The latest Nielsen Social Media Report (Q3 2011) showed that among Nielsen’s 10 internet metered markets, Australian internet users spend the most time visiting social networks and blogs, averaging 7 hours, 17 minutes per person. This is growing, as more people access social media sites via their smart phone and are incentivised to share content with their friends.

For the restaurant and café industry, these new communication tools present an opportunity to build loyalty with existing clients and help to build a connection with new customers.

Inherently, consumers are social, and utilising word of mouth referrals is how businesses most effectively capitalise on these new mediums and let others do the talking for them, deepening the understanding of their products and services.

No matter what the size of your business, social media can add value – it just depends on how you choose to engage and whom you want to target. Focus your time on what platforms you feel most comfortable with, ask your customers what networks they are using and when you do set up a profile for your business, don’t forget to let people know that you’re online, social and listening to what they have to say.

If you’re just starting out, Facebook is usually the best platform to set up first, given the amount of time consumers are spending on this site each month. It’s been many of the coffee brands like Starbucks that have been pioneers for the site and have used Facebook to build the personality of their brand and encourage consumers to remain loyal.

Have a look at what Starbucks: https://www.facebook.com/Starbucks (with over 27 million fans!), Nescafe: https://www.facebook.com/Nescafe or The Coffee Bean: https://www.facebook.com/thecoffeebean are doing and take some inspiration for your own brand to engage with fans.

If you’re a roaster or have your coffee distribution, then there’s a great opportunity to let your loyal fans know what venues they can get their favourite coffee fix from too! There’s plenty of cost effective plug ins to help make your Facebook page dynamic, but don’t forget about driving them back to your own website for further information too.

Don’t underestimate the power of niche platforms that are relevant to the restaurant industry, like Foursquare:  www.foursquare.com, where consumers are leaving tips about your venue and can often be offered an incentive to return. Claiming your venue on Foursquare is free and if managed effectively, can help to drive repeat visits, refer friends and understand what people are recommending.

While having a presence is important, many companies are starting to realise that just setting up Twitter, YouTube and Facebook accounts is not going to cut it as their social media strategy. Brands will need to seriously shift their perspective by treating social channels more like communication channels (and less like advertising channels), in order to make a difference. Many of these platforms are now used as vehicles for customer relationship management and customer support, managing disgruntled or happy customers in near real time.

If you do nothing else, make sure that you’re listening through sites like http://www.socialmention.com/ or just set up a free Google alert for when your business name is mentioned. You’d be surprised how many businesses are unaware of the volume of mentions that are taking place about their brand that are not responded to.

My top ten tips to get you thinking…

• Create a Facebook fan page for your business and utilise the custom features of the page to ensure you tell your brand story.

• Integrate your social media presence with other marketing activities – include your Facebook page on your website, email signatures, Twitter page etc.

• Start off small and focused, and don’t try to use all applications at once.

• Recognise that while many social media platforms are free to set up, they take an investment of time to be successful.

• Think about who is delivering your content – whoever posts content is talking about your brand and should be briefed on appropriate messages. It’s not always appropriate to give your content to the junior staff to be looking after.

• Don’t expect immediate sales – this is about an ongoing dialogue with consumers, not a hard sell opportunity.

• Measure the impact, and don’t be afraid to test new things out.

• Remember that each social media network has a different target group and tone, so don’t assume that the same message you post to one network is always relevant in the same format on another.

• Have a risk strategy in place – think about how you’ll respond and have a plan of action of how you’ll deal with negative feedback if it occurs.

• Be patient – results will take time. This is about building relationships which need to be nurtured.

BY TRISH BARRY