@Spirocks

restaurant promotion

The Social Feed and Employees

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How does your social feed embrace your employees? Does it at all?

These are the questions you should ask yourself. Are you tagging employees in pictures of the product of their labors, are you recognizing the fact that many hands are involved in creating what your business accomplishes? Do you thank, mention, and acknowledge in your social feeds?

Here are some reasons you should: 

  1. People who love doing a good job, like to know it is appreciated. And keeping great employees is the first step at keeping customers coming back. Be the leader they want to work for, one that gives them love.
  2. Social Media is public, and employees of other businesses in your area are watching. They will be more likely to want to work for you if they see you building your team up.
  3. Your employees have friends and family that want to see there work life celebrated too, these are not only sources of positive reinforcement but also potential customers who are looking to embrace those that support their loved ones.
  4. These employees are the faces of the story of your business that the community will want to embrace, a cocktail without a bartender is not the same experience. Celebrate your story, and the characters that make it unique.

There are tens of thousands of reasons to involve your Social Feed and Employees. These are just a few. Above you can see Mike, Spencer, and I having some fun at Sauce. If you wore your Jorts in that Thursday you got a free hand cut french fry… see those Jorts are worth something!

I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Tip: Consistently Communicate with Customers

Marketing a restaurant is a game of consistency, you can’t post/email thirty two things in the next 15 minutes and then take two months off. You know that. Yet it is still likely the case that you find yourself with gaps in your communications, lapses in the connection with your customers that helps drive business through your door. What you need is a plan, a system that helps you simplify, and I have one for you. 

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See What I do on Instagram and Twitter by following @spirocks on both. 

Restaurant Marketing Simplification System:

First you need a base that you control, a place where you can guarantee the rules won’t change and affect all the work you have put in. That is your website/blog, and I spelled out the reasons here: ( Don’t Just Rent Your Friends ) If your restaurant website does not have a blog section, you should make that project number 1.

  1. Create a Blog on your website: Your blog is going to be the place where you create the content that is spread throughout your social networks and email lists.
  2. Create a Mailchimp Account. Great news; they are free up to 2000 contacts so you can try this out with no risk. Mailchimp allows you to send RSS campaigns, which means that once you publish a blog post you have Mailchimp automatically create an email from it and email it out when you want, like say 10am on Friday. That’s it, email campaign done. 
  3. Decide the frequency with which you wish to contact your email list. Once you have that plan, all you need to do is create a post before the date and time (give it an hour early) you set in Mailchimp and you are done. Most people find creating a blog post a less cumbersome process than creating an email and best of all you kill two birds with one stone. 
  4. Social Network integration via Mailchimp allows you to connect your restaurant social accounts and post to them at the same time.

So there you have it a simple way to create great content once, on a platform you control, and get it distributed free to everywhere it needs to be.

How frequently to post to your social networks:

In addition to the above, I suggest having a plan for social media only posts, as you should post to them more frequently than you email. So say you have a new special every Tuesday, share a picture of that with a simple one line description.

One great place to do this is through instagram, where you can take a photo of a special appetizer for example and share it to not only instagram, but also facebook, twitter, flickr, and tumblr all at the same time. Maybe I will write another post on that if you are interested.

Got any tips on how you streamline your restaurant’s online marketing? I would love to hear.

_Summer_isn_t_over_yet.__Boston_and_beyond_soak_it_in.

I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Seeking Bottlenecks and Hurdles

I seek the problems in your path, the obstacles to overcome, and encourage you to race at them.

BoulderYou run a business, there are fifty things that you could do today, fifty ways to make progress and move your business forward.

The problem is there are going to be fifty tomorrow too, and on to infinity after that if you simply operate like a kid at a whack a mole game. To truly move ahead I suggest you seek the things that truly need your greatness, your ability.

Every business has a bottle neck, a singular issue that trumps all others and until it is solved it will hold back the potential of the organization. Your organization.

You are the owner, the one responsible for the loss and the biggest beneficiary of the gains that your business can create.

Define your Success and Attack the Hurdles before you.

If you shrug them off and do not face them, nobody else will. Thats the story. The leaking faucet, and the flickering lightbulb are issues that need attention, but the fact that you are losing custoemrs at the last second because your transaction mechanism is clunky, or the process is attractive to techies but not foodies needs your attention first.

Do you know how your product will be received by those that will buy it or another in massive numbers? How will your service facilitate the transactions it was designed to deliver?

All day today I met with clients and networked with companies, I asked them what their hurdles were.

That is when the true conversations happened. If you bring me in I am going to look for your organizations problems, operationally and marketing wise. I am going to poke at those sore spots and I am going to work to make them better, until they become a strength.

My favorite type of meeting is one like I had with the crew of getprivy.com today, bright honest people working to see their dream become a reality. It is a great idea that they are tweaking to try and go mainstream and big-time. I agreed with so much of what they said and believed and also was able to attack some of their hurdles with ideas and suggestions that I truly think were received with open minds. Check them out if you are in a retail space that wants to do some cutting edge online marketing.

My second favorite kind of meeting is where I ask about weaknesses, hurdles, and bottlenecks and the answers I get are ‘run arounds’ all they want to focus on their vision, not what is holding it back. I live in reality sorry people, I don’t live in dreamland. I like that type of meeting because I can make them short, and I can go back to helping the clients who are ready to find solutions to their operations and marketing issues.

Who is ready? I am. Think we can work together? Let me Know here. Just want to chat? find me  @spirocks on twitter.

Keep up with my writing here:

I am Spirocks on Twitter.

The Problem with Facebook’s Zip Code Ads

Use Zip Code

A little background:

Recently Facebook implemented a new way to target ads on their network. With the enabling of zip code specific ads, Facebook promised to allow a more specific way to distribute your ads. I wrote with enthusiasm about the prospects such a new ability would give those advertising to Facebook’s mammoth user base HERE.

So What’s The Problem with Facebook Zip Code Targeting?

A feature with so much promise has a very poor implementation, I recently tried to run ads for my restaurant, Evenfall,  and wanted to select the cluster of zip codes around its location. Pretty straight forward right? Well I was unable to run the ads as this is what I got:

Screen shot 2011-09-06 at 9.07.41 PM
Basically facebook was telling me that I could not run an ad, because in the 5 zip codes I was targeting they had fewer than 20 people over 21 years old to show it to. That, of course, is complete bullshit. Whether they have a glitch or it is intentional it is wrong. I employ more than 20 people who are on facebook for gods sake.

So how did I run the ad? Well I explored the old 1o miles of a town method, but that includes areas I know customers are not coming from, and they suggested I bid $3,45 for a click which is absurd, so I decided not to run the add on Facebook.

In case you wondered here are two of the towns census numbers in 2000:

Screen shot 2011-09-06 at 9.07.06 PM

and

Screen shot 2011-09-06 at 9.06.51 PM

 

So of the 30,000+ less than 20 people are on Facebook? I don’t know, but with the Mafia wars invites, the ‘poking’, the virtual farms, the annoying club promoter invites, the horrible changes to photos, and more Facebook is really starting to feel clunky.

Have you had luck using the zip code features? If so let me know, I want to know the trick.

 

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I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Social Proof helps Launch a Restaurant

Social Proof (noun) – The impact that an individual’s friends and acquaintances have on their likely hood to buy a product or service from a brand, derived from the commentary and activity the friends and acquaintances have with the brand on social networks and in social settings.

Ok so like I said in the video, Andolini’s has been open to the public for less than two full nights as I write this and I wanted to give examples of many kinds of social proof that have happened already. Its a motivator to be out there and get involved, and to ask for help if need be. This results in sales as you will see right now.

Open Announcement and Reactions Social Proof

Spirocks.com - Social Proof Example

Here you can see a post on my personal facebook page where I announced that Andolini’s was open. You can see that in the hours since it was posted 10 people have liked it and three more have commented. What this means is a few things:

  1. A high level of engagement will likely push this post into the ‘Top News’ feed, which will result in just about all of my friends and all of these people’s friends seeing the post and comments.
  2. By commenting on this, each of these people have brought it to the attention of all their friends via their Wall, where facebook places a notification that Dental Bright ‘likes’ the post.

Interaction and Testimonial Social Proof

As you can see here we have posted several photos of the food that we are serving at Andolini’s which a customer who had been waiting for us to open saw. The restaurant being responsive and answering him in a timely fashion is key here, and I think it is clear that he will be in soon. Down at the bottom Mr. Newman had been in the night before and posted a comment that serves as a quick review and endorsement. This post is a great example of social proof for a couple of reasons:
  1. Interaction via the posts comments led to Mat letting us know he was coming soon, any of his friends who see his post will take that as an endorsement and be more inclined to try the restaurant.
  2. A customer that has already come in raves and encourages people to try it. You don’t need me to explain why that is social proof I hope!

Third Party Generated Social Proof

This example differs from the previous two because in this case neither I nor the restaurant initiated any of the posting, it was purely the result of these people being inspired by something they saw or heard about Andolini’s. This is the best kind of social proof, because their friends will see that they were inspired to post and the friends will have a natural curiosity as to why.

The Social Proof of a Champion

Social Proof of a Champion

Champion (noun) – An individual who is devoted to your brand and is passionate about promoting it for you.
As I have been writing what you have been reading, the above dialogue has been going on on facebook. The social proof of a Champion is a nice thing to nurture and enjoy. In this case the role of Champion is played well by Meah, who starts by praising the restaurant after her first visit tonight. When a friend of her refers to another Italian restaurant in a neighboring town she quickly re-iterates her preference and strong endorsement for our new place. You can see from the rest of the comments that having a champion is a great source of social proof.

Social to Sales – Social Proof

This is actually a husband and wife, and as you can see a post leads to them coming in for dinner immediately. Which is nice as that is the end goal, that in itself is not the social proof. Though it is proof that social media leads to sales. 🙂 Anyway the proof is in the fact that these messages were broadcast to all their followers on twitter, who may very well be influenced just by that, and or ask them how it was today. Anytime a customer shares the fact that she/he is spending money at your place with all their social contacts, repeat after me: THAT IS SOCIAL PROOF.
I have ton more screenshots to share, but I think you get the point by now. If you want to see more just check out the gallery at the bottom of this post.

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If you are interested in what me and my team at GuestFeed can do for you at your business or in your professional practice, you can contact me here, on twitter @spirocks, at spiro@guestfeed.com, or at 617-379-3015.
I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Can You Bijou?

Create a Market

Defining and Creating a market are too different things. In order for one to be defined it must exist, if it does not yet exist it must be created. Bijou, the next generation of Boston nightlife, is about to create a new market. Lets take a look at some of the ways it will do so.

Custom ‘Beam to Rafter’ design and construction.

Boston is blessed with many things, spaces designed to be clubs is not one of them. Bijou is different. Every inch of the space is designed with an eye toward the nightlife future that is in store for it. There are custom built led light arrays that are artistically designed and stunning, such things are the first things you notice when looking over pictures like these: 

Bijou BostonBijou Boston Banquet

But look closer and you will find the little touches that can only be created when you fuse together the two most important, costly, and rare elements of a nightlife venue. The first is the experience and knowledge gained from years of competing, err dominating, in the nightlife industry. The second is the ability (read: combination of funding and patience) to create a custom design and see it through the painstaking and lengthy finished product. Want an example? Take a look at the banquet seating design, there is the traditional seat and back, but with an upper flat area. Sleek and modern looking but designed with a specific purpose in mind I would guess. This is a club, and in clubs people like to be seen, one of the best ways to do so is to get up on furniture and dance. I will venture to guess there will be two tiers of beautiful women dancing on those banquets as soon as the vinyl disciples get a chance to take control of Bijou’s sound system. It would have been cheaper and faster to buy pre-designed seating, but in the end it would not be as good. that detail is one of a thousand that have been contemplated and built into this place from day one, this space was designed to be a club from the core. That is the gauntlet that Bjiou is throwing down in Boston. This will be the best nightclub in Boston, and it won’t be close.

Bijou Boston room 2
That is an example of creating a market. How? Just go to any other club in Boston, and look around. No not at the well endowed bartenders, or the girls dancing on the stage, but at the physical club. Most are in some state of decay, most are retrofitted for the third time, and with each new coat of paint they are reborn. With awkwardly inserted DJ booths, that are sometimes not even in sight, or Air Conditioning units and duct work jammed in and painted to kind of disappear. That is not Bijou’s market. Their market is meticulous design, with the mechanical bullshit behind the scenes. Their market is sumptuously designed rooms created to host guests during many hours of the day and to allow them everything from an after dinner drink and bite to eat; to a raging night of dancing on the furniture until our city decides they must go home. Its a new market, and you are going to like what it is selling. 

Eat all night.

Live in Boston? Go out much? Well Bijou is going to do something that you can’t find anywhere else. Bijou is going to be the first top club venue to serve food all night. Yes the kitchen will be open as long as the bars are. Better yet the menu is smartly designed to require no utensils so that it can be enjoyed with minimal formality and maximum portability. This isn’t a thrown together menu of bar food classics, it is a re-invented international mix that ranges from sliders that include pulled pork, new england fried clams, and chickpea with tahini mayo, to cumin grilled lamb chops with yogurt and mint. 

So why is this a new market? Because it is an evolution of the nightlife scene in Boston that is sorely overdue. It is a higher level of service, a more complete offering, and a first for the city we live in. There is a reason so many of us have ended up at the intestinal challenging Chau Chow City, the heartburn capitol of Boston Cafe Pompeii, or stood in line trying to talk our way into the South Street Diner. The reason is wherever we were had no food.

Bijou will be its own market because it does things that no other place will do. The next step means a new first class, and for those that want to experience what first class in Boston means there will be only one choice. Bijou.

So can you Bijou?

Are you capable of doing what hasn’t been done before? Take a moment and look at what you do, who else is doing it and think of what you could do to create a new market. To do so you will have to offer things that have not been offered. Bijou did it by assembling Boston’s best cast of nightlife professionals, (George Aboujaoude, Mete Aslan, Kevin Fitzpatrick) and covering all the bases from the business maneuvering, to the musical genius of the Vinyl Disciples, to the on scene creative energy and presence they bring. This group went on to assemble an experienced operational management team led by Demetri Tsolakis, which promises that Bijou will not taint you with the in-experience of a rookie if you visit at its opening, rather it will leave you with the feeling you just saw how things should and can be done. 

To do that for your business you have to think free of the boundaries that surround what is ‘normally’ done, and strive to deliver something to your guests that they truly can only get there. Its a steep challenge, but one you will have to rise to, if you are going to Bijou.

 

 

I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Run your own Group Buying Promotion. I am.

Who needs Groupon?

Keep all the revenue and stir up some serious business along the way. In this post I am going to explain how with an example I just put together for Evenfall Restaurant, it’s a home grown group buying marketing campaign. It’s Mojito Time.

Mojito
Evenfall's Famous Mojito

The Hook: The more people that buy the cheaper it gets.

Evenfall is well known for having the best Mojitos in the area, with elbow grease, fresh muddled mint and lime, and some silver rum they serve them in pint glasses and they serve them often in the summer months. So for this promotion we decided to lower the price every week that at least 100 mojitos were sold. We started by reducing the price from $8 to $5 for the first ten day run. The every week until mid August the price will be reduced by 50 cents until it reaches $1 a Mojito.

I created a page on the restaurants blog dedicated to the promotion, you can see that here: (Make My Mojito Cheaper) and shared it via Twitter, Facebook, and a soon to be released email blast.

As the promotion progresses the deal gets more and more enticing, it is timed to coincide with the slowest season of the year for the restaurant and designed to drive businesses during the dog days of summer with ridiculously cheap mojitos. Read on to see the consideration I took, and why it makes sense for the restaurant…

[Read more…] about Run your own Group Buying Promotion. I am.

I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Give your Wifi Away. Now.

You spend time on promoting your restaurant via social media right? Then why are you among the restaurants/bars/cafes that do not give free wifi to your guests?

In case you are missing my point: Your bar or restaurant needs to offer free wifi, period. 6 Reasons Why:

1) It costs so little. You already have Internet access at work right? If not please close this browser immediately and accept my apologies and condolences. Anyway, your connection is paid for, the only investment you need to make is (maybe) in a new router that can grant public access. Today there are routers that require zero set-up and have a guest access feature that allows you to securely share your wifi connection with guests on a separate wifi network. Such as the Cisco-Valet Plus Wireless Router which offers a password you can give to guests to log into the guest account. It is easy to setup and costs $78 or so. I use one at Evenfall and it is very easy to manage. So for $78 you can start sharing worry free.
2) Sharing your Wifi encourages social posting. After all you do to promote your place socially, make it easy for the guests to check-in etc when they are there. Wifi offers better speeds and encourages a quick share session.
3) People who use Wifi will come more frequently. I never used to go to Starbucks, then I heard about the free wifi, now I find myself there about two times a week, sometimes I take my mac book and drink a coffee or two and do some writing, or work for one of my clients, or my own businesses right in Starbucks. Now I may only spend $10-12 bucks a week there but that is just me. I imagine there are plenty of new Starbucks customers who may be more inclined to visit now. Again the ongoing cost is no higher than now… think about it. Check out this video from a Starbucks, full of people on their computers and phones:

4) It is more important than ever to offer free wifi because the mobile carriers are switching their Data plans and they are going limited. So data lovers feel a subconscious nervousness about using heavy data on the road. If your place can be a mental data oasis that they can stop by, spend a few bucks, and use wifi that is great for you. It is also bad for you if the guy down the street does it and you don’t.
5) You can advertise it. In fact make sure you advertise it. Even if you don’t relate there are people out there who will love that they can use their devices at your establishment. So get the word out. Menus, signs, a line in an email, twitter feed, facebook page… let people know. If of all your contacts 20 become more regular customers is that a plus? Yes it is.
6) People stay longer when you offer wifi, and they buy more. Now I am not suggesting this is a panacea for a horribly run business, or a bad idea, but you aren’t reading this blog because you don’t care or have no clue. An remember a nice crowd draws in other business too… so share your wifi.
What are you saying to your guests that open up their phone and see that you in fact have a wifi network, and it is locked so they can’t use it? Its a bad vibe… so do what you have to do to offer a free wifi connection to your guests. The router I mentioned before (Cisco-Valet Plus Wireless Router) is literally plug and play. But if you want to go even cheaper than that, get a wireless router and plug it into your current router and set up an open wifi network on that one for your guests. It really is that easy, and it will pay for itself really really fast.
Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, hit me up here, or @spirocks on twitter. And if you have a desire to give your restaurant a technology makeover that will save you money and bring in more business, ask me what Guestfeed can do for you, here or @spirocks I love to converse.
I am Spirocks on Twitter.