Here is a list of the things that you can tweet as a
restaurant.They’re in no particular
order and it’s by no means exhaustive.It’s just here to give you a place to start.
The Two Big Things to Keep in Mind
The two big things I keep I in mind when Twittering
Twitter is like being at a cocktail party: Engage as you would at a cocktail party. Don’t run around the room yelling “I have a restaurant! I have a restaurant!” You’ll be ignored at best, and asked to leave (unfollowed) at worst.
Let your passion for your business shape your posts.
Don’t talk about how great your service is, talk about how passionate you are about serving.
Don’t talk about how great your ribs are, talk about how careful you are about selecting the finest cuts.
Tweet from the heart – not from the wallet.
1. Today’s Specials
There are two ways to convey this.
You can either be factual:
Today’s Special: Spaghetti and Meatballs 7.99
Or you can tell a 140 character story and show your passion:
Just finished making the sauce for today’s special. Spaghetti + Meatballs $9 Come on by for lunch. 223 Main Street.
2. Food and Beverage Preparation Tips
Show your customers that you’re passionate about food and drink. It doesn’t matter if your location is downtown or in a suburban mall, if you’re in this industry, show your customers how much you care.
Videotape yourself doing simple things like seeding tomatoes, cutting onions, garnishing a plate. Post these to your website and share it with your customers.
You can even just grab the instructions done by someone else – like in this post:
The right way to dice an onion– SAFELY - http://www.chow.com/stories/10134
3. Recognize Your Staff
Your restaurant is only as good as your staff. Celebrate your staff to your customers. It’s like saying “Look how great my restaurant is” without saying “Look how great my restaurant is”.
Consider this post:
Jules is an amazing employee. Even when we get slammed, she’s so cool under pressure. We’re so lucky to have her.
How would that make Jules feel? How about the customers that get served by her tomorrow?
I’m always reminded by a story that my grandfather told me about seeing Elvis in Hawaii and watching him interact with his roadies. “You can always tell how big a person is by how he treats his employees.” Still good advice.
You can also post extraordinary service by your staff
Jon is taking the afternoon off to caddy for four ladies who came in for lunch. I don’t know who’s luckier. Me, the ladies, or Jon.
4. Funny Customer Stories
Depending on the situation, you may want to ask for permission from the “victim” of the story to ensure you don’t offend, like in this fictitious post. (The post is fictitious, but it did happen at my house. Sorry Kiana)
Poor little kid in the restaurant today. Thought the wasabi was guacamole. Wow! Good lungs. – We now have a new warning on the menu.
5. Congratulate Our Customer
Your customers celebrate events all the time in your restaurant. Anniversaries, birthdays, promotions, divorces, engagements. Here are a few ideas.
Mr. & Mrs. Jenson – Thanks for spending your 50th anniversary with us. Simply wonderful to see love last for a lifetime.
J.D. You’re finally free. Time to live your life to the fullest. He never deserved you anyway.
Congrats to Tom Miller on your promotion to the corner office! He’s now running XYZ! www.xyz.com
Go Angels! Congrats on winning the City Championships! I’m declaring Angels Day! Wear an Angels cap and get 50% off dinner.
6. Share Guest Comments
When a guest loves your restaurant, use Twitter to tell the world. Just make sure to put it into the context of the passion you have for your business.
It’s okay for them to say “Mary’s Diner has the best bacon…EVER”. It’s not okay for you to say the same thing (remember, we’re at a cocktail party here).
Instead, post something like this.
@tunagirl So glad you enjoyed the bacon. We get it from a local organic farmer and then drizzle it with maple syrup. How do vegans survive?
7. New Menu Items
When you launch a product, you’ll probably promote it by giving samples away. Let the world know:
New Bailey’s Cheesecake recipe is perfected. Premiere tonight! Come by for a free sample! 223 Main Street.
In spite of the fact that this is very "Look at me", it probably won't raise anyone’s hackles, especially if the rest of your posts are varied.
8. Interesting Ingredients
Being in the restaurant industry, you’ll notice and appreciate products that mere mortals will never even see. Consider this post:
Chilean Baby Back Ribs – SOOOOO much meat. It’s the way they’re cut. Found them at Bob’s Meats. They’re tonight’s special.
9. Promoting Businesses Around You
Some of your posts should be about promoting the businesses around you. Remember, you’re at a cocktail party. It’s completely appropriate to say “There’s a jewelry store across the street having a 50% off sale. I bought 5 pairs of earrings today.” And if it’s okay at a cocktail party, it’s okay on Twitter.
Doing this for your neighbors endears you to both them and the customers that found out about the fantastic sale. That’s always good for business.
Here’s what that post would look like on Twitter
Dazzler’s (across the street) is having a 50% off sale. I bought 5 pairs of earring! Come by for lunch afterward and show me what you got!
Other ideas?
Have other ideas? Success stories? Tell us about them. And be sure to follow both @haloPOS and @bradbrooks
Wow, now that was worth reading! Not that I have alot of followers, but I'll definitely re-tweet and after reading this, I'll probably start tweeting more (like at a cocktail party - great analogy)
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