We had an awesome time last night hearing from some food truck owners on how they use social media in their businesses. In case you missed it (or were too busy tweeting to take notes of your own), we wanted to give you some of the highlights. But first we have some thank yous to dish out:
- Edelman DC – thanks for hosting the event
- FoodTruckFiesta – thanks for sponsoring the open bar
- Our moderator and panelists – Jenna, Doug, Sam and Patrick – thanks for sharing your time and knowledge
- Anyone who attended – you helped us sell out the event
Read on to see some of the key takeaways from the event. If you have anything you’d like to share please let us know by leaving a comment!
Doug Povich – @lobstertruckdc
Doug provided some great insights on how his business, Red Hook Lobster Pound, uses Twitter. I thought it was especially interesting that they have two Twitter accounts:
- the main one (@lobstertruckdc), which they mainly use to share their locations with people
- @lobstalkers, which they use more for engagement. The account was started because they wanted to make sure they weren’t over-communicating with people from their primary account
Doug indicated that they use Twitter for a variety of reasons:
- To tell people their location (also, DC regulations say a food truck is technically not allowed to stop unless a line has already formed, so letting people know where they’ll be is helpful here)
- To engage directly with their customers – Doug said they’re “trying to create something that is more than a restaurant experience…it’s a social gathering.”
- Social media fits with their customer base
A few challenges Doug faces with Twitter include figuring out the ideal number of messages to post each day (currently 8-10), keeping things fresh and interesting, handling negative feedback (they try to do this via @lobstalkers or direct messages), and maintaining consistency across platforms.
Doug ended by sharing some of the payoffs his business has seen from using social media. He indicated that for them, buzz leads to business. He also said that using social media has led him to occasionally partner with other companies to create unique value for both businesses’ audiences. For example, he partnered with a realty company to give away lobster rolls to anyone who came to a specific open house. This drove many more visits than usual for the realty company and helped Doug’s business gain exposure to new potential customers.
Patrick Rathbone – @BigCheeseTruck
Patrick started by sharing the different ways he uses Facebook and Twitter. He has things set up so that when he posts to Facebook, it automatically posts to Twitter. He primarily uses Facebook in the mornings to let people know where the truck will be stopping that day. But when he’s out on the road, he uses Twitter to respond to people and let them know exactly when the truck will be at a specific location, and when it will be leaving.
According to Patrick, “Twitter is where you can build rapport with your customers.” One thing that works well for this is tweeting pop culture references. Patrick said these types of posts seem to get shared and retweeted more because people find them interesting.
One other interesting point that Patrick touched on is the link between print/traditional media and social media. He said that when his truck gets written up in a magazine or newspaper, he almost always sees a nice increase in Twitter followers. It’s definitely important to remember that social media doesn’t exist in a vacuum and that traditional media and social media can work well together.
Sam Whitfield – @curbsidecupcake
Sam kicked things off by sharing an important insight that he and his wife, Kristi, discovered after they first started using social media to promote their business.
“These aren’t just customers; this is a community.”
Sam and Kristi noticed that people were using social media platforms, especially Facebook, to not only connect with their cupcake truck, but also to build relationships with each other and have fun. For Curbside Cupcakes, Facebook is the home of their main community, where people connect and share pictures of cupcakes and thoughts with their friends. Sam described Twitter as a platform, that for them, is more about being in the moment.
Taking a page from Stephen Colbert’s community (Colbert Nation), Sam talked about naming their community, “Cupcake Nation.” I think this was a great idea. If you think about some of the most passionate communities, one thing that they have in common is that they all have a unique name, and this can help strengthen the community and give people something to identify with. Some examples include communities for Lady Gaga (Little Monsters), Jimmy Buffet (Parrotheads) and Duke Basketball (Cameron Crazies).
Final Thought
The panelists all agreed on the importance of making sure that they aren’t too promotional on social media sites. Social media enthusiasts crave authenticity. Businesses need to be careful not to be too promotional and risk losing the trust and admiration of their audiences.
Thanks again to our awesome panelists for taking the time to share their thoughts with everyone last night. Stay tuned for information about our next event in November.
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