Social Media Advertising: Great BBQ Fast

If the nature of social media is a " form of communication that is social in nature" and, marketing is "the action or business of promoting or selling products or services". Then Social Media Marketing (SMM) is basically, " using social forms of communication to promote or sell products or services."

Before the days of Facebook and Twitter most of us in the F&B trade used to refer to social media marketing as word-of-mouth advertising, and after somebody left our establishment with a positive experience we used to pray to restaurant gods, that they would tell their friends.With social media all that changes.

What I'm not sure many bar owners, restaurant owners, and managers realize, is that the customer conversation is no longer just a verbal exchange that we would have no effect on, but has moved to a virtual exchange, one

they would want to also link that information to a specific location. For conversation's sake let's say they are in Columbia, SC. Their online slogan should be " Great BBQ Fast in Columbia, S.C. They could reinforce their message through the following:

post their fastest serve times on their blog or tweet them to their followers.

Using every opportunity they can to reinforce their brand of "Great BBQ Fast in Columbia, SC. "

They could have a blog about the restaurant that reinforces their locale and fast service

Their Facebook page would have that tagline on it, as well.

Creating Brand awareness through social media channels has several benefits. My personal favorite is managing customer expectations through branding. If customers know what to expect when they walk in the door, and you are clear about what you can deliver, then you are less likely to have any major customer miscommunications, and more likely to have happy