What is a good website to learn about social media for restaurant owners?

[JWill1905]

I am a restaurant owner in need of help learning about social media. I have a Facebook account but do not have many "likes". How do I get people to like my Facebook? And also how does twitter work? Do I need an account on there as well?

[BigJohnG]

Hey JWill,
I have found these guys to be out front of all that's new and helpful in Social Media Marketing since I first started reading their blog a few months ago.

[Kaitie]

Let your customers know you have a Facebook! Most people don't assume their favorite restaurants have Facebook pages and don't realize the value of "liking" it. Make sure you've created a separate page for your restaurant.

If you have a board for daily specials or happy hours go ahead and add a reminder on it to 'like' your Facebook page. Another step you can take is to offer deals if your customers like your page, giving away an appetizer now and getting a 'like' will pay off. Every time you update your status this new "like" will see your restaurant and it reminds them to go back. If you're posting a great deal they didn't know about then they are more likely to act sooner.

You can also run Facebook advertising, particularly recommended likes, this promotes your page to the friends of the people who already like the page. A person is more likely to 'like' something that their friend does.

Be sure to post your deals, events, and happy hours on it, I'd check out http://www.whywaittheapp.com/socialbites, we have a lot of info about how restaurants can market themselves on social media.

As far as Twitter goes, you'll need to get a separate account there. You can get a lot of the basics on Socialbites blog. You can tweet up to 140 characters in your tweets, for a restaurant tweeting deals, menu changes, events and pictures would be a good place to start. You have to get followers there to, so be sure to promote your twitter account to your customers too. You can run deals on Twitter and get your followers to retweet your message to their followers. Be sure to follow customers too, and other people in your community. Respond to a customers tweet when they mention you!

Social media helps build a relationship with your customers! It's engagement and a great way to market.