Review of Literature 

Use the Power of Social Media to Market to Gen-Zers

   The booming popularity of social media in recent years has opened many doors when marketing to our younger generation. According to the award-winning journalist Jason Magder, “Because of the power of social media, Deschenes explained, the marketing space is undergoing a revolution, and that has been a boon for the youngest segment of the workforce, which is more in tune with the new tools.” Our younger generation is more technologically savvy than older populations, using social media as a platform for nearly everything. Business professor Dr. Rodney Graeme Duffett agrees with Magder in saying, “Additionally, the notion of implementing content that is both entertaining and current would entice young consumers to interact and disseminate the information to their friends.” Using social media as a marketing tool instead of just a social space will allow businesses to reach a younger audience and spread the word faster than ever before.

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The Fall of Facebook- Instagram and Youtube Take Over for Gen Zers

   While most are in agreement that social media is the top way to market to the younger generation or Gen Z, it should also be known that not all social media platforms are equal. While Facebook usage in Gen Zers is declining according to Edward Pollitt, an experienced journalist from B&T with a history in technology, “The two youngest generations are over 70 percent of Instagram’s total users.” The former social media giant (Facebook)  is still popular among older populations, but for Gen Zers it is a different story. Toby Cox, a content writer, and marketing specialist at Clutch.co agrees with Polliett stating, “While only 36% of Generation Zers report using Facebook weekly, 89% use YouTube, 74% use Instagram, and 68% use Snapchat at least once a week.” This shows that when marketing to the younger audience it must be taken into account the difference in internet activity when it comes to social media.

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The Importance of Using both Marketing Methods & Communicating: Blending Traditional and Social Media Marketing

   Creating social media content is extremely important since research shows that most people, especially Gen Z, spend at least four hours a day on their phones looking through their social media platforms. Paige Cooper and Shannon Tien who are both marketers in Montreal and Hootsuite respectively mentioned that “A social media content calendar is like the Marie Kondo of your entire social media strategy. It sounds like a big commitment at first, but you can rest assured it’ll pay that time back in the future” (Cooper&Tien 2020). The claim is that this calendar is concise and well-formatted information that enables the restaurant to plan ahead and avoid multitasking with creating content. This means that it will make content creation be more organized and this planning will help you to note down your creative brainwaves for later. A content creator, Nathan Mendenhall agrees with the notion that planning is essential in content creation “In the planning phase, brands should keep in mind what they have to offer as an entity and present those elements through the lens of what consumers want” (Nathan 2019). This claims that the restaurant should process what makes it special and present that specialty with some entertainment, inspiration, and value. Meaning that planning right actually aligns you with your consumers and puts you ahead of your competitors. Alfred Lua who is a product marketer at Buffer also agrees that a plan is essential in creating a content marketing strategy “You can think of it this way: A strategy is where you’re headed. A plan is how you’ll get there” (Lua 2019). Lua claimed that planning helps understand one’s goals and identify what customers want. This means it is pertinent that business owners adapt to planning first before creating content. All these writers agree that planning is key to creating content for businesses. As much as business owners want their customer’s attention to be drawn to their businesses, business owners need to plan.

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The Benefits of Blending Social Media Marketing and Traditional Marketing for Restaurants

   To better understand the ways that restaurants can blend social media marketing and traditional marketing, we explored best practices for using social media. Social media is a different tool from the traditional method, “Social media marketing in restaurants includes a different approach than traditional marketing, as social media involves interacting directly with customers and public bi-directionally” (Lucas). In her 2018 dissertation, Marketing Strategies to Increase Sales in Small Family-Style Restaurant Businesses, Tammira Lucas claims that there is a clear difference between these two strategies and that social media enhances the traditional method. The reason for this is because consumers trust in social media techniques and what they read online from other peers. Tasheenia Bennett (2017) concurs with Lucas. Bennett's marketing studies research on "How Small Restaurant Businesses Use Social Media" verifies that "restaurants draw in new business and increase sales by using social media websites. Using specific social media platforms can aid in increased communication by developing a relationship between the company and the consumer, creating trust and credibility." 

 

   We sought which social media platforms the young adults use frequently and how many hours they spend on these platforms. These questions were asked in order to make planning easier for our clients. Our clients can have a knowledge of where their demographic hangs out the most and when to dish out the marketing plans. Because while making plans, our clients have to choose their social media platform, in order to be able to communicate with their consumers. Interestingly, a large number of the people who filled the survey use Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. All this means that our clients can cultivate trust and credibility to help achieve their promotion goals by merging both traditional marketing methods with social media tactics like peer to peer marketing. 

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Communicating on the Go

   Our team also wanted to better understand why social media is so effective for restaurant promotions. We found that two-way social communications allow for flexible and on the go interactions which help restaurant promoters stay engaged with their busy clients. Constantinides and Fountain (2008) in their Journal Conceptual Foundations and Marketing Issues, identified five categories of Social Media: Blogs, Social networks, content communities, forums/bulletins, and content aggregators. These are some of the ideas that restaurants are rushing to integrate into their various forms of social media communication, as their marketing plan. This is why it is important that restaurants need to set goals and create long term plans for their posting strategies and content creation. In making an effective social media marketing plan, the five W questions (Who, Where, How, What, Why you are planning) are important. Because these would help you to know what directions need to be faced for effective social media communication in your marketing plan. These plans could also be used for all intending social media platforms. Also, consistency with your consumers on these social media platforms is important. Carolyn Edgecomb (2017) agrees with Constantinides and Fountain. Edgecomb’s Social Media Marketing article, The Importance of A Two-Way Conversation agrees that “engaging in conversation shows that you’re not just a cold organization disconnected from their buyers; it shows you are listening, understanding, and care about their concerns on a human level.” This means that our clients can add value to their brand’s personality by communicating with social media tactics like showing consistency with their consumers on their social media platforms.

 

 

Restaurant Social Media Success Plan: Keep It Fresh and Plan Ahead

   Staying on track with social media is something many businesses struggle with. Making weekly plans and content calendars isn't a strategy many have succeeded at. Businesses need to set goals and create long term plans for their posting strategies and content creation. "A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you’re succeeding or failing. Every post, reply, like, and comment should serve a purpose" (LePage & Newberry 2019). Restaurants have leverage on social media because food is so popular on all platforms. When people go to restaurants, they want to share what they ate and tell people how good or bad it was.  This gives restaurants a plethora of content to use. "To be consistent, it is important to create a visual calendar outlining the subject matter for each day of the week, ideally prepared several weeks or months ahead. As part of this social media calendar, be sure to have a list of hashtags on hand. These should include both popular industry hashtags and customized hashtags specifically for your brand" (Pivot Six 2019). Planning and grabbing user-generated content is key to keep a restaurant's social media up and running. 

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Value of Planning and Creativity in Food Content Marketing 

   When developing a content plan for your restaurant, think of it as creating a menu. You want to test your menu, make sure it's satisfying for not only you and your staff but also your customers. "Although most food brands are producing creative content, many lack a content hub. Some that do try to get away with reheating stale content that isn’t so fresh" (Papandrea 2020). You want to do more than just talking about the food, you want to tell the stories that are behind all the dishes. You want to plan out what you want to do and get in contact with who will help. Planning and organization are key. "Maintaining a social media calendar lets you plan ahead, batch your work, avoid multitasking, and note down all your creative brainwaves for later" (Cooper & Tien 2020). Ideas can always come in and replace old ones, but it is always good to have things planned out, so your content does not become dry.