Using Twitter to send out the right message
One of the most cost-effective ways to reach a wider audience is to expand your presence and business personality using social media. Mike Garner explains how to make sure you're sending out the right message
Be real You must be a person on Twitter not a faceless organisation. You can use your restaurant's name, but your bio should make it clear that you are a person, the chef or the maître d'. You can also customise your background with pictures of the restaurant, or better still, the kitchen.
Followers on the other side of the world are no good to you Concentrate on local business. They are your natural customers, the ones you want to come in on a wet Tuesday evening in November when business is slow.
Emulate, don't imitate Take a look at major restaurant brands and see what they are doing. Some use Twitter to promote products and special offers as well as handle customer service issues.
Tell people about what's happening in your restaurant Is the waiter doing a fun run for charity? Are you repainting the outside? Did something interesting happen last night? Tweeting about the daily life of the restaurant gives followers an insight into what happens behind the scenes and will make them feel more involved. Don't be afraid to post pictures either.
Give the odd recipe away Let's face it; we're not talking about the secret of Coca Cola here. If your customers really like your crème brûlée or your rack of lamb, tell them how they can do it themselves at home.
Promote your daily specials Twitter is the new sandwich board that sits outside your restaurant, except customers don't have to be walking past any more to see it. Your specials are a way of reminding them that you are there for that lunchtime bite, or for the evening when the cupboards at home are bare.
Monitor what people are saying about you One of the easiest things to improve on Twitter is customer service. With proper monitoring tools you can minimise the effect of any bad blood that may have been caused by a moody waiter or a dodgy piece of chicken. You can also use it as a force for good by retweeting all the positive things people say about you.
And the things you shouldn't do
â- Don't send too many tweets: It looks like spam, even if you are engaging and interesting. There's no real hard and fast rule as to how much is too much, but if you're spending more time tweeting than running your business, you probably need to cut back.
Taken from www.reallygoodwriting.co.uk
five ways to get the most out of voucher code websites
- When designing your printable voucher always make sure you're ink aware. Feedback tells us that the public won't print out vouchers that have dark backgrounds as they require too much printer ink - it's expensive.
2. Do the sums and really understand what your cost margins are before you go ahead and offer a voucher. This will help you create a really compelling offer that will bring in custom and is still profitable for your business.
3. If it's redemptions that you are looking for, it's really important that the voucher you offer is simple and generic. Overly complicated offers with stacks of fussy terms and conditions can really affect the redemption rate you experience.
4. Consider capturing selected data from customers when you offer a voucher, this will allow you to build a customer database. Having a current database will open up opportunities to re-market to and profile your customers.
5. Work out and identify seasons and times of the year that your business may need additional help to get diners or customers through the door. Understanding this will enable you to be tactical with the vouchers you offer, adapting what you offer to the needs to the business seasonally.
Max Jennings, co-founder and marketing director, VoucherCodes.co.uk
