The Secret Ingredient in Your Restaurant's Social Efforts

Getting others to sing your praises is the epitome of memorable marketing. How do you get customers speaking about your restaurant with passion, and how do you celebrate and spread those words? Within your social media strategy you'll want to incorporate testimonials in consistent and creative ways. The third person/customers voice reigns supreme. Eyes are attracted to quotes, put them in!

Stop selling and start sharing. If you want people to talk about you, give them something that creates more meaning in their lives and they will in turn spread the word and come back to visit. Give away a favorite recipe, dinner for two with two movie tickets, etc.

Ask the questions. "What did you enjoy about dining with us tonight?" If you loved what they say, ask them if you can spread the quote and buy the table a round. I promise you they will tell their friends you did that!

Give people the story to share. We all want another good story to share! What makes your spot different and spectacular? Is it organic, fusion, mexican, comfort, use that and add a new element of appeal at the tables. "The chef wants to bring our diners back in time, tonight we're recreating her grandmothers Cordon Blue, and she wants to know your thoughts." Be sure you explain in terms of "you" what you do for them, not just mentioning how awesome your food is. See features vs benefits. 

Video offers hyper Value. We've all searched Google with a hankering for pizza, thai, or a new sandwich joint... "A website with video is 53 times more likely to show up on Google's first page than one without video." -Forrester Research. Video is a powerful driver of testimonials, becoming one of the most trusted ways to bring emotion to opinions. You can go pro-production or use your smart phone to film folks in the restaurant asking what they think of your new appetizer or evening special. You can use video to highlight a new item on the menu, to give a recipe of one of your drinks, or how the restaurant came to be, and why Friday nights are bomb. 


Go get 'em!


What are you doing to bring testimonials to potential clientele?