(#SM101 posts are intended for those with little or no experience to social media marketing.)

A Mashable article by Chris Allison examined how restaurant’s are using social media. He identified three key lessons and we provided a few examples for each.

1. Play to your strengths

Examples may include tradition, customer loyalty, product quality, customer service. Whatever your core competency, stick to it and do it well. You do this daily in your business, now take it online.

2. Solve old problems

Examples from ‘Play to your Strengths’ are likely applicable here. If you’re famous for something your business is probably ridiculed for those some popular features and benefits from time to time. A few examples may include customer complaints, over couponing and  poor customer service.

3. Answer the big question

This is where this situation really varies. What is the number one question customers ask? Is it about shipping, delivery, product quality, catering? Make sure you know your audience and provide answers to FAQ in an easily accessible place online.

Chris Allison is a social media strategist at NeboWeb, where he helps clients make the most of the social web. You can follow him on Twitter as the voice behind @Neboweb.

http://mashable.com/2009/11/16/social-media-restaurants/

Is the online content your company posts through their social media channels relevant? Most people would answer yes. And they would be correct; sort of. Yes, your daily special or next big discount is relevant to your brand. But are you providing information that is of greater value to your social consumer?

Businesses have to take into account the differences between what the social consumer wants compared to that of their traditional consumer. It’s no longer what your one product/service can do for them. Now it’s what can your company, your brand as a whole, provide? Social consumers want exclusive content, inspiration, discounts and promotions, recommendations, advice and help. They are looking to companies for expertise and influence.

Social consumers are engaged and communicative and they want companies to empathize and listen to them instead of talking at them. We’re seeing more and more big brands ears perk up and they’ve begun to adopt this way of marketing. Hotels are providing online content that includes travel tips and ways to travel on a budget. Home improvement retailers provide help with do-it-yourself projects and decorating tips. Helping, not pushing can grow your business and build strong brand loyalty and consumer allegiance.

By providing truly relevant content, companies can build a platform to differentiate themselves and establish leadership among their competitors. The more engaging information you provide the more word of mouth you trigger causing a positive impact for your business both online and off.

Listen, empathize, engage and inform. Your social consumer will thank you.

According to a recent Media Post Publication article by Sarah Mahoney, women are selective with whom and where they place their trust. In the article, “Women Trust WOM On Restaurants, But Not Fashion.” Mahoney reveals all of those facebook ads and discount specials might not amount to much for the average female consumer.

“Women are still three times as likely to talk to friends and family as they are to go to their computers. And 92% say they prefer face-to-face communications over online research,” Deborah Adams, Harbinger’s SVP, tells Marketing Daily.

Most anyone will tell you that good old fashion word of mouth has been, and remains a dominating marketing tool for restaurants.  I suggest it’s because we’re confident in our food quality, customer service, atmostphere and value assessment. But not quite so confident in those new not-so-lose fitting jeans.

However, there is good news for online marketers. “That’s not to say they’re not spending a lot of time online, because they are. But the distinction is that while they go online to get information, they prefer to share it in the traditional way, she says.”

To view the entire story, click here: http://ow.ly/2T9TB

Mahoney, Sarah. “MediaPost Publications – Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines.” MediaPost Home. Web. 13 Oct. 2010. <http://www.mediapost.com/publications/>.

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“Authentic” is so overused in the hotel industry I laugh at my using it in the title of this post. But to our travelers that is what they expect, an authentic, one-of-a-kind, forever etched in their memory experience. And this expectation has been especially apparent during these tumultuous times, where travel has changed from that of a regular occurrence to one, for the majority of Americans, which is now considered a luxury.

So, how do we create this experience for our guests you ask? As we speak there are multitudes of actions being utilized by hoteliers all around the globe. Some are offering deep discounts and loads of amenities, endangering their rate integrity. Others are taking on the mantra of ‘spend money to make money’ and are undergoing multi-million dollar renovations. Some have gone as far as offering complimentary in room wi-fi (gasp!) I know it is the sin of all hotel sins.

However, some hotels have chosen to invest more in their employees, looking to life coaches and improvisational comedy experts as trainers. These training sessions help workers better communicate with the guest and arm them with buzz words to further develop that genuine connection. And this is where that authentic customer experience everyone is so fond of comes in to play – through your employees and their use of good ol’ customer service.

Now when I say customer service, I mean CUS-TO-MER service, not just a smile here and there or a curt ‘how was your stay?’ I mean complete interaction from the arrival of each guest until they depart. From the front desk agent welcoming them by name, to the suggestions they receive for dinner from their complimentary shuttle driver, to the handwritten welcome note on their pillow from the General Manager. The guests stay is no longer just an overnight stay, it is a whole experience that we, as hotel employees, create and foster over their time with us.

As hotel employees we need to be proactive; anticipating any issues the guest may encounter and having a plan at the ready to make sure the problem is avoided and their flawless stay continues. Along those same lines, each employee should be of the mind-set that their priority is to create an exceptional experience for every guest that walks through the door as well as being equipped and empowered with the correct tools to make it happen. The travel agent, sales person, internet webpage, whomever! can sell the dream, but the employees are the heart of the operation and they bring it to life.

In a time where hotels permeate the marketplace and when price can very easily trump service, it is imperative that the overall guest/hotel interaction is positive. I steadfastly believe that the creation of a loyal guest is a direct byproduct of the ‘authentic’ experience they encounter during their hotel stay.

So, to all my fellow hoteliers out there – go, prosper and above all, be authentic!

Cooking shows have proliferated television so much so that they have now garnered their own entire network. Economic pressure, and our renewed commitment to health, coupled with the notion that we’ve all become better cooks from watching more TV, has led to a revisiting of our own kitchens. Much like our parents, we now cook more at home and have returned to carrying a brown bag lunch to work or school.

While we might not all have become 3 star Michelin chefs in our kitchens we can certainly look the part when we transport our vittles with the reinvention of the lunch box. Affordable design-with-a-purpose has entered the mainstream with big box retailers such as Target, convincing us that we need to also care about how things look not just function. Gone are the days of your old metal rectangular Brady Bunch lunch box.

The following offering from the design team of Black and Blum makes lunch in your cubicle a bit more gourmet.

Although the Box-Appétit comes equipped with a fork/knife, these environmentally conscientious utensils add an additional layer of high-brow design. Check out more utensils from them at www.lunchboxes.com.

www.lunchboxes.com

www.habitat.co.uk

Or quite possibly the best protection from bruising your banana from this UK company, Habitat.

While we might not all be able to compete on Top Chef, we can all bring our lunch to work in style.