Social Savvy
A new approach to customer engagement
From neighborhood celebrity to social media influencer, a Social Savvy mindset is about building a digital community as robust as an in-person one. Hint: this means the DMs are always open.
Restaurant operators have always served to build community and facilitate meaningful connections with neighboring partners and customers.
The difference now is that these connections are happening online—often on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram and other times interrupted by third-party platforms. The Social Savvy operator uses technology to take a consistently proactive and vocal stance when engaging with their customers.
In many ways, social media was built for small businesses. When utilized effectively, operators can learn a lot about their customers, like demographics, other nearby shops they frequent, when they enjoy the restaurant, and what they’re eating. Social Savvy operators engage with their customers and repost their content. They crowdsource ideas and messages directly, fielding customers’ requests for new menu items. Communicating with customers this way facilitates a conversation, but also a sale.
Social Savvy helps you stay relevant and connected to your customers—so you know what they actually want from your brand.
Whether the community of choice is Instagram, Facebook, a homegrown email list, or something else, the Next Gen Operator doesn’t treat social media like a side hustle or a nice-to-have. They see it as a crucial, digital front door that welcomes new customers and nurtures existing ones to stay. Think of it this way: Social Savvy or bust!
They are consistent, messaging on the platform daily and learning how to optimize their presence to build a following and enable a sale. They remain faithful to the brand voice and are sensitive to what is happening in the world and their community.
Tend to your social channels and watch your following grow!
Now is the time to use social media as a must-have.
Do you cross-promote with neighboring local businesses or sports teams in your area? Have you enlisted influencers to grow brand awareness and engagement? Then you employ a Social Savvy mindset, and your customers connect with your human approach to marketing.
There’s no right or wrong way, so long as you’re using the tools available to you and putting your most authentic voice forward.
“Mr. Beast Burger, a virtual concept tied to YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, launched in nearly 300 locations across 35 states on Dec. 21, 2020. Thanks to his legion of subscribers, restaurants quickly sold out of his “Beast Style” burgers and fries.
With the rise of conversational commerce tools like Attentive Mobile, operators are finding new ways to reach their customers directly. Jason’s Deli has achieved significant subscriber growth of 110% since partnering with Attentive. With an 81%+ CTR on its triggered welcome messages—and a 68%+ CVR on its cart abandonment reminders—text messaging has proven to be an effective marketing channel for the restaurant’s hungry audience.
Sociovore helps restaurants create their own website and online ordering platform. They strive to become the Squarespace of restaurants after witnessing their parents’ thriving hometown restaurant struggle to connect digitally with customers and own the digital relationship.
Which works best for your business? Send us a note—we’re all ears.
Back to the mindset
“The way you market your brands and the way you acquire customers is going to differentiate the winners from the losers.”
– Spencer, a restaurant operator in New York City
Next (Gen) Mindset
Stewardship
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04 Social Savvy
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