Serving Up Social Media (When You’ve Already Got a Full Plate)

Lucky me! Last week I was invited to host a Social Media Club of D.C. event and let my true nerd flag fly.

My task? Moderate a panel discussion that combined two of my favorite things: food and social media. 

In the hot seats were three very tech-savvy people from D.C.’s restaurant scene: Jonathan Goldfuss (@ThinkFoodGroup) from Think Food Group, the management company for Jose Andres’ many restaurants; Polly Wiedmaier (@marcelsbeckdc), wife of (and marketing guru for) chef Robert Wiedmaier, of Brasserie Beck, Marcels, and others; and Chef Tony Marciante (@ChefTony) of his namesake restaurant in Bethesda, north of D.C.

We were there to chat about social media in the dining biz. Or rather, how the heck do you cook and tweet at the same time!? The panel had a wide range of social media influence and experience, and so the conversation was lively, and their tips and advice could be applied to nearly any industry—not just those who are chopping vegetables while snapping Twitpics.

Serving up Content

The first question I had focused on what kind of content they are sharing socially. Sometimes it’s hard for businesses to figure out where to even start with social media – eMarketer reports that 73% of marketers say finding the time to create content is their biggest challenge. Our panel overcame the obstacle in some interesting ways:

Jonathan said he urges his restaurant managers and chefs to be active on Twitter and Facebook, but they often ask him, what do I say? His response is simple: What have you done today? Everything you do on a day-to-day basis in business is a story, even a 140-character one. People want to see what’s behind the scenes at a restaurant or any business.

Chef Tony said he puts everything out there, from when he’s at the market shopping for his ingredients to Twit pics of the final dishes right before they’re about to be presented to diners. And Polly has the interesting task of being the online marketing mouthpiece for her social media-shy chef husband, Robert. So sometimes, a look into their busy lives is all it takes.

Not-So-Tasty Tweets

I wanted to know what the panel does when they have angry customers or diners tweeting at them, or blogging negative reviews. After all, they unanimously said social media is an extension to the conversation in the dining room.

Chef Tony said it’s the opportunity to turn a negative dining experience around—and even gave a great example in which he reached out to a blogger who bashed his business, and ended up making a loyal customer out of him.

Polly and Jonathan both agreed. They said they actively reach out to those customers, by DM’ing them on Twitter or sending them an email if they can, to help rectify the complaint. Jonathan’s restaurants even have a set policy for how to handle the situation. (Video: Social Media Guidelines Made Simple)

The trick is to be human, and not a corporate bot, and be understanding of customers’ complaints. Clearly Chef Tony is—he preached often about being real in social media. But what about brand names or businesses that don’t have a face that’s as famous as their business name? Jonathan says even though the restaurants’ names are the social media handles, he encourages his managers and chefs to lend their personality to the posts.

Setting the Table

And, finally, platform. The three said they stick to Twitter, Facebook, and occasionally post videos on YouTube, but haven’t really gotten into other platforms, such as Pinterest. And while it’s easy to synch platforms, or use tools to spread your messages across multiple mediums, you have to be careful your audiences don’t get confused—and that the message is tailored to the platform audience.

Chef Tony said social media the cheapest and best way to market your business, but Jonathan warned that it does cost something—time. And if you can’t do it well and correctly and frequently, then perhaps you should be careful to dip your toes into it.

If you’re in the D.C. area, make sure you get involved with the SMCDC. Their next event is a hot one, on the topic of social media and romance.

See all the tweets here.

[Image: Aimee.Knight]