Learn how to get repeat customers in your restaurant that rave about your food, wine, desserts, pleasant ambiance and your special VIP pampering treatment
Have you thought that you will be searching your favorite restaurants on Twitter or even Facebook fanpages? Times changed big time and more business owners started to realize that they could get more customers with Twitter and Facebook. They had to change their thinking.
Just couple weeks my husband and I were dining at a very nice French food restaurant in Nashville and we loved the food, the wine selection and its modern ambiance. While we were eating, talking and enjoying views of Nashville downtown night life, the restaurant owner came up to us and being polite asked us what we thought about our choice for the evening. Being a gourmand of wine and cheeses myself, I gave him a huge compliment about his goat cheese tart and good French white wine the server served us.
The goat cheese tart is to blame.
We started a really cool conversation about….Guess what? Twitter and Facebook. He told us that he started using social media but felt lost because he did not know effective social media strategies. He mentioned he got Facebook fan page for two restaurants he owned in Nashville and he was just getting started and hoped he was going in the right direction.
I was glad to see that Nashville restaurant owners starting to see the benefits of using social media platforms as Twitter and Facebook. It does allow them to spread local news, special deals, events and much more with locals. Next question came from me and I asked him if he really got the Twitter thing. Did the twitter bug bite him?
He was laughing and said “Tatyana, I really believe it did”! He told me that he wanted to create viral PR campaign and did not want spend money on yellow pages or newspaper advertising because it was DEAD” . I agreed with him 100%. How many business owners do accept the fact that yellow pages must be buried under the ground and never used again? I saw the man who was in his 60s and wanted to learn why social media works and how it works. He had a big WHY- save his restaurant and bring more new clients.
Is Your Why Big Enough To Save Your Business?
I think I learned the huge lesson when it comes to building a real business, no matter if it is a restaurant business, an ecommerce business or a private dental practice. You must have passion and BIG WHY to run your business and face challenges that come your way. No matter how old you are and what you have learned in the past and if you still believe that social media is only for younger generation you are WRONG.
I think being stuck in old ways is wrong and using old marketing methods to grow your business is DAMAGING. As saying goes if you want to create the change, be that change. I say “Bravo” to the business owners who come out of their own shell and want to learn social media, video marketing and everything that comes their way. They enjoy it instead of dreading it.
Dreading social media marketing is not as bad as you think it is!
What should you do when you deal with Twitter Bug? Fight it or embrace it? I would say embrace it and enjoy the ride. Remember it is your conversation that you took out of the coffee shop and brought it online. It is all about dialogue now and your goal is to engage with your customers, listen and serve. Make people feel comfortable like you do in your house and they will love your back!
Look at it something that can help your business grow and connect with your customers and bring new clients. Recently my mom who still lives in Russia decided to get on Skype. She never used the internet before and believe me it was a shocker to me. She had a big WHY- to see her family on video camera that she has not seen in years. Her biggest “why “overpowered her fears of computers, internet and even video cameras.
When you have a big WHY nothing stops you and you just enjoy the ride and honestly pat yourself on the back for embracing the new challenge. Twitter is a just a tool like a hammer in your garage. You may miss hitting the nail in the wall but eventually you will do it right. Be patient and learn from the people who have it done all.
Have a wonderful day!
Tatyana Gann
What a Lovely Article! What a great way to mix your passion for PR and Good Food to help Local Store Owners save their businesses! You will be so Highly Successful in this Venture! Much Love! Barbie
Hi Tatyana,
I can feel your energy and passion through your post. I love the big WHY and it is essential to answer this question. I also think that you can teach an old dog new tricks and that’s why essentially we are seeing more movement on the social media front with generations beyond the millennials. One other key statement that you made is “Be patient….” Just like any other form of communication and relationship building strategies, social media takes time and commitment. You can’t just build a Twitter page, tweet a few times and expect everyone to stop what they are doing to engage with you. I enjoyed your post and think you will motivate many with your forward thinking!
Thank you for wonderful comments! I appreciate that you took time to post comments!
Barbie, yes we all have passion and we can combine our passion with the right opportunities and make it work!
Deirdre, yes patience is virtue and today in “instant coffee” mentality that is being portrayed,many online real business owners are afraid to use social media and some have high expectations! That is why we need to educate people Raw PR 2.0 methods which is based on conversational marketing which they do anyway
Tatyana
Very Good Point Tatyana. The Yellow Pages??? What is that? Brick and Mortar needs Social Media More than ever. It’s a good thing you have all the skills to show ’em how to do it!!
Thank you Nick! I appreciate your thoughts. I know some biz owners leave in the stone age of marketing and believe me still use “yellow pages advertising” and spend up to 20k a year and more.
Yes I know social media and online PR strategies is perfect combo and that is why I offer solutions in PR world… Thank you for RT of my article as well
Tatyana
I totally agree with Barbara’s comment. Many thanks for sharing such an insightful article with all of us. I’ve bookmarked your blog will come back for a re-read again. Keep up the good work.
This article was very interesting. Very true that you must listen and learn from your customers. See what their needs and wants are.
Thanks for sharing such a great article.
Karen
Creating authentic presence on Twitter is a skill that can be honed with imagination. Thanks for encouraging us to jump right in.
Really interesting article, Tatyana. Social media is such a fascinating and effective development!
The Twitter Bug is trying to land on me. I was swatting to keep it away, now I will let it land. 😀 Great article.
Social Media is the place to be! Happy to throw the Yellow Pages away, if you ask me… lol! Woohoo! (-_-)
The LEARNED Preneur @ NormaDoiron.Net
I totally agree. When you have a big WHY, nothing can stop you. That’s one of the main things I’ve learned from training with Michael Gerber. Even though you may think your WHY or your DREAM is big, it’s probably not. Make it BIGGER until it scares you and makes you uncomfortable!
One day we’re all going to die and if we live a life of contentment WITHOUT a big WHY and a big DREAM, then we’ll discover a huge disappointment at the time of our death. The key is, we’re here to serve the world.
Thanks for the reminder Tatyana on the WHY.
Elvie love your sense of humor… Woohoo!
Scott I can say YES. very interesting phenomena…
Great article, Tatyana! I am sure the restaurant owner was please to have you as a guest. Yes, it’s so exciting to see people embracing Twitter and Facebook as ways to meet new clients. The Yellow Pages and all facsimiles are dead. Just an example of a great teachable moment. Thanks so much for your post!
I hear this same thing all the time–about both Twitter & Facebook. I am amazed at the business people who don’t even want to consider these great sources of low-cost (ok, free, but it does take time) advertising and business building.
I think there are very few businesses that can’t benefit from wise use of social media (ok, I can’t really think of any). It’s just a matter of changing the mindset and learning how they work. Timely post, Tatyana.
Dear Lisa thank you so much! it was fun to talk to him. He was quite interested in growing his business via social media. Not every local biz owner wants it though they see they need it.
Yes changing mindset is the key…Learning to build relationships the right way without selling product but selling YOU and bringing lessons of life, business they can apply. In any business it is all about people. We deal with people not their company name.