Improving Your Restaurant Social Media and Search Marketing. 

A must for  every restaurant operator!

By Brian Medina

A recent study conducted by Ipsos MediaCT on behalf of Groupon and the National Restaurant Association. Concludes that 80 percent of U.S. retstaurants are using social media for their restaurants.  This beats Email (63 percent), newspaper/magazine advertising (61 percent) and radio ads (37 percent), In another survey of nearly 1,500 smart phone users, 81 percent of consumers reported that they searched for a restaurant in the past six months using a mobile app, while 92 percent did so through a mobile web browser, according to Single Platform and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey.  This makes restaurants the most-searched category in the study.  Bottom line is these are two how topics all restaurant operators and restaurant marketing departments need to pay close attention to in the coming year.

Now that you know these are two important resources to incorporate in your restaurant marketing plan.  Here are just a few tips to help you get started.  

1. Content is everything.  Offer interesting content.  Let your customers know you are the authority on your particular style of food.

2. Stay connected. Make sure you have a dedicated employee to keep things updated on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

3. Be unique. Develop a niche.  Something that stands out.  Maybe your place is the best place to hang out after the softball games played around the corner.

4. Checking in is king.  Get your customers to check in, let them shout to their friends that they are hanging out at the coolest place in town.

5. Pictures, pictures, and more pictures.  Be visual. Images can spark peoples interest.  Encourage customers to post too.

These are just a few things to help improve your social media for your restaurant. I did not even get into the search engine marketing tips you can use to improve traffic to your restaurant.

However if you are fortunate enough to be in Dallas December 2nd. Plan on attending the Greater Dallas Restaurant Associations - Tool Chest - on this exact subject.  Here is the link Restaurant Social Media and Restaurant Search Marketing for more details and how to register for the event.   Here are just a few of the topics to be discussed:

• What is Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing for restaurants and how to get your restaurant optimized on Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, and Urban Spoon.
• Understand the importance of claiming your local listings through the various search engines
• The benefits of having a mobile version of your restaurant website
• Social Media strategies to market your restaurant and specials at your restaurant
• Social Media tactics to leverage your fans on Facebook to market your brand
• The importance of a presence on Facebook and Twitter for your restaurant

Hope to see you at the event.