There is nothing I love better than a great meal and a glass of wine. Okay, except for a wine tasting with the perfect paired dishes! Restaurants are one of the hardest businesses to make profitable, so it’s imperative to use as many tools as possible to make your restaurant or bar a success, especially in an area like Doylestown where there are so many great dining options. So let’s look at some local Doylestown restaurants to see what we can do to help them succeed.

First, avoid Flash if you can, and music, no one wants to be accosted when they visit your site. That being said, I love Honey, the food is amazing and the atmosphere is spectacular, and let’s not forget The Freight House which is currently using Facebook (yay!), Chambers 19 one of my favorite Friday night spots, and, well, really there are too many Doylestown restaurants to mention! So what can local Doylestown restaurants do to catch the attention of local customers through social media? I’m glad you asked!

Blogging

As always, I don’t think I know a single business that couldn’t benefit from a blog. Let’s take a look at a few types of posts a restaurant or bar could make:

Secret ingredient – Hold a contest, anyone that guesses the secret ingredient in a new dish gets a free dessert

Review a new wine you’ve added – Choosing a glass or bottle of wine with dinner can be confusing to customers, so give them information on your blog about new wines you’ve added and which dishes they will go with

Cover local food events – Events like Taste of Philly with photos and pre-event news

Twitter

Twitter is a great way for restaurants to contact diners right before they are about to make plans, whether it’s a business lunch or drinks with friends on Friday night, Twitter can help you connect with local residents:

Happy hour specials – Tweet your daily happy hour specials

New menu items – Let residents know you’ve added something to the menu

Events like wine tastings – Having a special event? Let everyone know on Twitter, and take advance reservations

Facebook

Customers can become fans of your restaurant on Facebook and follow your updates so you can keep them in the loop. The key though, is getting them engaged rather than just throwing information at them:

Photos – Post photos of special things that happen, like someone proposing, or the Eagles game crowd

Ask questions – Find out what types of items your fans would like added to the menu

Restaurants by their very nature are social, so taking advantage of social media should be a no brainer for Doylestown restaurants that want to grow their business. I hope you now have more ideas on how to create a comprehensive social media plan for your restaurant or bar.