If you manage a restaurant in Live Oak or any of the towns in North Florida off of I-10… How are you taking advantage of Social Media?

Most restaurant owners know they should have a facebook page, and a website (preferably a website that is mobile friendly).  But how many know they should be using recommendation sites like YELP and Foursquare?

YELP and Foursquare are great sites that allow users to rate local businesses.  This is particularly useful for restaurants for a few reasons:

1) You can see what people think about your food/staff/service 2) You can see the analytics of people looking up your phone number and getting directions to your place 3) You can offer discounts and loyalty features Let’s assume your food is actually good, and worth eating.  If the food IS GOOD, then people who stop in can rate you  from 1 to 5 stars and leave comments.  People traveling on I-10 that want to get off the road for a bit, are much more likely to give your establishment a shot, if others have recommended it. If you’re a locally owned spot, then you get extra points because a lot of people would rather support a local place than a chain.  HOWEVER… If the chain by the interstate has a lot of great reviews, and your business doesn’t, those folks looking for a local place will never see you (especially if they have to drive 2 miles to find you. [action background_color=”]

So, the take away:

If you’re running a restaurant and you’re off the beaten path, then it would make a LOT of sense for you to encourage your patrons to rate you on sites like Foursquare and Yelp… also encourage them to leave comments and tips for future guests.

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