As I mentioned in my first post, I love technology. I think technology can be a tool that helps businesses create better products, reach more customers and ultimately make more money and hire more employees.
But there is one thing that needs to be made very clear. Technology is not magic. By itself, it will not make a difference for your business. It is a tool; a tool that must be used properly, just as a hammer, hanging in your garage, will not build a house.
A good example of this is social media. Social media is incredibly popular. Nearly two-thirds of American adults (65 percent) used social networking sites in 2015, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s a lot of eyeballs, which is why it makes sense that businesses want to reach people on these platforms. And many businesses are spending a lot of money to do just that. In fact, by 2017, social network ad spending will reach $35.98 billion.
Most local businesses don’t have that kind of cash to spend on ads. But many are using social media to showcase their business and entice new customers. The problem is that many of these businesses, especially restaurants, aren’t making the most of this opportunity.
Many restaurants love to snap pictures of their food and post them on their social media sites. In theory this makes a lot of sense. Restaurants should be very proud of their food. It is at the core of what they do. For many, presentation is an art form, which makes a beautiful visual. Why wouldn’t you take a photo and share it?
Well, for two reasons.
A picture is not worth a thousand words
First, despite how far we have advanced in the history of the culinary art form people still have a biological, primitive reaction to food. When people see an image of food their brains either say yes or no. That is why menus are varied – people like different things. If their brain says no, then you’ve lost that customer. If that can happen 50 percent of the time, then this isn’t the ideal marketing strategy.
Additionally, social media is an organic environment. By that I mean you can’t control when someone sees your post. If, at that moment, they have just eaten a huge meal and then they see your stunning image of prime rib, they may be turned off. That is not the sort of impression you want to make. People have short attention spans (shorter than even a goldfish) so you don’t want to risk making a bad impression. They may not give you a second chance.
Lastly, a stunning image of a dish invites comparisons to the reality the customer experiences. If they come in because they were attracted to your photo and then their meal looks quite different (there are no Instagram filters in real life), that can lead to disappointment. Disappointment can lead to bad reviews. Bad reviews are bad for business. Harvard Business School Professor Michael Luca found that a one-star increase in a Yelp rating leads to a 5 percent to 9 percent bump in revenue, according to Restaurant.org.
Experience is king
Secondly, and I am sure I may get some objections on this point, restaurants aren’t actually selling food, they’re selling an experience. Of course, food plays an important role in that experience but, because of the points I mentioned above, that part can wait until the customer is actually in your restaurant. What can entice them is your ambiance. Great food is table stakes. People expect it from a restaurant. Additionally, they can get great food at home as well. What they can’t get at home is the experience of going out. Whether you’re a trendy millennial or a married couple on date night, when you go out you want to have fun. Show them how much fun they’d have at your restaurant.
If you do that then you’ll be using social media to your advantage. When you do that you can share your brand and drum-up new business. You’ll be putting the tool to work for you and that can be powerful.
An experienced developer and entrepreneur, Dan Vine is the CTO and co-founder of Adored. He has spent more than 15 years as a leader in the tech industry. His true passion is helping small businesses solve problems.
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