SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR RESTAURANTS: HOW SMALLER CHAINS CAN COMPETE WITH BIGGER PLAYERS

“How many of you follow the social media profiles of your favourite restaurants? Or, if you are the proud owner of a restaurant, how socially- savvy have you been to promote your food business?”

According to an analysis- based listing in 2014, Sprinklr, a social media management platform for enterprises, the top 25 restaurants present in social media came out as no big surprises, owing to the vast recognition they have earned over the years.

On the basis of the analysis carried out to create the list, certain key factors stood out which, if harnessed correctly, can give smaller restaurant chains a slight upper hand over the larger ones. Consider, for instance, the case of McDonald’s and Wingstop, a mid- size chicken wing chain in southern United States. McDonald’s apparently has a greater following as compared to Wingstop, but what is impressive about the latter is the fact that its social profile has an engagement ratio of 30%. Conversely, McDonald’s social engagement ratio amounted to a mere 2%. 

A fact dictated by these numbers is that engagement is key. It shows that how Wingstop, a food chain comparatively smaller than McDonald’s beat the latter in terms of social engagement by posting content that is share- worthy, and thoughtful regarding the sentiments of the local communities, as Inc. writer and author of “Think Like Zuck”,  Ekaterina Walter puts it:

“As a smaller business, Wingstop can activate a larger portion of its audience on social and capitalize on being locally recognized and community-oriented. For every 1000 people in their audience, Wingstop gets more value from engaging their community members than a brand like McDonalds, because they are able to focus more time on cultivating relationships. The brand knows its audience and local community--targeting sports fanatics and chicken lovers alike--and can create the memorable experiences with which fans will want to connect.”

Another guideline that smaller scale restaurant owners can include in their restaurant marketing strategies is to cultivate the interests of local communities. Such brands, that gain local recognition enjoy the ease of building powerful online communities around their specified location in ways which are quite difficult for larger brands.

On the whole, social media marketing for restaurants is a medium that offers smaller brands to level the playing field they share with larger, and more popular brands. By enhancing their engagement with their audience, and by harnessing the interests of the local communities within the content they put on the social media these small- size food chains can rise above par to compete with big players. 

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION- THE MARATHON TO GET INTO SEARCH ENGINES' LIMELIGHT

When the Internet was still a young invention, search engines were designed to index the pages of the internet in a way that they provide the best results in response to an online search. What determined the reputation of a website on the internet was the number of backlinks it garnered, i. e., the number of times the site was linked to. This in general meant that that a site with higher backlinks had a higher ranking on the search engine.  To automate this process, algorithms were developed, triggering the birth of sites like Google.

But eventually, problem arose.  People with websites got a wind of how the process of addressing an online query worked, and to facilitate their own interests they began manipulating the original algorithms that determined the process.“Link network” sites were built by many companies with the sole purpose to link other sites together, creating an artificial rise in the ranking of their member sites. These companies soon came to be known as “black hat” companies.

To fight against such underhand tricks to build artificial online reputation, Google primarily came forward, establishing the importance of quality content and public reputation by creating different new algorithms to uproot the black hat tactics. These algorithms help the search engine to display quality results for an online search and are a major factor in constituting what is known as search engine optimization.

The question now is how does one rank well in search engines; how does one “optimize” one’s website to garner favourable results?

Well, the basic ingredients of search engine optimization that help you  win a good ranking on search engine result pages are the quality of your content, the distribution and publicity of your content, the interaction and shares your content gathers, and the number of links to your content built on other sites. This generally means that your ranking goes higher on a search engine with more people talking about you on the internet.

Besides these methods of optimization, one has to ensure that a lot of other guidelines are taken well care of.  One has to make sure, for instance, that the website they have put up is as user friendly as it can possibly be, and that it meets the standards of the search engines. Before being too confident about a website’s success in the online world, one needs to convincingly answer certain questions like these: is the website fast and usable? Is it devoid of inconvenient bugs and errors? Is it informative regarding what it stands for and what purpose it serves? Putting down quality content is yet another practice that helps in the process of search engine optimization. But development alone is not enough to get you the ranking you require. What you need to do further is to market and publicise your content so that it eventually becomes visible before the eyes of those who are interested.

With these optimization methods implemented carefully, your website will surely find a reputable ranking on the search engine. What you need to take care of is not to give in to the urges of companies who promise you immediate results on the growth of your online ranking. The instant progress they give you will impress you, for sure, but the very next algorithm update that comes up will prove to be a setback for your website, with heavy penalties ranging from poor search rankings to being completely banned from search engines. Remember, building an online reputation by honest and spotless means is not a sprint, but a marathon.

INDIA’S NEED FOR GREATER WOMAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Are you a woman who’s tired of hearing the annoying “Pammi Aunty” next door ceaselessly suggesting to your parents, “Ab toh ladki badi ho gayi… Ladka dhundhna shuru kar do”, while the only plans you presently have for the future are those of staying independent on your own hard- earned money?

If so, we have a little inspiration for you to keep your ambitions upright, coupled with facts that will make you feel why dreams like yours do not need to end within societal boundaries; why the country needs women like you to come forward and be a strong individual, rather than a submissive bahu.

       To begin with a positive note and a high dose of inspiration, no one would have realized that having a penchant for tea and an acquired knowledge of spices could get one in the limelight until 26 year old Indian- Australian lawyer UppmaVirdi won the “Businesswoman of the year” award in Australia for her tea- business named “Chai Walli”. Citing another example, who would have thought that a woman’s outrage and frustration over the society’s tabooed idea of menstruation could compel her to build a website that aids women through “that time of the month” and busts the ignorant myths that revolve around menstruation. But Aditi Gupta, a girl from Garhwa (Jharkhand) did exactly that.

Talking about the statistics though, any enthusiast for women empowerment in India would light up at the fact that about 30 % of the corporate senior management positions in the country are held by women, which apparently happens to be higher than the global average of 24%, according to Forbes India. But what would seem discerning is that when overall workforce in terms of gender gap is taken into consideration, India sits at an embarrassing 113^th position- out of 135 nations. To add to this woe, only 10 per cent of women contribute towards the total number of entrepreneurs in the country.

Factors that account for such sorry state of women entrepreneurship in India are obvious and are something that most of us are already familiar with. It is apparent that the Indian society has traditionally been patriarchal in its approach, creating barriers and restrictions to the development of the feminine population by setting up societal norms, crude and devoid of logic for the fair sex. Although, over the years the society has evolved into a sensible one, but only to a certain extent, as imprudent stereotypes still exist deep within its roots, patronizing women to not venture into the realms of business and corporate sophistication. Owing to this, many women have accepted their fate of dreamless living and surviving without unique and promising ambitions, never allowing the seed of an idea to even grow in their potential minds. Another factor that contributes to the poor statistics mentioned earlier is the lack of mentors and role models for the Indian women who can possibly come up with a great business venture. The reason for this could possibly be the low numbers of woman- owned businesses to start out with.

Having said this, it also becomes important to know why India needs more women entrepreneurs. First, it would do a great amount of good to the national economy. Second, it would do an equal amount of good to our nation’s contribution to the global economy. Third, because women cancarry out business.Period. In support of the last argument, I have here some statistics that show thatfor start-ups with more female executives, there is a higher success-to-failure rate. 

Moreover, as put forward in Forbes India, “women control the vast majority of household spending… and are more likely to better understand customer perspective.” They are also more careful about taking risks, and don’t generally give way to knee- jerk financial and business decisions that could prove dangerous for their own business.

Also, when it comes to India’s women making it to top managerial positions, we have names like IndraNooyi , CFO and President of Pepsico; Indu Jain, chairperson of India’s largest media group, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd; KiranMazumdar Shaw, founder Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Biocon Limited. All of these women started somewhere, and perhaps their circumstances would have been as rigid and restrictive as those of an average girl in this country. What made them stand apart was a strong will to move beyond a mere shout for equality; they believed in doing something unique to win the equality and non- discriminative treatment every woman deserves, and somewhere in their endeavours they made it clear that women can undoubtedly run the world.

And... If you're a woman entrepreneur, waiting for an opportunity to take the next step, well, guess what! -->   

The hilarious ordeal of advertising alcohol in India

Connoisseurs of alcoholic drinks may call liquor as the seductress among all beverages, and rightly so for the impact it has upon anyone who gets familiar with a drop of it. However, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act of 2000 decided to put some restrictions upon those responsible for brewing up this rich ale.

The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act of 2000 came down as a whiplash to all those who thrived on advertising alcoholic drinks in the country. The Act banned advertising of any alcoholic drink in the country with sanctioned penalties for those who would be found guilty of any such marketing.  Advertisers however found a very subtle means of continuing with their advertising campaigns for whiskey or beer brands, and have surprisingly been active on the television till date. What they did was to advertise a product other than an alcoholic drink, but under the original brand’s name. For instance, Haywards came up with their club soda advertisements while the brand recall factor was helpful in selling the brand’s beer too. The commercial focuses on giving hope by running along the lines of “Hausla Ho Buland”.

Nowhere in the commercial was the word beer mentioned, but the wise know the best….

Kingfisher is yet another example of innovative advertising of beer with their commercial promoting either their airlines or their packaged drinking water. In this ad for instance, Kingfishers chose the most influential faces to promote their “packaged drinking water”: players of the most popular sport in the country. Add to that a catchy jingle that one can hum even at work!

Fosters had a pretty chilled down method of promoting their alcohol with their “Daaaaaaamn Cold Refreshment” Ad, which like Kingfishers promoted packaged drinking water through three friends who gulp down packaged water and are immediately transferred to some snow-covered Himalayan region where they dance lethargically (but happily) among a troupe of pretty ladies.

Another brand that knew where it was going with its advertising was Seagram’s who came up with the “Men will be Men” advertising campaign to promote their “superhit music CD’s”. Their commercials have a hilarious take on how men will always have a soft corner for beautiful women. Watch the compilation here:

So, despite a legal act refraining beer and whiskey companies to advertise within the country, the television is still bustling with the surrogate advertising these brands have come up with. One might also be amused to know that some companies even faced legal action for advertising products that do not even exist! Others have however outlived any such jurisdiction and continue coming up with wild, innovative and hilarious ideas to promote their brand’s name time and again.

Email Marketing: A great tool to reach your customer

Over the years marketers have realized the growing importance of the process of email marketing, although its sustenance in league with other impactful digital marketing media has been questioned, with at times being brushed aside or assumed dead. Email marketing, however has far outlived any such indifference towards itself and stands out as a powerful tool for marketers all around the world for allowing them a good reach and grasp over their consumers.

What has made email marketing such a significant tool for brands that set out in the world of digital marketing is the ease with which it is implemented and the major marketing expenditure it cuts, relieving marketers to a good extent. Another factor to be noted about email marketing, one that makes it all the more popular is that a brand can be specific about the people who are to be at the receiving end of their mails. Brands have the freedom to target their mails at people who are already interested in them without bothering those who are not. In fact email marketing is one of those channels that the consumers themselves ask to receive. Also, as compared to other marketing professionals, email marketers have a upper hand owing to the fact that they can send mails to subscribers who meet certain criteria.

Ease of sharing is another major factor enhancing the popularity of email marketing. All it takes for a consumer to share a mouthwatering deal with his friends is a click. Owing to this, a brand’s consumers themselves become the brand’s evangelists, spreading a good word about your brand to newer markets.

In addition to all these benefits, email marketing is also an inexpensive and easy mode of marketing that yields major results in favour of a brand that makes use of its mechanism, embedding their messages to their favoured costumers with the creativity and appeal of their content. Thus, email marketing is a powerful talisman for marketers; the ones who thrive upon its use are the ones who know how to get its apparatus running. 

What is Social Media Marketing?

     If you are an average teenager, you might not be aware that beyond the world of chic selfies with many a pout and with tongues sticking out, and kittens and puppies, and a hundred things mushy, the social media has another parallel universe that you are well- connected with, although subconsciously. However, those familiar with the ways of business and brands explore deep into this parallel universe: the world of social media marketing.

     Standing on the creamy upper layer of social media marketing, one could say it is an easy process to drive traffic towards a brand through the use of social media platforms, but only when one gets past this definition does the realization dawn that it is not a laid-back task to build a strong online reputation in the social media, and that the idea of doing so is way beyond posting engaging blogs and catchy images. The focus of the entire process is on making the presence of your brand being felt, with its impression dominating others who are engaged with the similar world.

    Achieving such a reputation requires certain key factors with homogeneity and consistency being some of the significant ones. But before any of that, your profiles need to set a mood around itself, giving the slightest, yet clear hint of the idea behind what your brand stands for, i.e. what temper will your brand’s social profiles reflect in its posts? Is your mood humorous, or is it grave or informative? - This is what the brand’s profiles should be able to answer without being too puzzling for its followers. Once the mood is set, the posts that follow each other should be in harmony to the established temper of the brand without wandering into random directions while your followers desperately try to figure out what your brand stands for before finally giving up on it. That is homogeneity.

    Consistency is yet another key element in social media marketing. A brand’s social profile in any platform, be it Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, must never stop reaching out to its followers. A block in this communication can cause setbacks in the brand’s journey to build a strong online reputation. A word not uttered for a long time in your social profile can account for your disappearance from your followers’ minds; something that a progressive leader would never want.

   Having said this, there are many other challenges a brand’s social profile can face; with competition from rivals being the most significant one. Your brand’s profiles must have a uniqueness in the communication they make with their followers, something that will give you an edge over being identified differently among many others; a wit that will make the millions flooding social media platforms every hour, every minute stop and engage with you, even if it is for a mere minute. Your idea is what your brand’s profiles need to win them in a minute. Aim high before you are scrolled away into oblivion. 

Adidas & Paul Pogba: When an ad campaign goes terribly wrong

2 days ago, French international and Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba could be found in the news headlines for two main reasons: one of them concerns a commercial launched by Adidas, while the other headlines hold critical analysis of the Frenchman’s performance on the pitch against rivals Liverpool.

The YouTube video launched by Adidas tells the story of how a Paul Pogba grew from a child juggling melons with his feet in a French suburbto a superstar donning the Manchester United jersey and representing France in the international level, doing things his own way since day one. It has already crossed over a million views in the last 2 days, but it’s interesting to note what the people have to say about the hype that has been created around Paul Labile Pogba. From a player who was bought for a record transfer fee of 89 million pounds, fans of Manchester United have been expecting much, and at times when the Frenchman has been unable to meet the expectations (like in his last game against Liverpool), he has been at the receiving end of much flak and criticism with football fanatics labeling him as being overrated.

So, owing to his unimpressive stint against Liverpool, the comments section of Adidas’ latest commercial bearing the lines “Football Needs Creators” is loaded with disapproval. Contradicting the number of  views and likes the commercial has received are the numbers that define Pogba’s performance for Manchester united since his record breaking transfer, and honestly, they are nowhere close to justifying Pogba as a “creator” in the game of football. Consider this with the fact that Adidas had the likes of Lionel Messi and MesutOzil on their list, men who can actually be credited for being the ultimate creators on the pitch.

Looking at the whole scenario from a marketing point of view, the conclusion can be drawn with a couple of questions. Does the commercial,and its reception among football lovers mean that Adidas chose the wrong person to feature in their new advertising campaign? Or was the sports brand simply drawing its own advantage from all the hype that has been created over Paul Pogba? Well, it’s upto the Frenchman alone to justify both: the commercial that credits him as a “creator in football”, and the hysteria that has so far been caused around his name.