For bar & restaurant owners, social media can be tedious. It requires attention. It requires you to step away from the day-to-day operations and focus in a space where you may not be completely comfortable. Unfortunately, we tend to ignore or just dabble briefly in what we don’t know. And this could be putting the buzz about your business on the back burner. So to simplify social media, I think it is best we compare it to a friendship.
Friendships don’t happen overnight. They take time to marinate. They require some basic human effort to become true and real. The same applies to social media. Here are five basic friendship and social media traits:
True friends keep in touch. You don’t need to hear from them everyday necessarily, but an effort is made to keep you aware of what is going on in their lives – and taking a genuine interest in yours. Social media does not work if you fail to let people know what is happening – consistent posts, tweets, photos, new menus & specials – they cannot experience it if they don’t know about it. Make it part of your culture to jump on social media and interact with your fans and followers as if they are a group of your best buds. They’ll share your excitement and introduce you to a whole new group of friends.
Friends are there for you. And you for them. When things are going well, or maybe not, true friends are there to cheer you on, or bring you up. The same holds true in social media. Did you celebrate your 5th year open today? Did your grandson make his very first pizza? Are you moving to a new location and need people to follow you there? Sharing moments with your social media following makes them feel closer to you, as if they have been on this journey with you all along. Keep that up, and you’ll be surprised how many guests say hello to you by name in the restaurant. And don’t forget to give back…is it a regular’s birthday and you just brought them out a beautiful piece of cake in appreciation of their loyalty? Find a way to connect back on social media – they will share with everyone they know (who doesn’t like to be a celebrity for a minute) and become fans for life. Plus, those watching will feel a bond to your business.
Friends talk well, and sometimes honestly, about you – and you always say thank you. Nothing feels better than a compliment from someone you admire. And sometimes constructive criticism can be hard to take, but can allow us to fix what might not be right. Those 35 restaurant reviews sitting on your Facebook or Foursquare page – have you responded and said “thank you”? Did you share them with your followers? Someone took time out of their life to write a review about what you do and love every single day. That is hard to come by. And if the review wasn’t so good – don’t delete it. Listen to the feedback. Thank them for the comments and ask them how you can improve. It shows that you are open to suggestions.
Friends always share moments. Whether it’s a new car, a new baby, a night on the town or just a delicious meal at a new joint, friends want to share the moment with lots of people in their life. Trust me, if they posted it on Facebook or Twitter, they want to remember it. So that couple who posted a photo of your Death By Chocolate dessert on their anniversary? Share it back. The girls who celebrated their bachelorette party at your bar? Share it. The kid with macaroni & cheese all over his face at your place? Please share it. Become part of the memories that are taking place at your place of hospitality. Remember, for every person at your place sharing these photos, they may have thousands of people looking at it in their home. And those people are future customers.
Old friends are the best friends. The longer you know and interact with someone, the more important they become, and the more trust there is. So embrace those who consistently talk about your business. Thank those who visit you, randomly buy an entrée for the person who always throws you a Twitter bone, and send a note of thanks to those writers who add you to their column. Take a few minutes each day to interact with the social media world, or hire someone who can. You might be the only restaurant or bar doing it. And the appreciation will come back to you in new guests, higher check averages and a loyalty to your brand that lasts forever.
-Kim
Kim Neubecker, The Social Barfly
@socialbarflycle
The Social Barfly - Cleveland 