Green Iguana. Green Iguana. Green Iguana.
by Sarah Garcia
Sorry, did I just repeat myself again and again? After a visit to the Green Iguana Facebook page (wait, which one?), I thought it was the cool thing to do.
$5 Burger Mondays. There has GOT to be more than one way to say that. And Fish Your Way. OK—we got it the first time. We get that you want to advertise your specials and, uh, hopefully make some money. But can’t you come up with more than one ad for your specials? We don’t want to see the same thing every time we look at your page, and chances are, your customers don’t want to either. When your fans are feeling déjà vu, they may unsubscribe to your feed, “unlike” your page, or “unfollow” you on Twitter. How’s that for getting your message out there?
I spotted this ad on the Green Iguana Facebook page not once, twice, or three times—but four times.
And this bad boy? Nine times. Not including the ones I may have missed…
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What’s wrong with this picture? These are being posted on a social media platform. Keyword there being social. We understand. We totally get that you are a business and one of your main intentions as a business is to make money. That being said, constantly shoveling ads into the faces of your followers may not be the best business strategy—or the best utilization of your social space. Social space. (Sorry, was I repeating myself again?) And repetition is not the only social media faux pas Green Iguana is making.
What is social? Social is creating a conversation. Social is interaction. Social is being a business that at least appears to care—even if just a tad—about more than just making money. Social is being a business that shows your customers you have something to give. Something of value. That you aren’t just there to take [money], but you can give something in return.Social is about creating a relationship.
A Few Suggestions
First off, kudos to Green Iguana for actually taking the leap to create a social presence. However, it is one thing to have a social media presence and another to correctly manage it. Here are a few ways that Green Iguana can better manage their social media presence.
- Advertise With Variety Don’t just show your followers an ad for your special. Switch it up. Ask them a question. “What’s your favorite topping for a burger?” It will get people talking and give you the chance to respond and start to build relationships in your social space. At the very least, change out the status update that you include with your ad when you post it. If you keep posting the same verbiage—well—that just makes you look lazy.
- Create Conversation I know one thing—if I visit a page that just posts ads, I’m not likely to stay long and probably won’t come back often. Now, if I visit a page that has interesting advice, questions, answers or useful information, I might hang out for a while. Social media provides restaurants with the unique opportunity to communicate with their audience on a regular basis, and it’s the restaurants responsibility to maintain that communication. Create and maintain conversation by sharing insider info with your fans. What’s going on at the restaurant, what is the chef is cooking right now, and what new menu items or drinks are in the works?
- Show Off Give your followers some eye candy! If you really do have the “Best Burger in the Bay,” snap a real photo of it going out of the kitchen and post it that same day. If you have an awesome July 4 party going on, lead up to it by talking about it on Twitter that day and while it’s going on. A great local band is playing? Take pictures and post that day. Entice people to want to be there by giving them visuals of what they can expect.
- Build Loyalty You may be thinking, what’s the ROI when you stop advertising so much and start engaging with your fans on social media? Loyalty. Your audience can “get to know you” on social media, and this familiarity can lead to loyalty.
So, today is Monday. Or should I say, $5 Burger Monday. We dare you to take our advice and run with it. Starting today.
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