This post was written by Arlina Allen, owner of Social Media Restaurant Marketing, a Silicon Valley social media marketing company, and author of “Twitter for Restaurants,” now available online.
As a social media manager, I encounter my fair share of resistance from restaurant owners who have not started using Twitter or who have not understood how to use it correctly.
What are the biggest concerns from restaurant owners? Well, mostly that they don’t have time to learn how to use it, that they don’t see the benefit and that their customers don’t already have Twitter accounts and won’t sign up.
Twitter did a case study that showed how Naked Pizza, a healthy-pizza restaurant, used Twitter exclusive promotions. The company reported record-breaking sales by promoting a coupon on Twitter than brought in 15% of the day’s sales. Not bad for a free promotion!
I’m going to give you fast and easy, step-by-step instructions on how restaurant owners can use Twitter to improve customer service and increase sales, all for free.
Step 1: First you need a Twitter account. You can register for free. It’s fast and easy. This step gets you on Twitter.
Step 2: Post signs in your establishment announcing your Twitter account and offer a coupon if they follow you. This can be delivered automatically by including a link in your bio. This gets your customers on Twitter!
Step 3: Start paying attention to what people are saying about your establishment. Go to http://search.twitter.com. Type in your establishment’s name and hit “Search.” This brings up everything people are saying to their friends. Did someone have a complaint? Reach out to that person and solve their problems. They feel happy and come back, and they tell their friends. This step increases your sales!
Are you beginning to see the value of Twitter? Good! And this is just the tip of the iceberg. As you use Twitter, you will see other restaurants applying strategies that you can also use.
Happy tweeting!