Why Join the Social Media Bandwagon- Food Trends 2011?

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With the advent of social media and the advancement of technology, the Internet gave the food industry another evolutionary spurt. The World Wide Web has become a very important tool for restaurants and chefs to generate more revenues as they reach more customers in a shorter span of time. The social media trend, according to what I have observed in the Internet, is said to continue and even increase in the coming year, 2011.

The social media trend may already have started, but it is never too late to join the social media bandwagon.

Internet, Social Media, and the Restaurants

The World Wide Web has made things very easy for the food industry. Chefs can simply order their food products online and have them shipped to their restaurants. Financial transactions between restaurants and suppliers can also be done online through online banking. Chefs are also given an avenue where they can introduce themselves and market their services. Costumers, on the other hand, can simply utilize the Web to look for information about their favorite restaurants or celebrity chefs. But one great thing that the Internet brought to the food industry is the social media.

Here are some of the advantages of using social media and social networking sites for your restaurants:

It can create brand awareness and increase your online presence at a very low cost.
It can be used as some sort of a “survey” before introducing a new dish or meal to your customers. This way, you get to save some money.
It can be an avenue where you can communicate directly with your diners and “fans” and where they can also provide feedback for your services. Through feedbacks, you can improve your services.
It can be used to advertise your restaurant freebies like discounts, free meals, or contests.
It can make restaurants and its chefs closer to the people who should matter – their customers – and built relationships and connections.

Social media build trust and credibility.

Of course, if there are advantages, there are also disadvantages to using them:

It takes away anonymity and opens you up for unwarranted personal attacks. People you do not know can stalk, harass, and even scam you.
You have to regularly write relevant contents that your viewers will be interested in, so if you are a busy chef, writing articles could become a bit of a problem.
You will need to devote time and energy to make it work for you, so, again, if you are very busy, you should think twice about joining the social media bandwagon. Social media entails interacting with your audience, so you really have to devote time for it.
You have to constantly think of creative ways to engage your target audience as well as check out your competition to stay ahead of them.
Damage control can be quite difficult if you are using social media as your bloopers can reach more people in a shorter span of time.

Social media is time consuming and labor intensive.

These are just some of the advantages and disadvantages of social media and using social networking sites, so if you are interested in it, be sure to weigh the pros and cons first before taking on the responsibility it requires.

Common Social Media Applications and Social Networking Sites and Their Uses

Many chefs have learned the trick of using social media. Now, if you are just starting out on it, then here are some of the common social media applications and social networking sites and how you can use it for your personal gains:

Join local business guides such as TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com where your customers can easily search and review your restaurant. You should also check out Urbanspoon.com
Get a Twitter account. This allows you to post short updates about your restaurant, services, and even personal life. This also allows you to interact with your audience.
Start a blog or a personal website. Blogs and personal websites give you an avenue to show your customers the behind-the-scenes activities of your kitchen. You can also post relevant articles related to your profession here, giving you a way to engage your audience and keep their attention.
Start an e-newsletter. This is a great way to tell your customers about the latest happenings in your kitchen like new dishes and new recipes, and this can be sent to their email addresses. This is also a great way to build connections and partnerships.
Get a Youtube account. You can post videos of you cooking special recipes here and then upload the video unto your blog or personal website.
Get a Flickr account. You can use this to share photos of the latest events in your kitchen.
Get a Facebook and MySpace accounts. What better way to truly interact with your audience than by creating accounts at these social networking sites. Not only can you interact better with a larger audience, but this also allows them to interact with each other.
Get into mobile marketing and join couponing websites. These are also great way to bring the latest coupons, special offers, and news to your customers through their phones via SMS messages or via the couponing websites.
Use Google Alerts. If you want to know what your customers say in relation to your restaurant or you, as a chef, then be sure to take advantage of Google Alerts. This way, you can easily address any issues, be it good or bad.
Kiosk ordering systems. To make ordering very easy for your customers, be sure to get into the kiosk ordering system trend. This new technology will allow your customers to order their food via a touch screen directly connected to your kitchen. This way, there are no long lines of customers waiting of their orders to be taken. Plus, they can also customize their orders.
Restaurant iPads. Much like the kiosk ordering system, your customers can also order their foods via the iPad restaurant menu.
Tableside payment system. If your customers can order food at their tables, surely they can also pay at their table. This is exactly what many restaurants are now doing, so be sure to take advantage of the latest technologies, too.

These are just some of the things that many restaurants and chefs are now doing and what you should be doing, too, if you want to stay ahead of your competition. Not only does it get the word out there about your restaurant and your services, but it also brings you and your audience closer.

Through social media and social media apps, revenues greatly increased. Because this is the new trend right now, one that will continue well into the year 2011, you will do very well to start right now. Remember, new technologies and new formats will always be invented, so it is wiser that you understand them now and reap the benefits than start late and be confused about the latest technologies.

Image Credit: relationship-economy.com

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Currently 6 comments - But what do you think?

Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Filed under FnB Bits n’ Pieces, FnB Buzz · Tagged with Chefs, food trends, foods, Restaurants, social media bandwagon, social media trend

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Comments

6 Responses to “Why Join the Social Media Bandwagon- Food Trends 2011?”

Anna Johnston says:

January 19, 2011 at 4:15 pm

Social media is incredible for connecting with peers in the industry too, especially good to reach out to a pal somewhere in the world chances are you can solve the recipe delema or find new staff in a snap. The only addition to this awesome ‘great advice’ is if your just starting out in social media, find one platform (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs etc) that you like & do it really well before opening up lots of accounts right across the internet & then never tending them.

[Reply]
Chef Matthew J.G Reply:
January 19th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Hello Anna,

You have a great point regarding the opening of too many accounts in the various social media platforms..

Matthew

[Reply]