Facebook has enhanced its mobile app to give the viewer a better experience. Facebook’s remodeled mobile app:

• Embraces a plainer aesthetic;
• Emphasizes location and photos;
• Makes it easier for users to connect with Facebook Pages;
• Places your Page’s pinned posts at the top; and
• Lets Page owners view their pages in public or admin views.

So what does this mean for social media marketers?

1. If you’re running a B2C Page, such as a restaurant or bar, and your Facebook Page isn’t full of videos and photos, now’s your chance to step up your game. The new Facebook format heavily depends on visual content by making pictures bigger and more prominent on the News Feed – what Facebook calls a “…visual, rich and engaging” user experience. This can be a plus for restaurants and bars, since people have an undying love for photos of food and cocktails. Remember to keep the text to a minimum, or forgo it entirely, and push those images.

1. The way Page Likes appear on the News Feed has changed, again with an emphasis on visual content. Now when a user likes a Page that Page Like will show with the Page’s profile picture and cover photo. You should be consistent with updating your Page, especially your profile and cover photos – if you make an effort to constantly update your visual content, then your Page is more likely to be shared more often.

1. Connecting with your Fans has never been more important. Facebook users can now choose what appears on their News Feed, and can completely opt out of viewing anything shared by your business. You must continue to generate exciting content that makes users and Fans visit your Page. Engage your viewer by posting photos of your company’s promotions, rewards programs, coupons and contests.

1. In addition to a new emphasis on photos, Facebook also emphasizes location check-ins, and not just with text. Now when a user checks in to a business, a map and description of the business appear on the News Feed. Users will begin to see more of the restaurants and bars that their friends visit.

Facebook has finally discovered the importance of visual content, and this discovery has entirely affected the way the company has remodeled its mobile app. Facebook continues to evolve and as it does, social media marketers must make it part of their job to keep up. Know the best methods to engage and connect with your Fans and soon-to-be-Fans is key!

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Source: What Facebook’s New Layout means for Social Media Marketers
Developing your mobile business is a must have these days! For a Free Social Media Assessment contact Dave Dronkers at ddronk@gmail.com or call (949) 254-5084.

What happened at Applebee’s:

In January, an Applebee’s patron left a note on her credit card receipt, criticizing the restaurant’s policy on tips. A server posted a portion of the receipt on Reddit.com, and was then fired for violating company policy on publicizing company data.

How to make sure it doesn’t happen to you:

An across-the-board social media program should be part of employee training. Be certain that your social media policies aren’t too broad – you should be specific about what they should and shouldn’t post online. You need to teach your employees how to be respectful of social media, as it can be a prized business tool.

According to Jeanne Meister, an expert on the future workplace and a contributor to Forbes, “It is much more effective to offer social media training programs that encourage employers to use new technology for team-building and for collaborating across geographies, while making clear what the appropriate limits are to that use.”

She also recommends the “5 Rs of social media” for both employees and companies:

1. Reason: Be reasonable – use the same politeness online as offline.
2. Represent yourself: Always try to identify yourself on your social networking profiles. Anonymous profiles can garner negative attention.
3. Responsibility: Don’t share inaccurate or untrue statements about your company, so as not to get in trouble by infringing upon company policies or guidelines.
4. Respect: Only post things online that you wouldn’t mind saying in person or at the office.
5. Restraint: Everything you share online is part of your personal online branding, so take a moment to reread what you write before you press send. Do you want that thought forever linked to your name?

As the role of social media morphs into something that is a larger part of the everyday business model, new company rules must also morph to the new technology. Follow the above strategies if you are looking to create a social media policy for your company.

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Source: To Do: Update Company’s Social Media Policy ASAP

Developing your mobile business is a must have these days! For a Free Social Media Assessment contact Dave Dronkers at ddronk@gmail.com or call (949) 254-5084.

Pinterest can significantly help independent liquor stores increase their audience reach. Marketview Liquor, a family owned and operated wine and spirit store in Rochester, NY, has used Pinterest to its advantage. The store began as a part-time venture, but steadily grew as the Palmeri family increased their advertising efforts.

Marketview Liquor’s Pinterest account has multiple boards about wine, spirits, promotions, and even YouTube videos. This liquor store has proved that Pinterest’s visual angle can be more attractive to patrons than written content. Here are some great ways to start with Pinterest:

• Specialty Boards: Create a board with photos of the specialty spirits or wines that your store carries. Invite your patrons to also share photos of their favorite specialty alcohols, and re-pin them to your board. Marketview Liquor has a few specialty boards, such as “Best Wine Under $20” and “Share a Glass”, a board for the store’s followers to, “Share wine and food related loves here! Sharing is caring.”

• Recipes: Pin recipes of favorite cocktails to your board – include both an outline of the recipe and a photo of a finished cocktail.

• Food + Wine Pairings: Wine drinkers love knowing what wine goes best with their food. Offer a few photos of certain dishes, and which of your wines works well with them.

• Wine Tastings: If you deal with wine a lot and have wine tastings, then create a wine tasting board and pin photos of your tastings.

• Promotions: Promotions are always a great way to appeal to your followers and patrons. Marketview Liquor, for example, encouraged its followers to join its sweepstakes for a chance to win a free case of the store’s “12 Wines of the New Year.”

• Videos: You can also pin YouTube videos to your Pinterest board. Marketview Liquor has pinned videos from their YouTube Channel on wine tips, trends and something they call, “Guess that Grape”.

It’s never too late to expand your company’s social networking activity. Pinterest is a great way to start – just make sure you engage with the site on a regular basis to keep your followers satisfied!

If your retail business wants to develop social media strategies visually, Contact Dronkers Solutions at ddronk@gmail.com or visit www.bevexcel.com.

In addition to capturing the ambience of your restaurant, Instagram can also be great for promotions. Many brands are using the photo-sharing network to market campaigns, which encourage customers to take Instagram photos at their restaurants and share them on Facebook and Twitter. Last year, Dunkin’ Donuts used Instagram to promote its “UpgraDDe Your Sandwich” contest. Users were asked to take Instagram or Twitter pictures of homemade lunches that were in dire need of upgrading, with the hashtag “#upgraDDe”. Those with the most dismal lunches won Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards.

Here are a few tips if you’re an Instagram newbie:

• Tell a Story: Use photos to tell your restaurant’s story. Create a complete picture by including pictures of both guests and staff.

• Reveal: Uncover the behind-the-scenes action. Show your chefs cooking, food preparation or event preparation.

• Engage & Listen: The first rule of social media is to be engaging. Interact and listen to your followers – look and comment on their photos. You want your fans to know that you’re sincerely interested in them.

• Hashtags: Hashtags make your posts searchable, which is key. Just be sure that your hashtags are relevant to your posts.

• Filters: Instagram’s original premise was applying funky filters to photographs to give them a vintage feel, so be sure to play with the filters. It will bring diversity to the visual appeal of your posts, which is a good thing.

• Liking & Tagging: Just like on Facebook and Twitter, you can “Like” and tag your posts on Instagram. If your followers post photos from your restaurant, encourage them to tag the photo. Engage with your followers by liking their posts, which will help develop a relationship with your followers.

• Contests & Promotions: Use Instagram to your benefit by creating promotional contests for your followers. Through contests, followers connect with your brand on a more regular basis.

• Authenticity: Always employ content that is original and authentic – something that will show your followers that your brand is well rounded and full of life.

Instagram is vastly different from other social media platforms, and allows for a lot more creativity. Don’t be afraid to have fun with it!

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Source: Study Reveals Instagram Best Practices for Restaurants

We can help developing an Instagram Channel for you. Contact Dave Dronkers at ddronk@gmail.com or visit www.bevexcel.com

According to MobileMe, 94% of all text messages are opened and read, whereas only 25% of email messages are opened. Texts, unlike emails, have the ability to go viral; and viral marketing can vastly increase brand awareness through Internet and mobile networks.

In 2012, Texas Roadhouse partnered with the mobile marketing and technology leader Vibes, to create two flourishing pilot mobile campaigns – TextUs Loyalty Club and Veterans Day Passbook. The two promotions allowed their restaurants to engage and connect with guests on both local and national stages.

The TestUs Loyalty Club is focused at the local level, announcing the club in-restaurant so that diners would know how to opt-in. Through the club, the restaurant sent out local promotions while still being able to concentrate on the national brand. The club’s first promotion was a free appetizer offer. Diners were given the additional choice to visit the restaurant’s website to sign up for birthday and anniversary promotions. Texas Roadhouse also marketed the TestUs Loyalty Club through email and Facebook.

The TextUs Loyalty Club reached a 45% net growth rate in its first six months; 4% of promotional sales came from the restaurant’s mobile campaigns.

Texas Roadhouse also launched the Veterans Day Passbook which offered a free lunch to veterans and active military. The restaurant sent reminders to those who had subscribed to the pass in the promotion’s pilot locations. Moreover, the restaurant showed its support and appreciation for the men and women who have served our country through this truly inventive and creative mobile campaign.

The Veterans Day Passbook achieved a 37% installation rate – 32% of subscribers clicked to redeem the offer, while 84% visited the restaurant due to the offer.

Texas Roadhouse’s endeavors into mobile campaigns have allowed the brand to reach the ninth spot in National Restaurant News’ Social Top 10. Take your cue from Texas Roadhouse and transform your marketing through mobile text campaigns!

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Dave Dronkers will be presenting on Expectations of Connected Consumers and Reaching Millenials with Marketing and Promotions at the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show on March 19-21. Make sure to check out his session by clicking HERE.

Source:  How Effective is a Powerful Mobile Text Marketing Campaign?

Developing your mobile business is a must have these days! For a Free Social Media Assessment contact Dave Dronkers at www.bevexcel.com or call (949) 254-5084.

We have seen digital engagement evolve from being a novelty practice to a suggested one to most recently a necessary component of any marketing campaign. At the same time, the American economy has undergone shifts that place constraints upon budgets and resources. It is therefore quite shrewd to consider substituting one or two platforms for others, and we do recommend that smaller businesses limit themselves to maintaining presences on Facebook, Twitter, and their official web domains. However we would also ask you to think in terms of augmentation rather than complete elimination as each social media platform serves its own purpose and will benefit your business in important ways.

Facebook, Twitter, and websites comprise the three non-negotiable aspects of digital engagement because, excepting YouTube which is a more complicated subject for another article, they are the most widely used modalities for social communication on the Internet.

• Facebook and Twitter differ in that Facebook can be likened to a digital hangout spot where fans gather to discuss brands and share pictures.
• Twitter is more of an alert messaging service for brand-to-fan communication. More utilitarian than Facebook, it does share some of the same frills like photo sharing capacities, but serves more to facilitate direct communication than it does to promote prolonged mental lounging.

Both offer tremendous marketing potential and have become standard aspects of all bars and nightclubs. Any establishment lacking profiles on either of these networks is depriving itself of access to more business and marketing, while risking the appearance of appearing out of the loop with mainstream culture and disinterested in the thoughts and opinions of its customers.

Given the powerful presence of Facebook and Twitter, a bar or nightclub owner might be tempted to replace its website entirely with structured engagement on these social media networks, but this is not a strategy that we would endorse. Here is why:

1. Each business needs its digital space free of outside influence and wholly owned by the establishment. Replacing a website with a Facebook or Twitter account would strip an establishment of such an outlet.
2. Your corporate Facebook and Twitter accounts should guide visitors to your official website where they may find more in-depth details on your business’s various promotions, products, hours, and specials.
3. Facebook and Twitter are too constricting in layout to allow any business to fully display all of this information in a clear manner.
4. Facebook and Twitter are free to create and maintain, and give businesses tremendous amounts of exposure that they would not receive otherwise.
5. Planned strategic engagement may come at additional time and financial costs, but even these investments are vastly outweighed by the benefits you stand to gain from maintaining accounts on both profiles.

Nix any temptations you may have of “cleaning up” your web presence outside of these accounts or of substituting either for your establishment’s official website. All three will help your business to cultivate and maintain a digital voice of its own and better stand out from its competitors.

Contact Dronkers Solutions (ddronk@gmail.com) for a free social media assessment.  We will determine your current situation and make recommendations for improvement.

According to Sarah Monnette, Director of Consumer Research for the food industry consulting firm Technomic, “Millennials cover a broad range of life stages, from college years, to early career, to starting a family. They are not one homogeneous group with constant needs, so it is imperative that restaurants stay on top of their changing needs and expectations, particularly in the areas of health and wellness; ability to customize their order; and atmosphere.”

Though Millennials have yet to reach their maximum spending power, they still want more choices; expect services instantly; hate to be delayed; do not like to wait in line; do not like unproductive processes; and will post on Facebook, Twitter or Yelp about a bad experience.

In order to effectively market to this diverse, educated and demanding group of consumers, restaurateurs and bar owners must take a marketing approach that includes social media, and must look at best practices from successful operators.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the top 10 restaurants with the best social media marketing practices are Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Hooter’s, The Cheesecake Factory, Hard Rock Café, Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse.

Why do Millennials love these brands?

• Social Responsibility: These brands act in a way that is good for the environment and treat their employees well.
• Food Quality: For Millennials, food quality goes beyond taste and visual appeal. These brands also incorporate elements, such as grass-fed and free-range, into their quality perception.
• Supports Local Community Activities: These brands make charitable contributions and support community organizations. They also facilitate community activities, where young people can come together and socialize.

Applebee’s caters to the Millennials desire to mix and mingle. They offer karaoke events, Ladies’ Nights and ‘Game Time’ at different parts of the day and evening.  On Twitter, Applebee’s tweets about its 550 Calorie Menu which resonates with Millennials, a generation who likes to hit the gym and watch what they eat, but also loves going out.

Millennials also expect the speed, convenience, flexibility and power provided by digital services.  Here are three keys you need to consider when it comes to communicating digitally:

1. Social Media Voice: Create and implement an authentic voice that resonates
2. Visual Marketing: Pictures and videos that demonstrate product, services, people and customers.
3. Online Reviews: Millennials find review comments more trustworthy and genuine and are inclined to share positive and negative reviews via social media channels.

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Sources for article
Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog

Contact Dronkers Solutions for a Free Social Media Assessment
Visit bevexcel.com or call (949) 254-5084.

1. Increase Social Media Spend.  In 2013, restaurant marketers will increase the use of social media and related content marketing at the expense of traditional advertising to keep and attract new guests.
2. Focus On Fewer Channels. Focus on attracting higher-quality followers and connections rather than on sheer numbers. Sharing only relevant content to each target group will be more important than ever.
3. Visual Marketing.  Understand what it takes to do visual marketing well, whether within your current community or new networks like Pinterest, Instagram and others.
4. Facebook Offers Better Tools For Business.  We’ll see new ways Facebook is used for hyper local commerce. For example, a restaurant will allow guests to log in and pay through their Facebook account.
5. Content Marketing is The New Social Media Marketing.  You’ll see more and more restaurant brands using Instagram and Pinterest to produce and share beautiful photos.
6. Google+ Will Take Control of Local Social. Google+ has become more business-friendly. This is a huge boon for restaurants enabling them to talk about their storefront in a meaningful way, directly linked to search.
7. Mobile Apps Will Still Under-Deliver on Promise. Social Apps Become Social Utilities. Next year, we will see less focus on creating fun apps like contests and polls and more focus on utility applications that actually improve the purchase process for the consumer. For example, a national theater chain created a social app that allows customers to purchase tickets and also share trailers with friends as they search for movie times.
8. Email is Not Dead. Studies have shown time and time again that if you want an engaged audience and buyers, they are most likely going to come from your email list. You must keep encouraging people to sign up.
9. Peer Reviews will be Integrated into Operations.  Social review sites, including Google Places, Trip Advisor and Yelp, will be integrated more deeply into operations to improve customer service, facilities and product.
10. Social Co-Branding Will Accelerate Reach and Engagement.  More restaurants will move to co-branded social promotions to leverage additional fan bases (example: American Express, Virgin Airlines, Make a Wish).

Still not sure what changes you need to make in 2013 to fully capitalize on these social media marketing trends?  Contact Dronkers Solutions (ddronk@gmail.com) for a free social media assessment.  We will determine your current situation and make recommendations for improvement.

Source:  21 Social Media Predictions for 2013

Whether you delegate postings or do it yourself, quality and timely content will increase fan followers and drive traffic to your website and ultimately increase sales and profits.

Paul Slack from Splash Media (www.splashmedia.com) says your goal should be to, “turn strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into evangelists.”   If you want to fulfill such a goal, then you have to provide timely and engaging content on your social media channels.

Here are a few simple guidelines to help do just that:

Use a Posting Calendar
By using a simple calendar it will help you plan what day, what time and what topic to post.  You can choose to plan 1 to 2 weeks out or more.  Contact us and we’ll share this template.

Multiple Posts the Same Day
The days of posting on Facebook 3-4 times per week is now a myth.   Go ahead and increase the number of times a day you post to ensure your content is seen.  However proceed with caution.  If your posts are not valued or engaging, there is a real danger of fans disliking you.

Don’t Double Post
While there may be times you can use the same exact wording across on Facebook and Twitter, this should be rare. Twitter and Facebook are all unique and are used in different ways.

Use Action Verbs
Fans are more willing to comment when asked a question, especially if the question begins with where, when, would and should.  ”Avoid asking ‘why’ questions.

Content, Content, Content!
To determine content topics, look to relevant company information such as current menu, new products or services and special offers.  Think about the questions that your customers ask most often.  Contact us for a list of content topic categories and ideas.

Marketing your business with quality and engaging social media content requires planning and topic brainstorming.   Taking the time to make your content engaging, interesting, and relevant will pay off in the long run.

For a complimentary posting calendar template and topic content ideas, contact Dave Dronkers at ddronk@gmail.com or 949.254.5084.  

You probably want to know whether or not you should begin using this new social media channel called Pinterest?  It’s too early to tell but one thing is for certain, its popularity has grown faster than almost any other social media site in history.

Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing standalone websites.  Pinterest had 17.8 million visitors in February, up from 11.7 million in January, according to market research firm comScore.  It is especially popular with women (84 %), but male interest is growing.

The average time a visitor spends on Pinterest is more than an hour and a half a month. That’s a lot of time spent and speaks volumes to the interest the site creates!

Unlike other new social media sites, the early adopters aren’t techie types, but rather “middle America”. So, chances are that your target audience for restaurants and bars are the people on Pinterest.

Some of our clients have already found that they get more referral traffic from Pinterest than from Facebook which is very impressive considering the volume that Facebook generates.

It’s important to understand the implications Pinterest may have on your business and how you can use it to your advantage to increase customer traffic and sales.

Pinterest in Simple Terms

• It’s a social network that operates like a virtual pin board for users to upload, sort, save and manage photos, videos and other content on pages known as “pinboards”.
• Users add content by “pinning it” to a board using a “Pin It” button.
• A pin is any image, video or other content that is added to a board.

How is Pinterest best used by restaurants and bars?

• Post pictures of food and drink specials or even the entire menu.  Customers can visualize the drinking and eating experience they’re in for and then leave feedback after the visit.
• Pinterest allows you to engage with customers. This helps to put a personality behind your brand, resulting in a more satisfying customer experience.
• You can view everyone else’s pins by simply browsing the site. There are no private pins or boards….a great way to keep a close eye on competitors who also pin.
• You can “follow” individuals, groups or topics, which will populate your Pinterest homepage with content.

Suggested marketing strategies for Pinterest

• Website:  Add Pinterest link
• Facebook:  Add Pinterest App (link)
• Twitter:  If you have a Twitter account, tweet your Pins
• Pin a new picture each day of your daily food, specialty drinks, wines or beers
• Pin recipes of your food or drink menu items instead of just the photo
• Pin a printable coupon
• Highlight specials for the day

Legal considerations

Since pins are essentially copying content (like a photo) from one source and displaying it in another, many consider this to be a copyright infringement since the original owner never gave anyone permission to copy their content and use it elsewhere. Pinterest’s own terms of service make it clear that the user is completely responsible for any copyright issues that may arise. It is important that each company review and understand the Pinterest terms of service.

Next Steps

Whether you use internal or external marketing resources, we encourage to review your current marketing plan (and legalities) and determine the right fit for Pinterest.  Make sure that Pinterest complements what you are currently doing on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels.

That’s close to everything you need to know to about Pinterest.  We’re available to get you started with this hot social media channel. If you’re not familiar with Dronkers Beverage and Social Media Solutions, check us out at www.bevexcel.com.  Contact us using the information below.  

For your social media marketing needs, contact Dronkers Beverage Solutions at 949.254.5084 or ddronk@gmail.com.