Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: As a restaurant marketer, I get more questions about social media than just about any other topic. And on episode 386, we talked about this, right? There are two different sides of social media. There's the paid side and there was the organic side. And I firmly believe you need a paid strategy to balance out whatever organic content you are putting out there. But it's the year 2024. I'm not an idiot. I know that we need to leverage social media and put out a strong presence on social media. I just think differently about the way that we should be using organic social media, but it needs to be in the mix. So talked a lot about how to do it, how to crush it. And on Today's episode, episode 388 of the Restaurant Strategy podcast, I'm going to share with you 10 accounts that are absolutely crushing it on social media. Because you know what? Sometimes we just need a little inspiration. So today, a little inspiration.
There's an old saying that goes something like this. You'll only find three kinds of people in the world. Those who see, those who will never, ever see, and those who can see when shown. This is Restaurant Strategy, a podcast with answers for anyone who's looking.
Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in. My name is Chip Close and this is Restaurant Strategy. In case you don't know me, I wrote a book, it's called the Restaurant Marketing Mindset. I give talks all over the world. I host a group coaching program called the P3 mastermind. We put hundreds of people through the program, over 150 people currently enrolled in the program. And of course I host this podcast. I do this podcast, free information, free education, twice every single week. You can do me a favor though. If you get any sort of value from this show, please go to Apple Podcasts, leave us a five star rating and review. That more than anything else, signals to everybody else out there who's looking for help, who looking for a show like this, it signals to them that this is worth listening to. So if you feel like it's worth listening to, if you've gotten any sort of value, go to Apple Podcasts. It takes two minutes. Just leave us a five star rating and review. Just let people know what you've gotten out of the show. Bunch of you have done that, especially over the last two or three months and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Go. Pause now, do that and then come back.
Avi, you love to go out to eat. So. So, as a guest, what's your biggest pet peeve? When you're trying to choose a place to eat. Yeah.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: As the father of two children, I can't leave the house for less than $30 an hour. My wife has celiac. So when we're going to make a dining decision, I live and die by that menu. I'm in there researching what's available, what can my wife eat, what can we share, what do I get to eat off of her plate?
And so that menu is just a crucial part of all decision making for me as a consumer. It's why at Marquee, we focus so much on our menus, our menu integration, so that as operators, your menu that lives in your point of sale, that you want customers to see is available and up to date everywhere.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: To learn more about Marquee, go to marquee.com m a r q I I.com to learn more about this and all of the incredible features they have.
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Okay, so on episode 386 we were talking about the best way to leverage the social media platforms. Today on episode 388, I'm going to give you some inspiration. I'm going to share with you 10, 10 accounts that are absolutely crushing it. 10 restaurants that are crushing it on social media. And we're going to talk about why, what specific perspective they take, what point of view and how you can maybe take some inspiration from those accounts. So ten accounts in order. Actually in no particular order. This is just the ways that I was thinking about them.
I'm going to give you a couple of tips though, right at the top before we go into the list.
Number one, we talked about this a little bit in the year 2024. It will soon be 20, 25. You should, I would say four out of five posts on social media. Let's say Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.
Four out of five should be video.
As I'm recording this, it should be vertical video. So that's, that's a real. The other one, if you're going to share photo, great, what would be better is a photo carousel, meaning when you do 3, 4, 5, 10 photos that people can sw through as a carousel, it helps properly tell the story. So when we're talking about maintaining a feed, that's the best way to do it. 4 out of 5 posts should be video. The last one really should be a carousel. And I think you're going to see a lot of common threads. When you go check out all of the accounts that I, that I, that I name here, you're going to see that they pretty much adhere to that. So I didn't make up the rule. I'm just observing what other smarter people are doing. And I'm bringing that back home to you. Right? So that's the first, first sort of rule of thumb.
You don't need to do multiple posts every single day. If you did four or five posts a week, I think that's pretty good. Because again, when we talk about maintaining an organic presence on social media, so again, for the most part, it's Facebook, Instagram and or TikTok, right? It's really just about putting yourself in front of your consumers on a regular basis. You don't have to inundate them. Because really, I like to think about those pages as a lookbook, right? That that's not where people go to discover new restaurants, but that's where they go to confirm what they've already heard or what they want to believe. I want to say that again.
Instagram, for example, TikTok, for example, is not where people go to discover new restaurants. For the most part. It is where they go to confirm what they've heard or they want to believe. And that's really, really important. Meaning somebody sitting there, they're having coffee with a friend, they say, you know, have you been anywhere good lately? And they go, yeah, me and my husband, we went to restauran restaurant XYZ for our anniversary. Oh, really? I've never heard of it. Let me go check it out. They pull out their phone and they go to check out the Instagram page, the TikTok page. That's mostly how organic social media functions. Rarely are we scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and going, oh, wow, that burger looks so juicy. Hey, babe. Grab your, grab your purse, put on your shoes. We gotta go right now. It's not how it happens, right? People aren't going looking for discoverability. It's not. There's no purchase intent on the social media platforms. Not in the same way that there is on Google or even on Yelp or TripAdvisor. Right. There is purchase intent. People are trying to figure out where to go. Same thing on like an open table or a resi app. There is purchase intent. People want to secure a reservation, want to figure out where to go eat. Social media, not so much. So think of it like a lookbook. You're curating a look of the feeds. 4 out of 5 posts should be video. Last one, I think should be a photo carousel. Again, for restaurants in the year 2024, going into 2025, that is a really strong way to maintain, to curate your feeds. When we talk about what you should be posting. Right. I like to think in terms of content pillars. So that means that everything you post will fall into one of, let's say, five categories. For a restaurant, that's pretty much food, beverage, your space, probably your people, and probably your community or your neighborhood, that fifth one can be a wild card. But I think food be space people should be four of your five content pillars. The fifth one, you can, you can, you can use that as you see, please, as you see fit. Again, I think food, beverage, people, space, neighborhood or community. That, that's just me.
But certainly you can do, you can do with that fifth, whatever you want. And if you see a different way to utilize this, for sure, I'm going to share with you some feeds that do different things, but the ones that do different things are big enough, they're iconic enough that they don't have to promote who they are and what they do. Most people know what they do. They're there trying to accomplish something different, which is something we're going to cover as we go through this list. So I want you to think of those, the last piece here, especially as we dive in. I want you to know that you can do anything with these feeds. You don't have to do what all the other restaurants are doing. You don't have to do what you think you should be doing. You can do whatever you want. And again, you will see that as you go through this list, there are places that are using their social media feeds in really weird, fun, crazy interesting ways. Here's my little bonus before we get into the list of 10 restaurants, if you are not following Scrub Daddy on TikTok go look at what they're doing and look and see how they utilize their feed, how that feed functions within their larger marketing plan. It is absolutely brilliant and hilarious.
Again, not a restaurant, but you can see how far a brand can go, how far off brand they can go. Go check out Scrub Daddy on TikTok. It's amazing.
It's amazing what they've built on that platform. Okay, that's it. We're gonna do 10 of these, right? Short and sweet. 10, 10 accounts to give you inspiration so you get some ideas on how to. How to maintain your social media presence. Okay. Number one, top Noma. Noma is a restaurant in Copenhagen. It's probably the most famous or the best restaurant in the world. So yes, I know this is a little bit, this is a little bit obvious, but, but, and by the way, all of these links to all of these accounts are going to be in the show notes so you don't have to hunt. You can just go click in the show notes and go right to the account to see what I'm actually talking about. But Noma is a restaurant. Three Michelin stars in Copenhagen. What I think they do really well is they really get across their ethos. You understand who they are. Number one, you understand what it's like to dine. They've got.
Every fourth or fifth post is showing you the room so you get a sense of what it's like to sit in the room.
They are always featuring their food and the menu development that goes into place.
Pop ups, right. They're always traveling to different places around the world to do partnerships and collaborations and they highlight all of that really well. They are a very unique restaurant with a very specific point of view. And I think their social media account, specifically their Instagram account, really captures that well. Really does the brand justice. So that's the first one I wanted to share with you.
Second one I want to share with you is Fry the Coop. Fry the Coop is like a chicken place in the Chicago suburbs. And what they do really well is they're great at staying up on current trends. So if there's a meme, if there's a song, if there's a style of video that's really, that's really getting a lot of attention right now, they'll jump right on it. They don't deliberate, they don't wait. They just jump right on the trend. And they're funny. They feature their food. The food looks great, but they stay up on these trends. I'm not saying you have to do it But I'm saying it's probably worth knowing what those trends are. And if you want to see a brand that's doing it really well, you know, and they're not some, you know, 800 unit giant.
It's just a guy. You'll see that, like this guy and his team. They just do it really, really well. So fry the coop. If you haven't checked them out, go check them out and you'll see a company that does that thing really well. Third one. Okay. We're talking about a huge, iconic brand and looking at how they utilize it. Wendy's. I mean, I couldn't do an episode on this topic without talking about Wendy's. Wendy's has a specific sense of humor, a specific point of view on their, again, in this case, their Instagram feed. And by the way, most of these, I am using their Instagram feed because Instagram continues to be the most powerful platform for restaurants. Not saying that you couldn't have a presence on TikTok. You can. I don't think you'll get the kind of audience and the reach that you would on Instagram.
Same thing. I think Instagram works really well for us in a way that maybe Facebook doesn't. You should also maintain a presence there. Facebook and Instagram are sort of table stakes simply because you're going to then leverage all of the paid tools as well.
Most of these, I'm utilizing Instagram because this is where most people go.
It's their first move when they're going to check out a restaurant, when they're going to confirm their.
The opinion that they heard the recommendation. So Wendy's is obviously a huge, iconic brand. And if you look at what BURGER KING and McDonald's does, I think it's sort of in the box. It's in keeping with who they are and the Persona that they put out on their TV commercials and in print. And I think Wendy's is such a stark departure. I think the way they use their, specifically their Instagram feed is totally.
Is totally different than the way they do the rest of their branding.
But I think, and I'm gonna make a prediction, I think over the next several years, the rest of their marketing, their voice on tv, their voice in print, is actually gonna start bending to be more like their Instagram Persona because it is so strong, it is so clear, it's chippy, it sort of knocks the competitors.
It's got a sense of humor. Go check it out. So Wendy's is a great, is a great example of somebody using their feeds In a totally, totally different way. And again, they have cover because they're an iconic brand. Most people know Wendy's knows the food, knows what they are, what they offer, all of that. But if you want to see somebody doing it really well, watch that. Okay. Fourth one is a restaurant called Bad Roman. Bad Roman is here in New York City. It's in the. Right in Columbus Circle in what used to be called the Time Warner Center. I opened a restaurant in that building, so I know this space really well. They've completely reinvented the space where they are, but on their social media feed, it's sexy. They show off their food and their beverage and their space really, really well.
You can literally just see the kinds of reels they post and just copy them. Just do exactly what they're doing. So you'll see they'll do a video where they'll serve a dish and then sauce the dish table side, and that's the whole video. It's like 10, maybe 15 seconds total. Right.
A lot of, like, things being plated or things being created or a drink being made and poured.
Go and see how they do it. Most of these are not shot professionally. Most of them are just shot with a nice light and an iPhone. So if you think you can't do it too, I'm here to say you can.
You can do it, too. So Bad Roman is number four. Number five. Right. Going back to another huge iconic brand, Hard Rock Cafe.
I think it's really cool to see them put out their brand identity so clearly on Instagram, leveraging all the celebrities, leveraging the influencers, leveraging all the various cities that they're in, because there is a sameness to certainly what they serve. Of course, that's what they're trying to do. And yet there's diversity in the kinds of cities and the kinds of places where they are, and they do that really, really well. So I don't think this is gonna. I don't think this is going to have a lot to do with what a lot of you guys are doing. But if you've got three locations of the brand, if you've got five locations of your brand, they are in different neighborhoods, maybe they're in different markets. You should be celebrating those different brands and those different markets, and I think there are ways to do that. So those are the top five. Those are the first five. Again, these are in no particular order except. Except how they came to my mind. So those are the first five I want to cover. We're going to do the next five in just a minute.
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All right, so we're talking about social media brands, specifically restaurants, who are leveraging their social media platforms in a really powerful way. I am giving you specific examples to help inspire you. So if you feel like you don't know how to do this and you need ideas, I am giving you tons of ideas, sharing 10 accounts that you can go check out. And again, all of those links are in the show notes. Number six is Handcraft Burgers and Brew. They are also in New York City. I use them because this is Rev's restaurant. So Rev Ciencio is colleague of mine. We host the P3 Marketing Summit every January.
Not only is he restaurant marketer, but he is also an operator. He is a partner in a restaurant. And so he does a lot of the things that he believes, a lot of the things that he tells his clients to do, his marketing clients he is doing, he is putting into practice in his restaurant and proving that they work.
I think they do a really good job, right? Their place is, I don't wanna say a hole in the wall. Cause it's nice. It's a tiny footprint, right? With a couple of kiosks on the side, maybe five tables, couple of seats at the window. It's a small footprint, but they have a really, really clear identity. They know who they are, they know what they do well, and they do it very, very well. And the feeds feature that specifically I wanted to draw your attention to their like Burger of the Month, the way they promote their Burger of the month, the way they promote different days, right? National French Fry Day, National Cheeseburger Day, that kind of thing. They do it really, really well. Also, Rev puts himself front and center. And this is something worth mentioning, right? You don't have to, but if you think you do want to put yourself front and center, right? Where one person is really sort of the spokesperson for the place, that's okay. So a chef, a owner, a manager, whoever it is. And in this case it is Rev. Rev knows what he's doing. He's very good on camera, he's very good speaking. He's very energized, excitable. He is an influencer himself and he does that really well. So if you want to see how to do some of those things, it's a really great feed to follow. That'll give you an example of that.
Great. Number seven, Osho Moko. Again, another New York City restaurant. I'm sort of biased. I get it. I live here just outside of New York City.
But it's sort of in.
It's right in my, right out my windshield here. So it's impossible for me to ignore this. Oceo Moco is Mexican restaurant. It's the only Michelin star Mexican restaurant in New York City. It's in Brooklyn. And one of the things they do really well is they highlight their people, both their employees and their customers. They do a really good job of doing it. So if you want to see sort of an upscale restaurant, right, they're not all pretentious. It's still Brooklyn, it's still comfortable.
There's a casualness about the room. So if you want to see how somebody's doing this. A neighborhood restaurant, but a very good neighborhood restaurant. A Michelin starred neighborhood restaurant with really good pedigree from the owners.
You want to see the way that they highlight their people. It is infectious. When you look at their feeds, it's not every single post, but it's two out of five posts. Three out of five posts. Again, they're people, a specific person, their employees, their guests. They do a really good job, better than a lot of other places. So I wanted to draw your attention to that because highlighting your people is a really key way. And they've just put it front and center.
Number eight again, another big brand, another iconic brand, Shake Shack. But I think they do this really well. What I want you to see is the energy of the brand.
So Shake Shack is entering obviously a saturated market in the fast food burger market, right? So you've got McDonald's, you've got burger King, you've got Wendy's. They are not those things. If you want to say they are one of the these better burger brands, right? So the better burger is like a more upscale option. It's a five guys, it's a whataburger, it's Wahl burgers, it's a Shake Shack. And they need to separate themselves, right? They're Never gonna. Or it's gonna take decades for them to take over McDonald's, let's say. And I don't even think they're trying to do that. I think there's a very specific kind of person that they're taking that they're trying to convert from McDonald's over. And so their competitors are the ones I mentioned and I think they do a really good job better, I think, than their competitors. You be the judge. But go and see specifically for what Shake Shack does to promote the energy of their brand.
Great Crumbl Cookies, right? So cookie wars are really big deal. It is a thing. But when you see how Crumbl Cookies uses their feed, this is almost like high fashion, right? So they are taking a perspective. They are not everyday, they are not normal. They're not pretending, they're not trying to be approachable, at least on their social media feeds. They're shooting this like a perfume company, right? Like Chanel would shoot their new perfume. Like Prada would shoot their new. Their new fall line. Like Dolce and Gabbana would shoot their new sunglasses.
But it's cookies, right? So it's. It's sort of tongue in cheek. But they do it really, really well. They thread the needle. So again, if you want to see a different way to utilize your feeds, this is one other way to utilize your feeds. Right. Number 10, last one I want to highlight on this episode is a place called Speedboat Bar. Right? So Speedboat Bar is in London.
There's sort of like Chinese like, like street food place, but like elevated street food, man. When we talk about food porn, this place does it. Food porn. But it's not just all photos, right? So notice I didn't share any feeds that just share photos because I think photos are sort of dead. If you're going to share photos, it really should be in a photo slideshow. Carousel, right. This feed is bright, it's energized, it's got personality. I get a really good sense of the kind of food. The color for me translates to flavor.
This place. And again, they're small, little like neighborhood spot. So it gives you a sense of sort of like where the place is and what to expect. But really it is highlighting the food and the flavors. And I think, I think they do it really well, a lot better. And I didn't know this place. Somebody had told me I was asking for somewhere. I was talking to some colleagues and they said immediately I talked to somebody and they're like, oh, Speedboat Bar. They do it great. And so I'm highlighting them. So Those are the 10 again. Noma Fry the Coop, Wendy's Bad Roman, Hard Rock Cafe, Handcraft Burgers and Brew, Osho Moco, Shake Shack, Crumbl Cookies and Speedboat Bar. Again, if you missed episode 386386 is where we really got into the nitty gritty. Really got into how to use your organic social media feeds to leverage your brand. But now I want to give you some inspiration, right? This is if you say, well, I don't really know what to do or I don't know how to do it, just go see what other people are doing and literally copy them. So that's that. Guys, one last reminder. Again, I ask you all the time to leave me reviews on the podcast. It dawns on me that I've never actually asked you for reviews for my book. So I wrote a book. The Restaurant Marketing Mindset. Came out a little over a year ago. We are just about to sell out the first printing of the book. I'm incredible, grateful, incredibly proud of that book. If you've read the book and you liked the book, if you got any sort of value from the book, I'm going to ask you to go to Amazon and leave a five star rating and review. Just let people know what you got out of the book and why they should read it it. I'm going to include that link in the show notes. If you could take two minutes and do that, I would be eternally grateful. Guys, thanks so much for making me part of your week. Appreciate you being here and I will see you next time.
