In this day and age social media is a driving force behind both the success and failure of restaurants throughout the world, and understanding the secret recipe for blowing up on social media is the light at the end of tunnel. But in reality, it’s not that difficult, and this post touches on 3 tips to help restaurants succeed on their social media marketing journeys.

First and foremost, if you want to be a winner on social media you have to do what social networks are designed for: be social. One of the biggest failures we see on a regular basis is restaurants and all sorts of other businesses (food brands, etc.) simply posting on social media and that’s where their efforts end, which is an epic failure. The content you post is essentially your face to the world but if you never explore (aka proactively engage) you’ll be stuck in isolation.

Going into the content itself, the posts that blow up on social media are those that are close-up, colorful, compelling and make you want to jump off your couch and drive to Brainchild Sushi (a shameless plug for our company while confirming an addiction to sushi). Restaurants must take a content-centric approach to everything they do because, as Bill Gates stated in an essay in ’96, content is king.

Lastly, don’t be afraid of criticism and definitely don’t respond to it with hostility. Look at feedback – whether good or bad – as a way to improve and always engage people with the best, most positive intentions. When restaurants take the opposite route things spiral out of control quickly.

In the end, social media marketing for restaurants is absolutely critical, but it must be done correctly.