Times have changed and so has the game of promoting your restaurant, hotel or any other kind of business. Social Media has become an important tool to do this, and is still growing and becoming more important every day even in Phuket. There are a lot of companies who don’t really understand social media, thinking that they just need to be on it, because everyone else is too. However, if you’re not following the social media’s best marketing practices correctly it can dampen your online presence and create serious reputation issues.
5 things you shouldn’t be doing on social media:
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#1 Self promotion
The most common mistake is hard selling and doing it all the time. This would sound something like “Buy One Get One Free”, “30% Discount on…”, “Special offer TODAY”, etc.
Why? Well no one likes to be the subject of a sales pitch all the time. Besides that Social Media is all about the added value, so that people will bond with your brand. Don’t get us wrong, you do need to post those promotions but the ratio should be 80/20; 80% information and added value and 20% of those hard sales. However if you’re just starting out, create value first so that people want to follow you – in this case the ratio would be 95/5.
Most importantly, make sure to add value first.
#2 Visuals
This applies mainly for Facebook, Google+ and Instagram. Many venues repeat the same photos over and over again. People get bored because they see the same type of news on the feed the entire time. More variety on photos and videos will help to keep your readers’ news-feed fresh and interesting. At the same time you’ll keep people hooked to your page, and hopefully to your company as well!
#3 Not replying
If your fans are engaging with you through any social media channel, you’re doing a good job. However not acknowledging them is not only impolite, but will also have a negative impact on your brand. It could be compared to a guest going to a restaurant and unsuccessfully trying to get the attention of a waiter. The lack of response will surely annoy them. Make sure you’ll be there online; acknowledge them by replying or liking their comment.
#4 Incomplete information
If either a potential or regular customer lands on any of your social media pages, they should be able to easily find the basic information of your company. Stating your opening hours, address, means of contact, short and long description and so on is really important.
Think about it, if a potential customer wants to make a reservation for a restaurant but there are no contact details how would he be able to do this? He will surely continue looking for another restaurant, which has the information easily available.
#5 Not being consistent
It might sound tedious but you need to constantly be updating what’s happening at your venue – for small businesses that is at least once every other day. If your last post was dated last month or even last year, it will come of as a bad sign. So be strategic about it and keep running that marathon, as social media is not a sprint when it comes to seeing return on your investment. Make sure to keep going, and keep your page active.
All in all, social media is a great way to promote your brand if you’re using it in the right way. With it you can expand your reach and increase followers who one day will become your customer. As seen it can also create trouble when not used in the right way – one mistake on your social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google+ and your brand can suddenly deal with a serious reputation issue.
On our Facebook page we give tons of free resources to improve your social media efforts, and you can always contact us if your company needs help with social media.