Some helpful social media tips came out of a recent “Summer Brand Camp Conference” as reported by Nation's Restaurant News.  Here they are, along with some of our own thoughts-

Facebook is still the most favored platform.  There are others, but Zuckerberg's baby seems to pay off the most.  Our guess is that both your kids and your grandma are on Facebook.  It's easy to use.  Twitter, while popular, is perceived as slightly more technical.

Simplicity is key.  Short and visual messages often get the best response.  The top Facebook post for Buffalo Wild Wings was a tantalizing photo of a glass of beer and the post: "Mmmmmm, Beer."  People love pictures.

Social media should be a conversation - not a sales pitch.  If you’re always trying to hawk your product, people find it annoying.

Resist the urge to jump right in and defend you restaurant against a negative post.  Other customers may step in to defend you, which looks better and may prevent you from getting into an online squabble.

Folks love video, and everyone can be a videographer with a smartphone.  Some smartphones even allow you to edit videos on the device.  Tell customers if they make a good video about your restaurant, you’ll post it online.

Integrate social media with other marketing efforts.  If you’re advertising anything offline, you should include your social media information too.

More than one location?  It might be best for each location to conduct their own social media efforts if each has its own character.  A sandwich shop in an industrial center will have a much different vibe than the same brand in a college town.

These suggestions are quick and easy, but remember – all markets are different – do what works best for your restaurant.

We saw three trends, among many, changing the restaurant industry this last year, and they can all be addressed with online ordering from NetWaiter. 

Have It Your Way — This used to be the marketing line of Burger King, but now everyone is on the customizable bandwagon.  Extra meat, extra cheese, replace the bun with a lettuce wrap. NetWaiter’s online ordering system makes it easy to allow for this type of customization.  Even when a customer has pre-paid for their online order and throws in a special request that should cost extra, NetWaiter has enabled a way for you to politely go back and charge them the additional fee (see our March newsletter, out in a few weeks).

Unconventional Hours — A substantial number of people saw their traditional jobs go away for good over the last decade.  Some estimates have as much as one-third of the workforce in “freelance” jobs.  Others are working two jobs to replace the one that went away, or commuting a considerable distance. The 9-to-5 workday has been replaced by “whenever and wherever."  Online ordering accommodates these new and unconventional work hours by making your menu always available and easily accessible.   

More Competition from Unconventional Places — Some hotels are pondering takeout parking spots for their in-house restaurant as they struggle for new ways to bring in more revenue.  Supermarkets and even big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are offering pre-packaged meals for shoppers that are on-the-go.  To compete with these places, you need to be more convenient and innovative than they are, and never let your customers forget it.

Most families agree, “If Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy.”

It turns out this also applies to online ordering.  Last month we mentioned a study by Cornell University about online ordering.  The sample group was split almost evenly by gender - women making up 51.3% of respondents, similar to the percentage of women in the U.S.  However, the similarities stopped there.  There were several areas where women’s attitudes towards online marketing were substantially different than men - and in interesting ways.

Here are the revelations:

--Women were more likely to cite having control of their order as a benefit of online ordering.

--Women were more likely to cite the convenience factor of online ordering as an important benefit.

--Women were more likely to recommend the online ordering experience to others.

What does this mean?  Well – it certainly tells us not to discount women as valuable online customers.  In fact, the majority of online orders for most restaurants are from women.  The marketing efforts put into telling customers about online ordering - specifically when engaging customers inside your restaurant - need to be directed towards women as much (if not more) than men. 

It may be the ‘man-of-the-house’ picking up the order, but the woman probably made the final decision where the family was going to get their food that night – and chances are – she placed the order too.