A picture's worth a thousand words—Intro to Instagram for newbies

In the spring of 2013, Facebook purchased a little photo sharing application called Instagram for the impressive sum of one billion dollars. Why did they spend so much? Because more and more smartphone users are choosing to share their experiences via photo-sharing apps. For example, taking Instagram pictures of meals has become a huge part of the restaurant experience for many millennials. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What will pictures of your restaurant say? 

Instagram is an online photo, video, and social networking service. Consumers use it to post media they’ve created with their smartphone cameras and edited with special digital filters. Like Twitter, Instagram is a great way for friends to share information, such as recent meals, in a concise and easy-to-digest manner. What does that mean for your restaurant? Imagine running a promotion where you give a discount to anyone that “Instagrams” a shot of one of the new desserts on your menu. A potential guest could be flooded with appetizing pictures of creams, cakes, and pies, all singing the praises of your menu. It’s the best marketing money can’t buy – personalized recommendations from the friends your guests trust.

In short, consumers have taken to Instagram in droves.  How can you as a restaurant marketer leverage this consumer activity?  One of Fishbowl’s SM3 Social Media and Email Specialists, Casey Manning, has come up with the following pieces of advice for newbies:

Discover Your Audience. Search Instagram regularly to see if your restaurant has been mentioned. You’ll see what appeals to your guests quickly – after all, they wouldn’t want to share unless they have something to say! 

Promote the Positive. When you find someone posting a picture of your restaurant with a positive comment, it’s always a good idea to share those good feelings on your social media. Link the post on your Facebook or Twitter. Potential guests love to see a spontaneous display of enthusiasm. Take advantage of the free marketing! 

Encourage with Contests and Prizes. Use Instagram for brand promotion by creating contests and rewards. Consider Instagram the digital, visual cousin of the essay contest – offer a free meal or a discount to the one person who can capture the “essence” of your restaurant in an Instagram picture. Come up with scavenger hunts that encourage guests to explore your restaurant and your menu. The possibilities are endless – and you can use the resulting pictures to promote yourself!

Want to learn more about Fishbowl’s approach to helping restaurants grow their revenues? Call Amy Plumley at (703) 836-3421. 

Harness the power of a great online review

Stay on top of your reviews quickly & easily: just by checking your email

As a restaurateur, you know the power a good online review can have on your business.  Unfortunately you also probably know the power a bad review can have.  But who has time to check each site daily, looking for reviews and responding to customers when it counts the most? With Reputation Management from Fishbowl, you just have to read your email.

No more wondering what people say about you online! Reputation Management automatically sends an email notification to your inbox whenever a new review is written about your restaurant.  Keep an eye on your social buzz across several social networks, and view up to 3 competitors to see how your reviews stack up to theirs. You’ll also be able to monitor your online visibility, ensuring your address and phone information are correct across hundreds of local directories. 

Stay on Top of your Reviews

We watch hundreds of review sites, including Yelp, Trip Advisor, OpenTable, Google Plus, Google Maps, Bing Local, Yahoo Local, Kudzu, and more, and email you when a review is written about your restaurant.

When you log in, your Reputation Management dashboard displays all your online reviews from hundreds of web sites.  Stay on top of where your customers are talking about you, and what they’re saying.  Sort your reviews by source, viewing only those from Yelp, OpenTable or Trip Advisor. Or sort by ratings, viewing only 1 or 2 star reviews. Quickly learn how customers feel about your business, based on the sentiments in their reviews. Search for reviews that contain a certain keyword, such as “bad service” or “great food.”

Receive a good review? Share it on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks with a single click.

• Review notifications from hundreds of websites, delivered to your inbox
• Search for the reviews you want to respond to or share
• Share good reviews on your own Facebook or Twitter

Monitor your Social Buzz

We monitor several social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram and more, and email you when we find a relevant social mention about your restaurant.

From the Social Buzz tab in the Reputation Management dashboard, track everything that’s being said about your business on social networks. See photos, tweets, and check-ins related to your business, or drill down to see social mentions on one specific network, like Foursquare. Search the social mentions using keywords, such as “fun” or “great.” Easily share social mentions on your own Twitter, Facebook, and other social network accounts. 

• Review social mentions from different networks, delivered to your inbox
• Monitor social networks from one place
• Share good social mentions on your own social networks

Track your Competitors

Monitor the online reputations of up to three competitors: compare their reviews head-to-head with your own. We’ll automatically suggest three competitors to track, or you can choose your own.

See at a glance how popular your competitors are. View how many times a competitor is mentioned on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Get a clear view of how customers feel about your competitor’s business. 

• Track up to three competitors
• Compare competitors’ reviews to your own

See your Online Visibility

Your customers can only find you if they have the right address and phone number.  We review hundreds of online directories such as Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, Bing Local, MapQuest, YellowPages.com, SuperPages, and more, to ensure they have your details right, so your customers never have a moment’s frustration getting to you. 

• Learn where your business is listed online, so you can fill in the gaps
• Quickly find inaccurate listings, and go to fix them in a single click

Want to learn more about Reputation Management by Fishbowl? Contact Amy Plumley at (703) 836-3421.

Fishbowl's Top 10 Email Tips for Restaurants

The National Restaurant Association's Manage My Restaurant has articles in categories such as Marketing and Sales, Workforce Engagement, Food and Nutrition and Operations. Visit Manage My Restaurant here for this and other helpful tips.

Email is one of the most effective ways restaurants can build relationships with customers, increase sales and get the most bang for their marketing bucks. Here are 10 pointers to ensure you make the most of your messages:

1. Be relevant. Personalize your message and make your email’s content relevant to your customers. Give them what they want: Create a “VIP” experience by offering promotions you don’t provide through other channels.
2. Be creative. Announce exciting offers, news and events with messages that will grab your customers’ attention. As the quantity of commercial emails increases, make sure your email stands out in guests’ inboxes. Encourage customers to come to your restaurant for special events, holidays and unique promotions such as “Mother’s Day” or “Father’s Day.”
3. Select your vendor wisely. Find a vendor that follows responsible email practices, is easy to use, and has quality customer service. Deliverability is a key component of your email program: Don’t overlook its importance to your response rate. Make sure your vendor is white-listed, so your email isn’t caught in spam filters.
4. Integrate on- and off-line channels. Let your customers know about your email program in your store, through community events, in print and online. Provide incentives for your staff and customers to help spread the word about your program. When all these channels work together, you increase the effectiveness of your online marketing program.
5. Authenticate your email. Support email authentication initiatives and make certain that your service provider complies. That ensures your messages get in the inbox and not in the spam folder.
6. Identify yourself. In every message, include your restaurant’s contact information and familiar branding. Your guests will feel more comfortable when they recognize you. If they have questions about your offer or need directions, your contact information helps them easily reach you.
7. Be open and responsible. Let your customers know about your email privacy policy. Tell them about new practices and technologies you implemented to safeguard them from spam. Being open about your email operations helps build customer trust.
8. Manage message frequency. If you over- or under-email your customers, you run the risk of them unsubscribing. Send one or two messages per month to keep them interested but not overwhelmed.
9. Shape customer experience. What you say and when you say it does more than informing a customer about your product: it helps create a customer experience. Remember that for each email you send.
10. Integrate with social media. Don’t miss the opportunity to extend your relationship with guests. Add links to your social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter and other networks. Collect “likes” and followers’ information from social sites, and funnel new guests into your email program. Use social media publishing tools to post from a single platform and streamline your online marketing activities.

This content was provided by National Restaurant Association partner Fishbowl.