VIDEO: Farm-to-Table: Fad, Fable or Future of Food?
Heard of Farm-To-Table, but not really sure what it is? Watch our video to learn how this growing trend is changing what we're eating, who we're getting it from and how it's changing local economies.
DID YOU KNOWS…
You’re the Best!
What do the best sports bars & best buffalo wings have in common? The SportsTV Guide! Congrats to the 21 customers of ours who were named the 50 Best Sports Bars in America and the four named in the 25 Best Buffalo Wings in America. Y’all rock!
One Way to Open a Beer!
A UK photographer posted video of himself opening a bottle of beer using the ventilation grooves on a commuter train because, as he said, you find yourself “suddenly thrust into a survival situation.” Check the video out here.
Facebook & Stadium Goes Exclusive
Facebook and Stadium have signed a contract to let the social media website exclusively broadcast 47 NCAA basketball games between now and March. Most of the games will involve schools from smaller conferences. As we’ve said before, your sports bar needs streaming sports as part of your offerings if you want to stand out.
GOOGLE IT
Why it matters to you: Ignore Google My Business at your own peril.
If you are not aware, Google My Business (GMB) is another internet listing service that you have to manage for your restaurant. A recent survey found that 51% of Google search traffic and 31% of all internet traffic to restaurant websites comes from GMB. The good news is that GMB is totally free (sort of). You have the same ability to update your menu, include images, video and GIFs on your profile. Given the power of Google search, it makes ignoring this platform a really bad idea.
Think of it as Yelp without the contentious reviews. In fact, GMB has partnered with Allo to facilitate live chat with a customer that may have a question about your location. Imagine being able to affect a guest’s choice to come to your restaurant in real time! At minimum, you don’t want the power of Google search to be reduced by not providing enough info on your location. So, claim your GMB listing now and take control of the search info that returns when guests are looking for you.
INFLUENCERS ARE SOCIAL
Why it matters to you: Identify influencers to augment the reach of your social marketing.
Everyone has an opinion as to what works for social media marketing. While they all may be right in some way, there is no argument that doesn’t include the value of influencers to augmenting your social marketing. Why? Influencers are in touch with their organic audience and therefore allows you to circumvent the pay-to-play paradigm that social platforms like Facebook and Instagram thrive on selling. It’s intuitive to think that if an influencers posts a pic from your restaurant, it will be included in the timeline of their friends and contacts among their social connections. This is a cost-free way to amplify your social media marketing without paying the platform for space.
But how do you identify a potential influence? It’s really not as hard as it sounds. By searching your own audience and cross referencing to #hashtags you favor, you will likely find some candidates. In fact, many of the people you consider won’t realize they are influencers and just be posting because they enjoy the social currency.
Use a software service like Hootsuite to cover as much ground as you can. Once you have identified potential influencers, reach out to them with special offers and opportunities to be an insider on your business. They will feel special and their response will be to share more about you to their audience. It’s organic, it’s free, it’s easy…what’s not to love?
