Every restaurant owner’s hope when opening a restaurant is that it will eventually become a go-to destination for local foodies. You want to have the latest and greatest to offer your customers. However, few restaurateurs know how to maximize their marketing potential and turn non-revenue producing activities such as tweeting into revenue producing activities that will be beneficial for the overall business. You could have the best food in town, but unless people are well informed about your services they will have no way of knowing the great things you have to offer them.
Some companies within the restaurant and food service industry do an excellent job at maximizing their social media efforts, however with the concept still being fairly new, most companies still have room for major improvements. Social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are great tools for restaurants and food service companies to connect with existing and future customers. Social media can save a particular company a great deal of time, money and resources and therefore can increase revenues in many different ways.
Provides Insight. 
By using social media, you can gain feedback and insight on your services, upcoming events, and menu items. It is a quick and simple way for customers to share their experience, and allows the restaurant to receive immediate feedback. If someone complains, you will be able to apologize quickly and offer compensation. After the experience, not only have you learned a valuable tip on how to improve your business, but also you left that customer feeling better about their experience and more satisfied that their concern was heard and addressed properly.
Promotion.
Social media is also a great way to promote your company through upcoming events hosted by your restaurant. It’s also a great way to inform customers about new menu items, discounts and specials. Social media creates a direct dialogue with your current customers and is an easy tool to expand and meet new ones by participating in online ‘chatter.’ Using social media is extremely cost effective and can reach much larger demographics than local advertising can, and it’s for free, so take advantage!
Creates Traffic.
Social media websites and applications are a valuable tool to bring more traffic to your business. If your restaurant is slow on a particular day, you can use social media to promote contests and giveaways for example, to get people excited about your business and give them incentive to show up. You can post polls on Facebook, or offer discounts for checking in on Foursquare, for example. It’s an excellent tool to create a solid web presence, which is so crucial for your restaurants overall success.