Social Networking and Your Restaurant

You probably use social networking in your personal life. Most people today do. Perhaps you Tweet about the things that you are doing with your friends or family or about the latest movie you saw or book you read. People love Facebook too, and it can be a great way to keep in touch with people you know and even to meet new people. Of course, social networks are also a great way to promote your business. If you want to get more people into your restaurant, get onto all of the social networks that you can.

Set up special pages on Twitter and Facebook specifically for your restaurant. While you want to let people know about all of the great things that your restaurant serves, you don’t want to inundate them only with promotional posts. Make your restaurant’s social network a fun place. Give people some insight into the neighborhood where your restaurant is located. Maybe post some information or links about things people can do in the area after they’ve dined at your place. Of course, you will also want to make sure that you add information for any discounts or specials that you are currently offering – just don’t overwhelm people.

You have many other avenues that you can explore beyond mere social networks. Consider adding specials to sites such as Groupon. The site features offers tailored to your city. You can sign up at the site and set up a special for customers in your area. It’s free for businesses – they only take money from the Groupons they sell. It is a great way to drive hundreds of new customers toward your restaurant. Check them out and see how they can help you. It is a revolutionary way of advertising that is cost effective.

Another promotion that you can do for your restaurant involves Foursquare. It is a relatively new site that gives merchants the opportunity to offer specials through mobile devices. You can offer 20 percent off a meal, a free drink coupon, and anything else that you think might entice more customers to come into your restaurant. You will be able to tailor the specials to fit your own needs, whether you want to reward a new customer for trying out your eatery, or you want to reward your loyal customers who have been into your place five or ten times.

Keep looking for new and innovative ways of promoting without breaking the bank. There are plenty out there.