a website looking for information only to suffer through a distracting and totally useless Flash movie. Remember, your website is there to provide your clients with valuable information, and to collect their information so you can include them in your database. Any other effects are redundant.

3. Post meaningful information often on your site so that people visit frequently to check out your updates. For example, you can announce special events that you are hosting, such as charity dinners, wine dinners, new menu items, etc.

4. Give something away in exchange for contact information and create a database. This is very important - since the more names and email addresses that you have from your clients, the more you can use this information to send messages with promotions, gift certificates, discount coupons, etc.

Not only this is a great way to capture new clients, but the marketing cost for you is zero. If it doesn't work, you don't have any expenses. If it works, you have a potential client for life. There is no downside here.
You can add an optional field for Birthday, where you capture ONLY the month and day (so people won't be afraid of divulging personal information). This will be really useful for you to use when sending gift certificates or discount coupons whenever a birthday is coming soon. Not only will you attract the birthday person, but they will bring along friends and/or family as well, since birthdays are usually social events.
Also, please don't give coupons away if people don't register. You want to capture as many names and emails as possible.

5. Post some videos and photos of your place, but don't post them in the main page. Some people like to know what to expect before they go to your restaurant but they don't want to get annoyed if they have already been in your restaurant and are looking for only certain information.

6. Add an online booking module so that people can make reservations directly through your website. This adds convenience for your clients since they can book right there and then, plus it's also convenient for you since you know who is coming ahead of time and can make arrangements to have the appropriate number of staff, etc.

7. Offer a map and directions to your location. This is very easy by integrating modules from Google or Microsoft Maps, Mapquest, etc. Your webmaster will know how to do this if you don't know it yourself.

8. Create a monthly or quarterly newsletter and post it on your site. You can write about your staff, your dishes, if you have an ethnic restaurant, you can write about the country or the region where the food comes from, some fun information, etc. The point is to keep your place fresh in the eyes and minds of your clients.

9. Post a recipe (or even better, a short video with your chef cooking some signature dish). This will make your place unique and special. You can post this video also on YouTube with a link to your site increasing your exposure even more.

10. Send emails to the people that you've captured via the opt-in form from your website as well as any other email addresses you've collected. Remember, you need to give your existing clients some incentive for them to give you their names and email addresses, so that you can add them to your database. Email marketing is a vehicle in its own so I was talking about this one in more detail in a previous post.

And remember, your website should be an extension of your restaurant. It should reflect your vision, your strategy and your values. You don't want people coming to your place with an expectation from your site, and leaving disappointed because you didn't deliver the dining experience that they were looking for.

Always think about your clients when you add content to your site. It is there for them, not for you. If you follow my easy steps, your site will be much better than your competitors' - and your marketing will improve considerably.

Related post: Restaurant Email Marketing

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+66(0)877733413

RESTAURANT EMAIL MARKETING

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Many of you will shake your heads when reading the title of this article. After all, you are in the restaurant business not in the email marketing business, right?

However, let me tell you something that may shock you: you are in the sales business. If you don't sell your food and beverages, nothing else counts, so you need to apply the same marketing and sales techniques that the rest of commercial businesses use.

Email marketing is one of the most effective communication and promotion vehicles on the Internet. 90% of Internet users and 56% of all clients use email on a regular basis (source: E-marketeer. August 2006). Restaurants can benefit from email marketing because it's fast, direct, cost-effective, and builds loyal relationships with your clients. Restaurant email marketing is perhaps one of the lowest cost marketing vehicles available to the restaurant industry to book tables and to build customer relationships. High quality email campaigns can deliver effective messages that drive action - and clients to your restaurant.

Email marketing can be a tricky proposition. People hate email spam, and often they delete email messages that they don't think are useful or interesting to them. For your email campaigns to be truly effective, they have to be managed properly and conducted in a professional manner. This article provides restaurateurs with some practical tips for conducting effective email marketing campaigns that maximize their return on investment.

If you want your restaurant email marketing to be effective, it's important for you to develop a targeted, permission-based database. Email addresses can be collected either on your restaurant's website or at your place when your clients are visiting. Let's look at both:

1. Collecting Emails on Your Restaurant Website:
Create an opt-in form on your website so that visitors can sign up for specials and promotional offers. (If you don't know how to do this, ask your website designer to do it for you.)
Once your visitors hit "send" on the opt-in form, they receive an email confirmation stating that they have been added to your mailing list. If they are not interested in getting your emails, they can simply "unsubscribe." You need to give your clients always the ability to easily unsubscribe from your emailing list if they see that your emails don't give them enough value.

2. Collecting Emails at Your Restaurant:
In addition to collecting addresses on your website, you can also collect email addresses at your restaurant. Approach satisfied clients at the end of their meals and ask them for permission (on an opt-in card) to get their email addresses so that you can send them information, discounts, coupons, etc. via email.

If you have done your homework and have provided your clients with a memorable dining experience, they will most likely willing to share their email address with you.

This is very important now: Enter the client's information directly on your website form (or ask somebody from your staff to do it for you). By following this process, you assure that all the information is collected in the central database, and that they are legitimate email addresses following the opt-in process.

Now what are you supposed to do with all these addresses ?

When you send emails, please try not to make them an obvious sales pitch. People hate to be told what to buy or where to go for a dinner. Instead, use email to communicate with your clients as follows:

1. To promote one specific special event or item in your restaurant. Please don't abuse the frequency of the announcements or people will soon ignore your emails, even when you really have something important to say. I would recommend sending out one message a month or less. Sending more often than that could alienate many people in your list.

Some examples could be a special event or gala hosted to raise money for charity, a special wine dinner, etc. You can also announce holiday specials such as Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

2. To send a birthday present to some clients. What better way to touch your best clients' hearts than opening an email with your best wishes and an electronic coupon valid for a free meal?

Not only will they appreciate your thoughtfulness but they will also probably redeem the coupon, and bring along lots of family and/or friends to celebrate at your place!

Please notice that if you have the mailing address of your clients, it is better (and classier) to send them a printed coupon with a personal Happy B-day letter or card. You can have these cards pre-printed and just add a personalized note with the name of your client. Use email only when this is the only contact information that you have about your clients.

3. To send interesting information about your restaurant. Perhaps you have a new chef or you've introduced a new line of dishes or desserts, etc. Again, don't abuse the connection by sending trivial information that nobody but you cares about. Always think from the client's perspective: would this news be interesting for them?

4. To send discount coupons to a group of clients on some special occasion. Perhaps you've captured information about some of your clients' anniversaries. This is a great occasion to email them, congratulating them and offering a discount if they celebrate it at your place. Other special occasions may be new jobs, promotions, name-days (very popular in some countries. You can check a traditional calendar to see the name dates and associate them with some of your best clients), professional "mixer" days (attract clients from the same professions so that they can mingle and network), etc.

5. To ask for feedback. Ask clients about a new dish that you've just introduced, perhaps new decor or some event that you are thinking of. Faithful clients will appreciate the opportunity to give you feedback and participate in the improvement of their favorite restaurant: yours!

As you can see, restaurant email marketing can be used very effectively to bring clients back to your restaurant and keep your place fresh in their minds, so that they will book your place instead of somebody else's when they think about their next meal out, especially if you give them the motivation via discounts or gift certificates.

With your email campaigns, you will also build stronger relationships with your clients and they will have an opportunity to give you feedback that you can act on and improve your restaurant. It is a win/win situation for both of you!


Good luck and happy emailing!


Want to learn more?

michelpiton@gmail.com
+66(0)877733413