Your restaurant’s diners may have had a fabulous time at your restaurant. The atmosphere was great, the food was impeccable and the service was on point.

So your job here is done, right? Yep, not so much.

Your customer’s experience should not end inside your brick and mortar. If you’re doing it right, your journey with them continues even after they leave your dining room.

Keep that good connection going with a robust social media presence.

Get Online, Stay On Their Mind

Having a social media presence is important for a number of reasons, a few of which include:

1. Keeping in Touch – When you were a kid, and your friends were all hanging out at the park, you probably wanted to be there too. You didn’t want to miss out! Your customers are already online. Go join them.
2. Listening – Things are being said about your restaurant on social media. It’s another point of contact for your business. Use these channels to respond to feedback, both negative and positive. And get those typing fingers ready – Twitter found that there is a correlation between quickness of response to Tweets and the amount consumers are willing to spend.
3. The Ability to Build Customer Loyalty –  Social media helps build customer relationships and brand loyalty.  According to a study done by J.D. Power and Associates,  87% of customers said their online experience increased their likelihood of making a purchase.

Ways to Connect

Churning out messages about your business is a very small part of social media strategy. You’ll need to do much more if you want to shape perception and experience.

Engage
Follow hashtags that relate to your business on Instagram and Twitter. They will tell you a lot about what people are talking about and give you an opportunity to jump into conversations with potential patrons.

Keep an eye out for mentions of your brand, and thank customers for dining with you and reach out to those who may need some extra love from the customer service department (which is most likely whoever is running the social media account).

Storytelling
Sure, your food is the main star, but who are the behind-the-scenes players at your restaurant? Use your social media channels to tell the great stories that humanize your business.

Share the crazy story about how your business came to be or highlight the amazing things your employees are doing in their community. Do you have a customer who has been dining with you since opening day? Feature them proudly on your channels.  

Contests
Who doesn’t love to win? A good social media competition or giveaway can be a fun way to connect with your restaurant’s patrons. Reward participants for sharing your posts, participating in surveys, or let voters pick the winner in a photo contest featuring your cuisine.

These engaging events can also be used to help you learn more about your customers, build your customer relationship management (CRM) list, and create more exposure for your business online.  

Start Connecting – We Can Help

Knowing where to go and how to connect with your restaurant’s customers on social media can seem daunting and time-consuming.

Enchanted Dish can help you build your New Mexico restaurant’s relationship with existing customers – and gain new ones – through a strategic social media strategy customized just for your business