Facebook has ONE BILLION monthly active users as of October 2012 (source). Yes that’s right ONE BILLION. 600 million monthly active users used Facebook mobile products in September 2012. Imagine being able to reach that many people. That’s a bit far fetched, but targeting the local demographic is more reasonable.
Restaurants and bars have a unique opportunity to generate business from Facebook, however, I haven’t seen it being used to it’s fullest potential here in New Orleans. I am a “Fan” of quite a few restaurants around the city, and yet I never see posts from my favorite restaurants (or bars). I would love the ability to go to their Facebook page, see what the specials are, if there are any current promotions or special events coming up. For example, I LOVE the tomato bisque at one restaurant in the French Quarter, but I never know when they have it unless I’m walking by and see the sign. Now if they would just post on Facebook the soup of the day, I would most likely venture in specifically for that item, and I bet others would too.
Many people don’t know that custom Facebook pages can be created…but we do, and can design some awesome ones! The goal of a business Facebook page is to get “Likes”. The more “Likes”, the more people that see your posts and if they are extra special, the user can “share” the post, possibly generating more “Likes”. With custom Facebook pages, businesses can offer special promotions to their current Facebook fans and have the ability to attract new fans. For example…during the summer months here in New Orleans, restaurant business tends to be a bit slow. With a custom page, the restaurant can offer a coupon specifically to their Facebook fans and non-fans can “Like” the page to get the coupon. The restaurant can even take it a step further and ask for the fans’ email address in order to get the coupon. Building a database of email addresses can be particulary useful for sending out email blasts, which is another great way to generate business. But custom pages are not all about promotions. A bar would be able to add helpful information such as, happy hour specials, a drink menu, if there is a special seasonal beer available, and much more.
I would love to see the local restaurants and bars utilize Facebook custom pages more. I am part the target demographic for most bars and restaurants and I would like it if they could inform me via Facebook of what’s going on, especially if it’s a promotion. I check Facebook multiple times a day (as most people do), but I don’t check a restaurants’ website daily, weekly, or even monthly.
If you’re a restaurant, bar or any other business that thinks a custom Facebook page would benefit your business, give us a call to see what kind of awesomeness we can create for you.
