Okay, okay, you've finally broken down and decided to get in on the social media train. I welcome you and you can relax because it's not too late, and it's not too hard. Each of these technologies are unique, but they all have the common goal of connecting people. In your case, it's connecting you and your restaurant to your guests. So let's get started...
#1 - Twitter
- Set up time - 15 minutes
- What is it? - Twitter is the newest kid on the block and the easiest to use. It's very simple, you enter messages of 140 characters or less and they appear on your page for the world to see. Other users can "follow" you to stay up-to-date on your updates or "tweets".
- What should I use it for? - This is the million dollar question and where your creativity comes into play. Businesses are using it for all kinds of things. From customer service to promotions, the choice is yours.
- How do I start? - https://twitter.com/signup
#2 - Facebook
- Set up time - 15 minutes
- What is it? - Almost everyone has at least heard of facebook by now. It's a "social networking" site that allows its users to connect and communicate with each other.
They have a special feature that allows a business to create an account (or page).
- What should I use it for? - Once you set it up, let your guests know about it. You can then post pictures, share stories, and list upcoming events for all of your new "facebook friends"
- How do I start? - http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
#3 - Blog
- Set up time - 45 minutes
- What is it? - A web log or "blog" for short is a place for you to post your thoughts, stories, or ideas about your business or anything else you find relevant.
- What should I use it for? - While users can comment on your posts, blogs tend to be more of a one-way conversation. The nice thing about a blog is that you can customize the look and feel to match your brand and several companies use their blog as their official web site.
- How do I start? - http://en.wordpress.com/signup/ (there are others, I just happen to like this one)
Extra Credit - Google Search Alerts
- Set up time - 5 minutes
- What is it? - Google has a tool that allows you to enter a search term and then have any results that come up for that search sent to your email on a daily basis.
- What should I use it for? - This is a great way for you to see what others are saying about your business.
- How do I start? - http://www.google.com/alerts
With any of these things it's very easy to use them for a week or so and then let them die off from neglect. For any of these tools to work you need to commit about 60 minutes a week. An hour a week is not much time when you consider the potential benefit. I promise you, you have some guests out there that would love to hear what you have to say and will be all the more loyal if you will only reach out to them.
