Recently at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, T.V. personality Andrew Zimmern and superstar chefs John Besh and Chris Consentino presented on Social Media Fundamentals. Their presentation was geared toward culinary professionals but there are some great things that most businesses can take away from their advice.
First, let’s take a look at how each of the panelists use social media. We’ll start with Andrew Zimmern. Zimmern has a Facebook page for his personal brand (more than 109,000 Fans), as well as Bizarre Foods (more than 628,000 Fans), which is run by the network. Additionally, Andrew uses Twitter (more than 590,000 Followers), Instagram (nearly 75,000 Followers) and Vine (as well as Pinterest, Tumblr and several other networks). Andrew personally manages his own Twitter, Instagram and Vine accounts but has someone else manage the other accounts. Our second panelist, Chris Cosentino actively uses Twitter (more than 191,000 Followers), Instagram (nearly 27,000 Followers) and Vine. There is a Facebook page for his personal brand (5,000 Fans), but it is clear that this was linked to his Twitter account and is no longer active. Chris’ restaurant, Incanto, is not on Facebook, but is active on Twitter (3,500 Followers). Finally, John Besh has nearly 20,000 Facebook Fans and more than 50,000 Twitter Followers of his personal brand. In the case of the Besh restaurants, they are on Facebook but not on Twitter. Besh handles his own Twitter account but has other people managing the other accounts. And, John Besh’s chefs tweet to promote their own restaurants. Some of his chefs are very adept on Twitter and Instagram, especially Domenica’s Alon Shaya and pastry chef Lisa White. While we love this philosophy, we wish they would go the route of Incanto, with an additional restaurant Twitter account. Not everyone would know to look for Michael Gulotta but they would easily find Restaurant August.
Key Takeaways From the Social Media Presentation
Some of the key takeaways from the presentation include:
#1 Make the commitment. Social media is a commitment. In order to build a band, there must be consistency. Even if you are not doing social media internally, there needs to be a commitment to communication. In the case of restaurants, this includes not only information, but also photos.
#2 Be genuine. In social media, you need to be yourself. In the case of a business or a brand, the voice needs to reflect that brand.
#3 Use tools to maximize efficiency. Take photos on Instagram (or shoot video on Vine) and send directly to Twitter. If Facebook is a part of your social media mix, post the photos separately to Facebook (or send to your social media manager to do it for you).
#4 Have a plan. While a restaurant may not have a content calendar, it’s pretty easy to identify the content your audience wants to receive and how that works for your business. In the case of Incanto, Chris Consentino takes a photo of their “Odds & Ends Board” before dinner service and posts it to Instagram and Twitter. Due to his loyal following and customer base, this drives business to the restaurant. Customers will come in just for those specific items. The same concept could be applied to daily specials, either the actual dishes or a chalkboard, as well as special cocktails and seasonal ingredients.
#5 Do it yourself (maybe). The advice to do your own social media came from Chris Cosentino, who was speaking about maintaining his personal brand. He is also a self-proclaimed Twitter addict, capable of managing and monitoring multiple accounts. However, Andrew Zimmern countered with saying the “day-to-day has to be managed. Social media is a major part of the marketing plan of all of the projects I do. That requires management.” Based on what we have seen from working with restaurants, we would tend to agree with Andrew. However, social media management is not optimal without a constant flow of communication. Additionally, while Chris Cosentino may able to monitor two accounts during service, most restaurants are not capable of real-time monitoring.
#6 Manage customer complaints professionally. Whether or not you are on Twitter, people are going to talk about you. Having a Twitter account allows for a direct line of communication, which can be both good and bad. Chris Cosentino gives the steps to handling a customer complaint: Start a private conversation, find out what the problem was, address it, and invite the guest back in. Sometimes it can be challenging to handle complaints in a courteous manner. If this is not your forte, this would be another reason to hire a social media manager.
#7 Review your analytics. This insight came from Andrew Zimmern, who works with a team of people. They meet weekly to discuss what worked and what did not. If you have outsourced your social media, you should be provided with a report monthly. If you are doing social media internally, both Facebook and Twitter offer analytics. Take a look and familiarize yourself with what content and times work best for your audience.
#8 Think before you post. Andrew Zimmern thinks about the following when he posts to social media, “Is it true? Does it need to be said? Does it need to be said by me?” Good advice for everyone!
Does this overwhelm you? Whether you want a strategy for executing social media internally or want to hire someone to do it for you, contact the social media management team at FSC Interactive — We can help!