Chelsea Allenby is a Digital Marketer of 9 years and Managing Director of Allenby Digital Ltd, an online marketing agency she set-up in 2015, specialising in social media and content marketing. www.chelseamarketing.co.uk
The reason social media plays such a huge role in our lives is because it never fails to evolve. Each year it develops and re-defines, so there is always something new and exciting to utilise. As a restaurant or any brand for that matter, you too need to evolve with social media. Let’s have a look at what social media in 2017 has to offer and how you can make the most this year’s developments.
Start Live Streaming
There is something captivating about seeing a video unfold as it’s happening live at that very moment. Live streaming on Facebook has really picked up since it’s launch at the end of 2015. There is a real sense of being in the moment and connecting with something as it happens. If you can find a way to integrate live video with a special event or even your restaurant’s daily activities then do so in 2017. There is a real opportunity here to connect with your audience in a truly real-time way.
Embrace Disappearing Content
Expiring content has proven popular in 2016. Snapchat is growing from strength to strength and other platforms seem to have jumped on this concept too. Facebook have introduced disappearing content with their Instagram stories. Along with this, is the realtime nature of the content. Millennials especially like to feel a part of something as it’s happening at that moment. So, in a similar fashion to live-streaming, 24 hour ‘stories’ that expire after 24 hours have proven equally popular. For 2017, start introducing your story and sharing what happens behind the scenes at your restaurant. You can snap your staff, the chefs, the customers (with their permission) and the hustle and bustle that makes you unique.
Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
Augmented reality is starting to really pick up pace. In 2016 Pokemon Go stormed in and took the world by complete surprise. This showed us that there is a demand for augmented reality when it’s carried out in the right way. This is more of a prediction rather than a tip, but you must try to embrace new forms of virtual or augmented reality that you can somehow align with your restaurant. Only 2017 can reveal what these might be, but being receptive to new developments is a key message for social media this year.
Platform Refinement
With new platforms popping up at least once a year, it’s now a case of refining your social media strategy. Trying to be present on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and all the platforms you can be, is counter-intuitive. Stop to think about your audience before you jump on the newest platform. Stop to think about your resources; it’s better not to be present on a channel, rather than to be present, but manage one badly.
Pay to Play
You will need to pay to be competitive on social media. This has been the case for a while now but 2017 will likely be the definitive year of this. By this, we mean that you will need to invest a small amount into social media advertising to compete for exposure. A few years ago it was common for restaurants not to be on Facebook or Twitter. Only a handful of the most receptive restaurants, bars and pubs would be tweeting and posting on Facebook. Fast forward a few years and it’s extremely rare to come across a restaurant, hotel or shop, that doesn’t have some kind of social media presence. With this shift and increase in popularity, brands are forced to pay to make heads in the cluttered news feeds of users.
The good news is, this doesn’t have to break the bank. Boosting content on Facebook for as little as £1-5 can have a positive impact and reach a much wider audience than it otherwise would. If you’ve got an important event or promotion coming up, it’s definitely worth some paid promotion. Similarly, for Instagram and Twitter, you can sponsor your content so it doesn’t get lost seconds after you’ve distributed it.
No matter how much time you give social media marketing this year, make sure you’re embracing change along with the usual day-to-day activities. When a new feature becomes available to you, give it a try and see what results you get. You’ve got to be in it to win it, so jump on new developments before your competition does.
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