You may have thought it was just a fad, but the fact is that Twitter seems to be a new media source that is going to be around for awhile.  However, for the restaurant business, this may be a good thing.  Twitter has found a new way to provide customer interaction and has provided a new outlet for marketing and promotional opportunities.  Restaurants such as 1300 on Fillmore, and Yoshi’s have taken advantage of sharing their special events and menus while everyday gaining a larger follower base.

 How do you use it?:

1. Sign up for a free account: Pick your username carefully as that is how your customers will be able to identify and search for you.
2. Update your profile to include a link to your website and a brief overview of your restaurant’s concept.
3. Tweet (Post) relevant information that your customers would appreciate including menu specials, promotions and special events. 
4. Start following other food industry Tweeters.  Not only will this provide you with ideas and information to tweet about, but you can also re-tweet (RT) important news and resources for your customers. 
5. Sign up for a URL shortener, like bit.ly so you can post other links to websites and stories.  This also helps track how many people clicked on your link so you can analyze what information is most used by your followers, and who is re-tweeting your original link.
6. Restaurants are also focusing on special twitter promotions where a secret word is tweeted and diners can use the word for an extra discount.  By doing this and tracking the people who get the discount you can measure the effectiveness of your twitter page.
7. Add your twitter to directories such as wefollow or twellow to generate further traffic.
8. Put a link on your website to your twitter page.
9. Post updates to your twitter on a regular basis.  Interact with other users.  Remember, the more quality information you provide the more likely people will keep following you!

 Remember that Twitter does take constant upkeep; make sure you have a dedicated ‘tweeter’ on staff.  However, over time your marketing efforts should pay off, and this free service can be turned around into gaining a loyal customer base.

Vine Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and has offices in Corte Madera and Santa Monica, California.  Vine Solutions, Inc., provides accounting and financial advisory services to a variety of high volume independent restaurants and regional chains.  For more information, e-mail Vine  Solutions at info@vinesolutions.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/VineSolutions or read our blog at restaurantaccountingblog.com.