By Dithering
There are inumerable brands and businesses doing tremendous harm to themselves with social media. These are firms that are entering the social media sphere without a firm and coherent plan for doing so. I recently created a Twitter list of over 160 restaurants in New York City. Not one of these firms has any clue to what they are doing save one or two. Most of them are just dithering, broadcasting specials, sharing pictures of dishes, occasionally alerting their followers to events or new menu items.
But the great majority are just doing nothing. Their accounts just sit there, vacant, quiet, unaware of the opportunity quickly evaporating before them. If they continue along this path, the harm to their brand images will be incalculable.
But why?
For one, connected and empowered users like myself recognize these brands and see the fact that they aren’t taking the time to educate themselves on social media. Customers and The argument that they don’t have the time just doesn’t hold water for me any longer. Make The Time. It’s absolutely crucial for restaurants and brands to start experimenting with social media. Up to now, restaurants are using social media as simply another broadcast mechanism. It’s PR 1.0. All over again. Boo!
The whole point of social media is to be social! Customers like me want to be engaged. Dialog with us. Talk with us. Share with us. Where are your blog postings? Where are your video clips? Where are your blogger meetups?
I don’t want handouts, and I don’t want special treatment. What I want to know is why I should spend my precious dollars with you? I don’t care about your daily specials as much as I care about the people preparing them, planning them, cooking and serving them.
Give Us a Narrative
Every brand has a story. Who owns the restaurant? Who works there? What is it like to be in the restaurant business in New York City?
When you deliver content like this, you immediately get people to buy into your brand. We feel connected to it. We feel we are a part of it. And that is the first step to converting viewers into customers.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m getting pretty annoyed with Twitter. Too many tweets along the lines of, “New blog post coming soon!”
OK. A message to tell me to expect a message. Whoopee.
Tonya, so true, I alternately get annoyed with twitter only to be redeemed shortly thereafter. I think the best thing to do is to continually cull your list, its time consuming but worthwhile. I used ot follow over 3500 people, but then used huitter to mass unfollow those not following back, and then quickly refollowed the people I wanted to follow despite their not following me back. It has improved my twitter experience trememdously. Thanks for reading and commenting, it is SO appreciated!
Great post, dude. I’ve been watching stores and restaurants, too, and noting plenty of fail as well. Other ways to hurt your brand with social networks
* Set up a social media connection (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and then never interact with followers. Failing to respond to interested followers who take the time to contact you is like leaving customers waiting at an unmanned help desk.
* Your social media person has to be One with social media. Having someone publicly stumble and dither through their education social media is a really bad idea. Rather than the 50 year old print media marketer you’ve always worked with, hire a geeky 21 year old who loves your business and wants to be a writer. That’s social media guru.
* People do want specials, but like Zach said, if that’s all you talk about, people feel like that’s all you are: A give-away store or worse, a tool. People want fun, flavor, flair. Failing to offer these things via social network isn’t value neutral. It’s actually damaging to your brand.
Thanks for the informative post. This is profound, not because it is difficult to figure out, but because I think we all get focused on the bottom line sometimes and forget to look at how our customers view us. I was already planning informative articles, videos, etc., but you have motivated me even more to get this together. If all I do is post about what I am selling and never offer social media followers anything they value, they will lose interest as I will become a sales ad to them. Who values an advertisement? Not many of us!
Thanks again,
Mary
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