Driving Restaurant Revenue With Social Media - Part 7 - YouTube

The video sharing social media network, YouTube, is the third most visited website on the planet, after Google and then Facebook. After being bought by Google, YouTube has one of the most powerful search engines, second only to its parent company. YouTube is another platform well suited to the food and beverage industry with its visual orientation. Only a restauranteur’s sense of imagination and level of creativity limit what can be accomplished with video marketing via YouTube.

Videos on YouTube can become extremely viral due to the nature of the medium. An important factor in what can make a video go viral is the fact that YouTube videos can be embedded across a wide spectrum of social media networks and websites. With billions of views every day, YouTube offers a potentially immense audience.

 

Here are a few tips to give your videos the best chance to be seen by a large audience:

 

1. Compelling Content

Just like all the other social networks, content is crucial. Videos of your current dinner specials are not going to gain much of your audience’s attention. But a video of your head chef revealing a culinary secret used in creating that special will grab their attention, and maybe inspire them to share it with their friends. Another factor of vital importance is the title of the video - this is how it will be found. Keywords in the title can take people where you want them to go. These words can be tagged to videos as well. Also, make sure all of your other social network accounts are fully linked with your YouTube channel.

 

2. Keep It Brief

You only have a very short window to gain and hold people’s attention span. The vast majority of YouTube videos are less than 5 minutes in length. If your subject requires more time to be fully covered, break it up into several smaller parts. This is a common technique on YouTube.

 

3. Show Your Character

When your brand signs up for YouTube, the network automatically generates a channel for your videos. There is plenty of room for creativity here as well, with many options for customization. Make your channel reflect the unique character of your establishment and highlight what sets it apart. Once you are up and running, don’t forget that YouTube is a social network and your audience expects interaction and engagement. Monitor and respond to comments left by users, just as you would on any other social platform.

YouTube has provided a tremendous platform, one where virtually anybody can be seen as if on television. In the next part in this series we will look at the advantages offered by Google to the restauranteur. 

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

 

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Driving Restaurant Revenue With Social Media - Part 6 - Instagram

The photo sharing social network, Instagram, is another visual platform available to restaurant marketing efforts. As the old saying goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, and that has never been more true than in today’s society. Rather than talking about their establishments, Instagram gives restauranteurs the quick and easy functionality to share images on-the-fly via their mobile devices - a clear benefit to the fast-paced food and beverage industry.

Instagram was launched in 2010 and was bought in early 2012 by the social media giant, Facebook. According to current figures from the app, Instagram has 100 million active users every month and 40 million photos are shared on a daily basis. This is a tremendous potential audience. This, combined with the public’s love of photographing their food and sharing the images via social media, make Instagram an important platform on which restauranteurs to have a presence. The app is free and extremely user friendly. Photos can be shared directly from a mobile device without the need of a computer. From the app, photos and associated captions can be posted to other social networks including Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, or Flickr.

 

Here are a few ideas to help make the most of Instagram:

 

1. More Than Food Photos

Instagram should be much more than pictures of food. You can promote upcoming events, let the fans take a tour behind the scenes with your chef, or present to them a new staff member, for example. Use your imagination and creativity. Also, just as on other social networks, never forget the importance of engagement and interaction with your audience.

 

2. Use Hashtags

Just like Twitter, Instagram uses hashtags, (#steak) for example. An image with that hashtag would show up in the search results for steak. Anything in the photo, including your restaurant’s name and location, can be hashtagged.

 

3. Take Advantage of Photo Maps

This new feature of Instagram allows your restaurant to be tagged along with photos on a geo-location map. This will help your fans find your restaurant and view images of your outstanding cuisine.

Because of the unique, visual nature of both the food and beverage industry and Instagram, the photo sharing social network can be a powerful tool for restaurant marketing. In the next part in this series we will examine the benefits of YouTube for restaurant owners

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

. 

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Driving Restaurant Revenue With Social Media - Part 6 - Instagram

The photo sharing social network, Instagram, is another visual platform available to restaurant marketing efforts. As the old saying goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, and that has never been more true than in today’s society. Rather than talking about their establishments, Instagram gives restauranteurs the quick and easy functionality to share images on-the-fly via their mobile devices - a clear benefit to the fast-paced food and beverage industry.

Instagram was launched in 2010 and was bought in early 2012 by the social media giant, Facebook. According to current figures from the app, Instagram has 100 million active users every month and 40 million photos are shared on a daily basis. This is a tremendous potential audience. This, combined with the public’s love of photographing their food and sharing the images via social media, make Instagram an important platform on which restauranteurs to have a presence. The app is free and extremely user friendly. Photos can be shared directly from a mobile device without the need of a computer. From the app, photos and associated captions can be posted to other social networks including Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, or Flickr.

 

Here are a few ideas to help make the most of Instagram:

 

1. More Than Food Photos

Instagram should be much more than pictures of food. You can promote upcoming events, let the fans take a tour behind the scenes with your chef, or present to them a new staff member, for example. Use your imagination and creativity. Also, just as on other social networks, never forget the importance of engagement and interaction with your audience.

 

2. Use Hashtags

Just like Twitter, Instagram uses hashtags, (#steak) for example. An image with that hashtag would show up in the search results for steak. Anything in the photo, including your restaurant’s name and location, can be hashtagged.

 

3. Take Advantage of Photo Maps

This new feature of Instagram allows your restaurant to be tagged along with photos on a geo-location map. This will help your fans find your restaurant and view images of your outstanding cuisine.

Because of the unique, visual nature of both the food and beverage industry and Instagram, the photo sharing social network can be a powerful tool for restaurant marketing. In the next part in this series we will examine the benefits of YouTube for restaurant owners

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

. 

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Getting Traffic To Your Blog

It’s all about Content. Here are some quick tips you can use when writing for your Blog:

• Choose topics and issues that are related to your business.
• Post on a regular basis.
• Produce content that appeals to your readers.
• Include pictures and videos where possible
• Write in an easily understandable style
• Be creative and informal.
• Recognize sources of your material
• Include links to your website and source material
• Include a call to action

Practice these suggestions and you will attract more followers.

It’s all about Content. Here are some quick tips you can use when writing for your Blog:

Choose topics and issues that are related to your business.

Post on a regular basis.

Produce content that appeals to your readers.

Include pictures and videos where possible

Write in an easily understandable style

Be creative and informal.

Recognize sources of your material

Include links to your website and source material

Include a call to action

Practice these suggestions and you will attract more followers.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Driving Restaurant Revenue With Social Media - Part 5 - Pinterest

The highly visual nature of the social media network, Pinterest, makes it perfect for the food and beverage industry. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board, where users can share or “pin” visual content, including both images and videos. It has been one of the fastest growing social networks since its 2010 launch. Pinterest users started off being predominantly woman, the sites early adopters, but men have been catching on to what the network has to offer and the demographics have been steadily equalizing.

 

Food is King on Pinterest

According to research by Citigroup Global Markets, the most popular topic of content on Pinterest is food.  Thus, the platform is an amazing fit for restaurant marketing. Simple in both layout and use, both large brands and small operations can gain maximum exposure with a minimum of time expenditure. Pinning quality images of your restaurant’s very best dishes, dining facilities, or specialty drinks from the bar are just a few ideas with which to get started. Images can be directly pinned from a restaurant’s website (the links to the site will automatically be included), thereby boosting site traffic.

 

Here are a few more tips to get the most out of Pinterest:

 

1. Keep Posts Short

Remember, Pinterest is all about the visual. Any written content should be kept as short as possible so users do not have to scroll down. However, recipes are an extremely popular type of pin and gain the highest click-through percentage on the site. Also, search engine optimized (SEO) keywords are just as vital in content shared on Pinterest, as with any other site.

 

2. Engage the Audience

Engagement is just as important on Pinterest, as it is on the other social networks. You can’t keep pinning endless streams of pictures of your restaurant’s food, no matter how delicious or visually stunning they might be. Be helpful to your followers by re-pinning healthy diet information from other sources, for example. Re-pin relevant content your followers may appreciate and be sure to comment on and re-pin their pins as well.

 

3. Highlight With Video

Pinning video content from your restaurant is a great technique to get re-pinned. A culinary demonstration from one of your chefs, one that highlights some of the best you have to offer, can prove very shareable and gain exposure for your establishment.

Pinterest may be the most suitable social network for the food and beverage industry with its rich, visual content emphasis. In the next part in this series we will examine another visual social network and its impact on restaurants, Instagram.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Social Media News For The Week Of 4/26/13

Twitter Said to Bolster Security After AP Account Hacked

This past week hackers gained access to the Associated Press’ Twitter account and posted false stories involving explosions at the White House. The reporting of this hoax story temporarily sent the stock market tumbling. This incident has shed light on the improvement which is needed in social network security, especially in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent decision to allow companies to use social media sites for sharing market-sensitive news. Twitter is now reporting that they will be introducing a security upgrade to make the reoccurrence of such scenarios more difficult. Full Story Here:

 

An insight into the future of social media

Social media is increasingly becoming a necessary piece of the marketing strategy of businesses of all sizes, while yet still evolving. Social networks appear to be on the verge of dominating consumer spending habits. Brands are discovering the need to meet their customers and prospects where they are spending their time, on social media. In the ongoing marketing revolution, technological developments and innovations will continue to drive the public’s behavior and demands in the future. Full Story Here:

 

Study Shows Social Media Platforms Increasingly Playing a Role in Dental and Health Industry

This story shows how social media, properly utilized, can drive up business for any industry. The health and dental industries have been slow to adopt social media marketing and are missing out on its benefits. Here is a success story from the dental profession. Full Story Here:

 

Small business owners need mobile apps to run their businesses

Mobile apps are increasingly crucial to the success of small businesses, according to the results of study by the online freelance marketplace, PeoplePerHour. 66 percent of small business owners surveyed would have difficulty running their business without mobile apps. Social media management and marketing apps are a favorite, with 52 percent reporting they use this type of app on a regular basis. Full Story Here:

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

 

 

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Driving Restaurant Revenue With Social Media - Part 4 - Foursquare

One social media network that has grown up around the mass popularity and acceptance of mobile technology is Foursquare, which is designed specifically for smartphone users. Based on the geo-locating capabilities of smartphones, Foursquare allows users to “check-in,” or tag themselves, either at a location or specific establishment by name. Then this information is shared with all of their friends via social media networks. It’s easy to see how this application can be extremely beneficial to restaurants. Any restaurant that offers special promotions to foursquare users will be their preference, and their friends as well, over other restaurants in the area that don’t. Here are a few tips to help restaurants get the most benefit from a Foursquare listing:

 

Claim Your Location and Complete Your Profile

Since anybody can create a listing, even users, there may be one or more listings for your restaurant already. You need to claim your listing and eliminate the duplicates. The Foursquare website has information to assist in this process. Fill out your business profile as complete as possible, including photos of your establishment. The more information presented in the profile, the more likely users are to check-in at your location.

 

Give Foursquare Users a Reason To Check-in

Incentives are the name of the game on Foursquare. Offer special promotions to users who come to your restaurant and tell others about it by checking in. Many restaurants have gotten creative and offered promotions based on the number of check-ins a patron has made. There are even so called “Mayors” of various establishments who have the most check-ins and receive special deals or giveaways, only for them. In the last year, Foursquare has added new options for businesses to promote themselves with paid promotions. These promotions will get a restaurant’s specials listed to all Foursquare users searching for where to have dinner that night.

 

Monitor Your Restaurant’s Foursquare Activity

This is extremely important because Foursquare gives users the functionality to give their opinions by posting short reviews. Just like other social media sites, it is crucial that you deal with any negative comments swiftly and positively. Restaurants are especially vulnerable to negative publicity and monitoring will keep you abreast of what is being said about your business. Also, this is a great way to gather valuable marketing information about your customers.

A geo-locating social media network like Foursquare is a powerful tool available to restaurants to leverage into increased business. In the fast paced food and beverage industry, where time seems to always be at a premium, Foursquare requires little interaction or engagement with users.  In part 5 of this series, we will see if restaurant owners can benefit from the Google social network.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com