Restaurants & Facebook A Perfect Pairing
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How To Grow Your Restaurants Social Network…
A problem I often encounter when working with new clients in the restaurant industry when developing social media programs is a fixation on customers being the only concern. I got started in social media while I was working in the trade-show industry so I have a diverse perspective on social media.
Just because restaurants are a business to consumer (B2C) business model that doesn’t mean they can’t get huge benefits from partnering with businesses in complementary industries.
One example that popped into my head recently was the relationship many restaurants have with different cab companies. There are many services that restaurants can choose from but they usually settle in on one. What do they get back from this affiliate program? In many cases nothing at all. Why not see how active your chosen cab company is? If they have any network at all, could it hurt to ask them to promote your restaurant once a week or so?
This is a simple and real chance to reach out to a new potential customers that you would have had to expend a lot more energy to find on your own. One word of caution as you will hear often, nothing in social media is FREE. Do your homework before partnering up! You might find the best cab company in the area might not have the kind of social network you want to be promoted in.
Can you think of any other vendors you might be able to work with in this way? If so, Let me know!
Why Google+? ” I need another social network like I need a hole in the head”
Since the “very soft” launch of Google+ I have been a big fan. Google has really listened to the people and continues to listen in its development of this great service. From the development of circles, Sparks that drive our curiosity, the IM chat of the huddle, to the open live video interactions that happen in a Hangout they have turned a social network into a life network. As I begin to tell friends and family about this great new service, I keep getting the same response before I can even describe what Google+ is. It usually sounds something like this. “I already have Facebook and Twitter. I need another social network like I need a hole in the head”. It’s the same exact response I would hear when Facebook started taking over MySpace. Back then, it was an easy conversation to convert people. I would say MySpace was designed with musicians’ interaction with fans in mind. Facebook was designed to learn more about what people are doing (and to pick up chicks). It was a simple distinction for the masses to make and MySpace had become so cluttered that the simplicity of Facebook really paid off. I believe the same scenario exist today. Facebook is the new MySpace. It was designed to learn what’s on your friends and families mind and it’s turned into what’s on everyone’s mind you have ever met or, because of the need for monetization, what you need in Farmville. It’s cluttered. It has grown too large for its intended purpose. This is where Google + comes to the rescue. With the knowledge of what people now want in a social network; Google has designed the first life network. Now the question I know you are asking right about now. What’s a life network? Well, It’s a social experience, a work collaboration, an enthusiasts platform, and a place to just Hangout. See, because of circles, I can choose who sees what I am sharing. For example, I can suggest three places for dinner tonight to just my wife and children. I can post my thoughts on a new product line for my co workers to see and not family and friends. I can post crazy cat videos to all my circles because I know everyone likes a crazy cat video. It’s up to me and I don’t have to worry about censoring my social life to meet everyone’s needs. I can truly be social and choose who I’m socializing with based on the content of my post. Google+ is not another hole in your head. That would be suicide. It is a life network. So in the famous words of my aunt “Get a Life” network and join Google+.
Thanks to Mike White for this great post. http://bit.ly/re3Eom
What Are These Crazy Squares?
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QR codes were originally developed in Japan in 1994 to track parts for automobile manufactures. The standard bar codes that we see on items at grocery stores were not able to store enough information. Marketers in the rest of the world adopted QR codes much more rapidly than those in the U.S., but now they are gaining traction here as well.
How can you use QR codes to supplement your marketing? There are new ways developing every day. First as standard QR codes can store far more information than the link to a mobile website (the most common use) they can be modified to match your brand and stand out. As for the mobile website that the QR code will take your customers too; the possibilities are limitless: special offers, social media profiles, directions, surveys.
The demographics of the people who will be scanning your QR codes are also an important consideration. Every smartphone on the market can scan QR codes some require an app be downloaded but they can all do it. These phones are becoming the standard in the mobile market. Right now the biggest users are 18-45 with median household incomes in excess of $75k. This means three things: they are early adopters, part of the early majority, and they have significant disposable income.
It also important to consider that as many QR codes end up on printed materials their lifespan may be longer than the initial program they were created to promote. So, it would be helpful if you could redirect the code after it has been created, right? Enter dynamic QR codes! So, despite all the fancy words you will find on the internet they are very basic. Instead of creating a QR code that takes your customers directly to the content you are promoting you give the QR code a link to it’s own page on your website that then tells their phone where to go. This way the codes life can be extended by simply changing that page to send them somewhere new, hence dynamic.
We currently use and recommend the following QR readers:
iOS – QRReader for iPone By TapMedia LTD.
Android – Barcode Scanner By ZXing Team
We will be posting more about QR codes in the future specifically the ways we are using them to help restaurants and retailers.
Getting More From Foursquare
I recently worked with a client to get started on Foursquare. I was curious to see how difficult the concept of Foursquare can be. I suppose it is the same reason I don’t understand people who find themselves addicted to Farmville. I could go over all the wonderful things about Foursquare but that is not the point of this particular rant.
Once I was able to explain that whether or not my client was interested in Foursquare there was a very good chance many of their customers were. As a matter of fact one of these clients had already listed this particular business. This brings me to my first point, unlike sites like Twitter, Facebook etc. Foursquare does not require the business to be actively engaged. Yelp is another good example of a service where businesses many not be able to completely control and cannot ignore. As social media evolves whether you like it or not as a business owner; completely ignoring social media is no longer an option. Ignoring these channels can be very damaging to your bottom line.
My second revelation came when we discussed the traditional ways a business can use Foursquare to increase traffic and/or sales. The client was barely with me on the fact that Foursquare was relevant. They were not about to start offering promotions, discounts or even as the client eloquently put it “Waste any more time on social media”. That’s when it hit me! A completely free, minimally involved way to leverage Foursquare. Why not offer 1 new tip per week? Or even every month? Most of the tips I see on Foursquare are marginally helpful at best. What about a niche small business that offers great tips about their specialty. Who knows why they are succeeded better than they themselves?
Maybe I’m not the first person to come up with this idea but as I previously mentioned, judging by the tips I see for many business on Foursquare it is defiantly not yet common practice. Why not give it a try? Going back to the roots of social media sharing helpful knowledge will never steer you wrong.
Google+ vs. Facebook & LinkedIn… Twitter?
The excitement of Google+ got me motivated to finally get our blog back up
and running. It was seeing Twitter real time search pulled from Google that
gave the idea for the first post. So far in playing with Google+ it looks
like it could grow up to be a serious contender for both Facebook and thanks
to Circles LinkedIn as well. Twitter on the other hand does not seem to be
under any threat.
To me twitter at it’s core is an amazing micro-blogging site. It serves a
purpose that can not easily be incorporated into a more full fledged social
network like Facebook or Google+. Twitter makes people get to the point,
competition for attention is fierce, and the information flows fast and
furious. Unless Google+ adds a micro-blog feature I think it would be in
their best interest to continue to support Twitter in search results. The
services seem to more complementary than competitive.
As for LinkedIn, right now loopholes exist in Google+ that I think will keep
many C level folks happily using LinkedIn… for now. It is the semi public
structure of LinkedIn that makes it so attractive for getting real business
done. But as Google+ grows changes could be easily made to make it a very
real threat to LinkedIn. The biggest change that comes to mind would be an
option to strip the original poster from a post if it were to shared outside
it’s original audience.
Time will tell but so far it looks like Google+ is on the right track to
really shake up the social media scene. I can’t wait to hear what others
think, especially those that have had an opportunity to use Google+. As for
the legions eagerly awaiting access, think back when Twitter and Facebook
got started they were obscure users joined much more slowly, at first. I
think Google is making a good decision in taking things slowly but time is
of the essence. Waiting too long could seriously damage Google+’s adoption
rate.