Using Social Media Marketing as a MN Certified Food Manager
When you get a large group of restaurant managers together like we do during MN certified food manager training sessions, break time discussions inevitably drift away from food safety towards other topics. One such topic we hear discussed quite often this time of year is “How do we bring more guests into our restaurants during the slower winter season?” There seem to be as many theories as there are participants in the discussion, but the topic of effectively using social media seems to be thrown around the most.
Using Social Media Effectively
Image credit: deviantART
Advertising tools such as Facebook and Twitter are free and can instantly connect you to nearly everyone in your area. There is no right way to use social media to promote your restaurant, but here are a few tips that may help you succeed.
- Be creative and professional
- Update your cover photo and profile pictures regularly
- Make your posts count by being informative, yet comfortable
- Do not overdo it
- Only share links and information that are relevant to your restaurant
Creativity can be the key to keeping potential guests following your feeds. Rather than simply post your weekend specials, include an artistic photo of one of them. Add some life and personality into your posts so that it draws the attention of the reader. Keep in mind that your followers may not want to see too many posts from a business that they follow, so make sure that you say what you need to say the first time.
There can sometimes be a fine line to walk to keep the people who have liked or followed your business’ page. That is why it is vital to keep your posts on topic. Inform your followers of specials, events, recent reviews and new menu items, but refrain from sharing links or photos that some may consider as spam. This may lead to your business losing followers, and as the cliché goes, “out of sight, out of mind.”
If you’d like some help with your marketing strategy or just need some help managing your on-going social media interactions call Dave Haas (763-416-2000) at Street Level Solutions. They help Safe Food Training with our newsletter as well as manage our Google ranking and online reputation.
