Wrap Up

Before i came to this class i thought i had a pretty good handle on social media, Well i was wrong. I learned it is a lot more complicated than just throwing out a few posts every once in a while. I learned which businesses should be using which kinds of social media. I also learned how to attract customers and get them to interact with a company. But the most useful thing i learned was how to use my linkedin to search for CPAs to network with at my job. Through linkedin alone i have gotten five very good appointments i never would have gotten before. So this was the first class that actually made me money, so i guess i should say thank you for that.

Future Strategy

I am not a big social media guy but i found the tools in this class very useful. The sites i would end up using would be Facebook, instagram, twitter and groupon.

Facebook: I would use Facebook for the analytics part. I didnt know that existed and thought it would be extremly helpful. I would also use it to keep people updated on what is going on in the restaurant. I would post new menu items or pictures of people having fun. I would limit my posts to one or two a day so my followers dont get annoyed.

Instagram: I would use instagram to work with other companys such as brewerys to promote my resaurant. I would also use it to take pictures of new menu items and people enjoying themselves in my restaurant. I would also limit these posts to only one a day.

Twitter: I would use twitter to let people know what is going on in the restaurant. Such as new kegs that have just been tapped, events we are holding, beer and food facts and how full the restaurant is.

Groupon: I would use groupon because my friends and i use it all the time to try new places. I think it is a great way to get new customers in the door.

Blogs i commented on

Sean Phillips- http://seanphillips760.blogspot.com/2014/12/week-14-more-social-strategy-platform.html#comment-form

Michelle Ramskill- http://michellereneemusings.blogspot.com/2014/12/week-14-social-media-strategies.html?showComment=1418231595448#c286484009012990055

Jake Spurzem:http://jvspurzem.blogspot.com/2014/12/week-14-planning-future-strategy.html?showComment=1418232234609#c1085226215732623037

Diana Trujillo- http://tacoshopmama.blogspot.com/2014/12/week-14-planning-future-strategy.html?showComment=1418232504431#c1837085854857596011

google analytics

I think the most beneficial part about Google analytics is knowing what is attracting customers. The reports that tell me where i am getting them from will allow me to play around with different marketing ideas. The majority of my market will be men because most guys love good beer and good food. But my challenge will be attracting woman who are typically the decision makers when it comes to picking a place to eat. So seeing what type of advertisements attract woman will be a great tool.

Additional Online Marketing Tools

The marketing tools i would use are:

Yelp
I would use yelp to interact with my customers and make sure i address any problems a customer has had. If i had a customer with a problem i would invite them back for a free meal. I would also use the feedback from customers to make changes to business.

Living Social
I would use living social to get my name out there and get new customers.

Groupon
I would use groupon for the same reasons as living social but i would put different deals on each site to see which ones are more attractive to customers.

Google Maps
I would use Google maps so my customers can find my restaurant. I often type food in Google maps just to see what is around.

Marketing Without Spending Money

I think there is a key thing to remember when attempting to get anyone to do anything, and that is what is in it for them. People will only do things if they get something out of it. Whether it is just a good feeling or something that is actually tangible. With that being said i would offer up a free beer to anyone who followed my pages. Some might say that this is expensive but no one is going to come in and have just one beer. I would also work with companies who are targeting the same market i am by uploading some of their products in exchange for them sharing mine.

Comments

Blogs I commented on:
http://socalcomputerpro.blogspot.com/
http://commonsenseflooring.blogspot.com/
http://jillchang47.blogspot.com/

The Facebook ad i used a question in because an open ended question tends to get more people to engage in my ad and grab their attention. The second ad for twitter was a no brainer. I wrote follow us for a free beer and who doesnt want something free, especially beer.

Blogs I commented on:
http://socalcomputerpro.blogspot.com/
http://commonsenseflooring.blogspot.com/
http://jillchang47.blogspot.com/

Email Newsletter

I do a lot of networking with the different chamber of commerce's and I cant stand when i get a newsletter from a business. I have never read one and i don't know anyone that does. The only people that should be using these are people that consistently have sales on their products such as clothing stores. But if i absolutely had to use one i would use it twice a year with pictures of people enjoying themselves since the last newsletter as well as some information on things we have coming up in the future. Some information i would include are new beers and food coming to the restaurant as well as events we will be holding at the restaurant of participating or public events we will be attending. I would probably also say thank you to frequent customers by name to increase customer engagement.

The categories I would focus on are local craft beer, food and night life. This would help me reach my target market of people who enjoy a good beer, good food, and are looking to have a good time. This would help me stay organized because i can tailor each post to those audiences.

The blogs i commented are:
http://wafflehaususa.blogspot.com/
https://plus.google.com/105674421213492843855/posts
http://socialmedia858.blogspot.com/2014/10/week-9-thursday-post.html?showComment=1414987906443#c108025883673642940

Personality in a blog post

I think it really depends on what your target audience is with your blog. One of the most important thing in any form of marketing is knowing your audience. For example if howard stern had a blog it would probably be a lot different than that of a religious leader. But as a general rule it is always best to use caution with any blog post.

Visual Marketing

The only visual social media that is useful for my kind of business is instagram. So i looked at two similar places instagrams, stone brewery and Belching Beaver. Stone had quite a bit of follower at about 75000. While Belching Beaver only had a little bit about 4000. I like that belching beaver featured their beers with other restaurants food which is what i was hoping to get breweries to do for me.  Stone was only showing their product and the foods that they offered since they have a restaurant.

Visual Platforms

As a restaurant that serves beer and bratwurst the only thing i can see working for my business is instagram. I would use instagram to show pictures of food, beer and people having a good time at my restaurant. I would also hold monthly giveaways for the best hashtagged picture at our business. Which i would feature on our instagram and offer a free beer and bratwurst for winning. I would also use instagram to partner with some of the local breweries in an attempt to be featured on their accounts or possibly be featured on a local celebrity's account.

I chose to do two lists, one named food and one named beer. In the beer category I put some of the local breweries hoping they would promote us using their social media. On the food list I put the food network as well as guy fieri and Robert Irvine. I chose the food network because a second part of my marketing plan is to get on a show like diners drive ins and dives. I chose that becuase myself as well as a lot people I know usually try out the resteraunt a that are visited on this show.  These list also help me stay organized by reminding me to make sure I target the breweries and food network daily  in hopes of promoting my business.

I chose to these posts around certain times such as before lunch and when people are getting off of work. I also chose to end each post with a question which will hopefully help with the engagement level of potential customers.

I chose to like some of the bigger local breweries in the area because i will be serving local beer. I also chose the local breweries because the local beer scene is San Diego has almost a cult like following. Furthermore people who like these breweries are in the same target market that i am trying to attract. This tool is useful because it makes it easier for people to find my business and the business i like can potentially like me back which would advertise my business to that companies followers.

Reach vs engagement

Reach is how often your business is getting into other peoples news feed. Where as engagement is how many people are actually engaging with your business, this is usually gauged by the number of clicks on your page. Knowing the difference is important, just because your business is reaching people doesn't mean they like it enough to engage with your business. This also helps you tailor your posts towards whatever gets more engagement from your customers.

Business Idea

The business I would do is a place that sells European style bratwursts with craft beer. My target audience is going to be people who enjoy local craft beer and food. I would most likely target them through facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

I have had trouble communicating with businesses particularly when i am trying to get in touch with the owner. In my job as a sales consultant for a local payroll and HR company i have to get in touch with the business owners in order to present our services. I uses social media when i first send an email to a business owner as a reminder to respond to my email. I have used this a few times and it works quite well.

social media for personal or business

I think things such as facebook twitter and instagram are more geared towards personal use. While a site such as linkedin is more geared towards business. This is also subjective though because i would only put the payroll and Hr comapny i work for on linkedin while i would only put the personal training company i work for on instagram and facebook. So I think i what it comes down to is what kind of business you are in.