You have read the articles and heard the hype. If you are a business owner, you need to use social media marketing. At the very least it will cut down out of pocket expenses. The challenge that you have is the only thing you are hearing the so call social media experts talk about is the “big three” social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter).

If you are a restaurant owner, you can kind of see the benefits of having a Facebook Fan Page. And if you can get the right geo targeted followers on Twitter, you think you can make that work (but are left to wonder how to find those folks…we will post in another article). But LinkedIn? You just can’t see it.

I am not going to say that LinkedIn might not be a good venue for your restaurant. It would depend on the type of establishment you have.

Social media could be your best bet to increasing your business!

Let’s face it, we all want to be recognized for doing a great job.  Restaurant operators are no different.  And the best recognition comes from word of mouth.  But the challenge is how do you get found in the first place and how can you insure that word of mouth prasie is going to be heard from a large audience?

 After all, if I like it, that is great.  But since I work from a home office, I don’t have many opportunities to tell someone that I had a fabulous dining  experience here locally. Most of the people I talk to are not local and a good many of them are international. 

So, how is the local food establishment going to overcome that challenge?  Sure, I could go to their website and look at their testimonials, but have you ever seen a negative one on a sponsored site? 

What are my options for my restaurant or small biz to be found?

Yelp.com could be your answer.  Not the only one, but a really good one as you might also consider the up and coming FourSquare.com

Yelp.com is a website that allows users to search for and then rave, rate, (possibly rant if the experience is not up to par) and review a business. It is not just limited to restaurants as businesses and churches are also listed.

 The possibilities are endless. You can review your favorite bookstore, favorite restaurant, even your family doctor. But Yelp.com is more than a simple review website – it’s also a social networking site where people can make friends, compare favorites businesses, and more. While Yelp.com originally became well-known as a source of accurate restaurant reviews, it is becoming a haven for reviews on just about any type of consumer oriented company.

Yelp’s popularity is growing!

With smartphones becoming more of the norm, Yelp has apps for the iPhone, Blackberry and the Android.  In other words, you can be on the go, see someplace (be it a business or eatery) and check them out on the spot.  The social media tie in with yelp fuels its’ growth.  You can see who has rated a business (along with all businesses they have rated) and determine if this person has an agenda or not. If you like their view, you might reach out to them.

Listings are free!

My advice is to get your eating establishment listed on yelp.  It is a great source of advertising that you can’t beat the price on.  The only downside that I can see for your business is poor reviews!  Because if your business doesn’t measure up, people will find out about it and avoid you.  So…just provide the great goods and services that you promise and your business will benefit with a Yelp.com listing.

Believe it or not, not doing social media right can actually harm your business.

If you are looking for free tips or advice on how to approach your social media, go to Social Media Dudes

Or follow our tweets on Twitter at twitter.com/johnpanico

Finally, those are my thoughts from high atop my 2nd floor office above my garage.  What I want to hear are YOUR comments.  Please let me know what you think by commenting now!

If you are looking for free tips or advice on how to approach your social media, go to Social Media Dudesand subscribe to your newsletter in the upper left hand corner! Still not convinced that social media is right for your business? Read this and get our F.R.E.E. report on the 7 Myths of Social Media! Or follow our tweets on Twitter at twitter.com/johnpanico Finally, those are my thoughts from high atop my 2nd floor office above my garage. What I want to hear are YOUR comments. Please leave one now.

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