MARKETING: How Your Restaurant Can Champion the Instagram Game (Festive Season Special)
If you’re the owner of a successful restaurant, you’re probably not new to promoting your business on social media — especially Instagram. One of the best times to promote yourself on Instagram is the festive one. Holidays and celebrations are in abundance between October to January and it’s up to you to make the most of them and champion the Instagram game. We’ve compiled a list of the things your restaurant should tick off to truly optimize your restaurant activity and outreach on the app.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Turkey Day Openings
According to a Morning Consult survey, about half of the people polled in Generation Z, those who are between the ages of 18 and 21, wanted retailers to be open on Thanksgiving Day. By comparison only about a fifth of Boomers, those between the ages of 54 and 72, supported stores opening their doors on Thanksgiving.
Record Air Travel?
Airlines for America (A4A) are expecting 2018 to be a record year for Thanksgiving air travel. During the 12 days around Thanksgiving in 2017, A4A projected 29 million passengers would travel on U.S. airlines. This year's projection stands at 30.6 million passengers which would be an all-time high and up 5.7% on 2017.
American News Deserts
According to the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina, local newspapers have had a particularly tough time adapting to the digital age, with many papers closing over the past 15 years. Non-daily newspapers have taken a turn for the worse over this timeframe as well. Since 2004, the U.S. has lost over 2,000 non-daily local papers.
GOT MILK?
Why it matters to you: Mom’s breastfeeding have different rights, you need to know those in your state.
Breastfeeding has been in the news quite a bit lately. Our Puritanical fascination with breasts causes some folks to be very uncomfortable when a woman breastfeeds a child in public. Take the woman in Louisville at a Texas Road House that was confronted by an AGM after a guest complained. The manager asked the mom to cover her baby’s head with a napkin. The mom explained to the manager that Kentucky has a specific law that protects women who breastfeed from being impeded in anyway in public. Unsatisfied, the manager chucked the napkin down and stomped away in disgust.
To say this was the wrong response is the understatement of the day. The reaction? A local mother advocacy group, La Leche League of Louisville (yes, that’s the name and it’s AWESOME!), staged a “nurse-in” with 40 women descending on the restaurant. The good news is that Texas Road House made a great comeback and handled things much better. First they apologized for their original reaction and then celebrated the protest on social media. For operators, the lesson is clear. Explain your company’s policy on breastfeeding to your staff while being 100% mindful of the rights protected by your state or local government. Avoid any risk of conflict and you’ll be making a whole new class of guests. Mom’s and their families, well done!
[Source: Yahoo]
A RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS
Why it matters to you: What will increasing minimum wages mean to you?
On January 1st, the minimum wage is set to increase in 20 states across the nation. With both Missouri and Arkansas passing referendums to increase the base wage, it’s clear the Fight for $15 is going well for workers, but what has the impact been on the businesses tasked with managing these new rates? Ironically, not as bad as many had feared. Consider the fact that with a sub-4% unemployment rate nationally, the competition for good employees, especially in low-wage positions, is incredible. In fact, it has been having a lifting effect on wages such that it is hardly being noticed by the operators that have been forced to respond.
The economy has clearly been cooking pretty well for the past few years. This rising tide has forced businesses all over the country to increase wages in order to compete for the best candidates for open staff positions. With a Federal minimum wage at $7.25, it’s hard to imagine many of you that are able recruit and select at that wage point. If you are really struggling to stay staffed, consider increasing your wages for various entry positions. It will make you more competitive and likely outstrip the local minimum wage. The goal is to find better staff that you can retain and by that get your money’s worth.
[Source: NRN]
