Tag Archives: Chris Brogan

Social Media For Restaurants – It Works!

Posted on by
12

Many businesses across the country are grapping with the question: “Should we be using social media?” Or maybe they’re asking an even more pointed and inappropriate question: “Should we be trying to sell more product using social media?” Companies that have been sending direct mail pieces, and running print ads, radio ads, even TV ads… they’re asking themselves, “Is social media a space we should be playing in?”

Scorch’s answer (and my own answer) is a big YES! But perhaps the greater question is, “Which of those traditional interruption-based advertising mediums should we be replacing right now with a devoted and concentrated social media engagement strategy?

When it comes to restaurants’ use of social media, AJ Bombers in Milwaukee, WI is just killing it. Joe Sorge, owner, has used social media exclusively to promote his burger joint, and it’s working because of his undying belief in the medium (along with excellent food. Including a burger with peanut butter on it. Don’t argue with me. Eat it once and you’ll know). You would struggle to find a business owner that’s more on top of the tweets swirling around his business than Joe.

An agency like Scorch can help with something like this, and we do an excellent job. Joe has a leg up and he helps himself, because he truly believes in the core principle of what Gary Vaynerchuk calls, “The Thank You Economy.” When I visited AJ Bombers for the second time in a week to conduct my interview, Joe was engaged in conversation at a customer table. I grabbed a beer and chatted with this staff, thinking he might be awhile. I was right – he spent a ton of time chatting up the folks that made their way into his establishment. Joe is hands-on, both online and offline, and the combination is helping AJ Bombers meet with huge success.

Thanks to Joe for talking to me, and thanks for the hospitality when I came in with my family. My daughters loved throwing peanut shells on the floor! Joe, I’ll be back up next summer – see you for a Quad AJ Burger – I can do it!

Buy Joe’s book, TwitterWorks, Restaurant 2.0 Edition.

What We’re Reading – July 14th 2010 – Hot Links From Scorch

Posted on by
6

Playing the part of Internet DJ, here’s a sampling of what Scorchers have been reading lately.

1.) Darren Rowse at Problogger.net has a nice article on how to get things done when you’re feeling overwhelmed.  Often when we’re freaking out, when we have a plate stacked high with things to do… we end up getting less done.  It can be a paralyzing feeling, and our new 140-character culture is changing us from being task-oriented beings to ADD Shiny Red Ball beings.  Darren’s article is what I call a “duh” article – his four steps seem like common sense.  That’s grand – now go get started!  I have 10+ things on my to-do list today (yes I use lists in an attempt to keep things from slipping through the cracks), and yet I had to force my butt into the Aeron to write this post.  Choose to get things done!

2.) Chris Brogan writes about the countless ways people can now communicate with us. Scorch Agency is in the communication business, so you might think we’d be excited at the explosion of communication options.  However, just look at the list he offers: multiple email accounts (some with chat), Facebook (wall, chat, private message), Twitter (public tweets and DMs), SMS, the contact form on your website or websites, LinkedIn, the telephone (even voicemail!), and face to face. I didn’t even include Google Wave or Google Buzz. Companies are being communicated with on each platform, and the trick is to listen extremely well and communicate back. Chris’ point is spot-on — this new world actually makes a smart phone completely necessary.

3.) Renée Revetta over on Marketing Pilgrim writes about Facebook’s ability to dynamically create ads for your business.  When you provide Facebook Ads a URL, it instantly creates a suggested Facebook ad for you by pulling the title tag, meta description, and an image associated with the main content. For those that want to get an ad done quickly, Renée thinks the service works pretty well.  However, if your ad requires a specific call to action, you’ll probably want to edit your auto-generated ad content.