Take the first steps to proactively building your online reputation.
The Internet is here to stay and Social Media is an enormously effective marketing tool for the restaurant community.
Understanding the role of the Internet. Every day more and more people turn to the Internet to research and choose the next restaurant they will visit. We are all LinkedIn, Checked-In, Tweeted, and, in general, connected by our computers, phones and other media devices. Sites like City Search, UrbanSpoon, Zagat, etc. allow your potential customers to search by location, cuisine, and price and encourage them "rate" and/or post comments and feedback on their experience, sometimes even with photographs. Gone are the days of lugging around the Zagat-Rated book or the AAA restaurant guide to benefit from the reviews and ratings of professional restaurant critics.
Today the Internet allows everyone to be a critic ~ we can all rate restaurants, often while waiting for our check or credit card receipt. Unfortunately, for the average restaurant owner, this can be a double-edged sword and requires a great deal of time and effort to manage the reputation of your establishment. This is a necessary but sometimes difficult process. Here are a few steps to follow to simplify the process of building and managing your online reputation:
Be Proactive - list your restaurant with as many local, regional and national social access sites as possible, for instance CitySearch, Zagat, Yelp, ChowHound, etc. This way, you can control the description of your restaurant, atmosphere, cuisine and pricing, and promote specials or special events. This very basic step will begin to drive business to your restaurant, and you can place a decal at your entry alerting your guests that your restaurant is listed. Now, use these resources to your advantage in building your reputation by following three simple steps:
The Internet is here to stay and Social Media is an enormously effective marketing tool for the restaurant community.
Understanding the role of the Internet. Every day more and more people turn to the Internet to research and choose the next restaurant they will visit. We are all LinkedIn, Checked-In, Tweeted, and, in general, connected by our computers, phones and other media devices. Sites like City Search, UrbanSpoon, Zagat, etc. allow your potential customers to search by location, cuisine, and price and encourage them "rate" and/or post comments and feedback on their experience, sometimes even with photographs. Gone are the days of lugging around the Zagat-Rated book or the AAA restaurant guide to benefit from the reviews and ratings of professional restaurant critics.
Today the Internet allows everyone to be a critic ~ we can all rate restaurants, often while waiting for our check or credit card receipt. Unfortunately, for the average restaurant owner, this can be a double-edged sword and requires a great deal of time and effort to manage the reputation of your establishment. This is a necessary but sometimes difficult process. Here are a few steps to follow to simplify the process of building and managing your online reputation:
Be Proactive - list your restaurant with as many local, regional and national social access sites as possible, for instance CitySearch, Zagat, Yelp, ChowHound, etc. This way, you can control the description of your restaurant, atmosphere, cuisine and pricing, and promote specials or special events. This very basic step will begin to drive business to your restaurant, and you can place a decal at your entry alerting your guests that your restaurant is listed. Now, use these resources to your advantage in building your reputation by following three simple steps:
- Encourage Online Reviews - ask people to review your restaurant online
- Let your customers know where to go to leave a review - start with the social access sites you are a member of - you can promote this on your menu, receipts, table tents, etc.
- Provide incentives for favorable reviews - ask them to bring a copy of their review (or show it on a smart phone) on their next visit and reward them with a discount, free drink, or appetizer.
Use Social Media - if you have been resisting social media or you simply don't see the value - it's time to reconsider! Nearly everyone is using some form of social media these days and the process of "checking in" and/or "tweeting" your location, who you are with and what you are eating is becoming more and more common. I recommend you start small and master one form of social media. Start with Facebook or or something similar. Again, follow these three easy steps:
- Set up a Facebook Local Business Page (this will be an adjunct to your personal page with you as administrator ~ you can later appoint additional administrators) and start building your community by sharing the page with your friends and ask them to "Like" your business page and then share with their friends so their friends will "Like" your business page too.
- Post something at least once daily so you will remain active in everyone's Newsfeed and invite them to "Like" each post. You can post your daily appetizer or dinner special (include a photo), or promote a special event, live music, poetry readings, etc. Offer a Facebook friends discount that can be printed or displayed on a smart phone.
- Offer discounts, freebies & special treatment just for checking in - or be mysterious and check-in once nightly yourself to see who is "checked in" and randomly select one of your guests to receive a one-time discount off their tab or a free dessert - be creative!
Monitor your reputation online - now that you have taken the first steps to building your online reputation you must manage that reputation. Just like maintaining a clean restaurant, great menu and polite staff, you must monitor and manage your online reputation.
Perhaps you are now thinking... "Why would I bother with all this social media stuff?" Well, the truth is, whether you control your presence on social media or not, it may control you in ways you don't want! So... get started, create your online reputation and manage it just like you do your restaurant.
But...now you are thinking... this is too much to handle - there are so many sites to review and manage that I will spend all my time managing the restaurant's online reputation when I should be focused on food and people!
RestaurantReviewsOnline.com has the solution! While you are focusing on what you do best and operating your restaurant, we are monitoring the popular review sites for you! We will alert you within 24 hours when reviews or comments are posted about your business. You can then quickly take action to build, protect and enhance your online reputation by timely managing and responding to the comments. Click here for more information.
What are the benefits and/or challenges you have experienced from social access sites and social media exposure?
