Social Media | No Limit

Ed. note: ShortStack is an instrumental tool in my job nowadays at NLMC. The guys over there recently wrote a blog for me on my personal blog, OneFortyPl.us. Check out these social tips for mobile eats, and let us know what you think!

Economic woes coupled with a rise in online social networking popularity has created a playing field where food trucks win. Their recession weapon, you ask? Social media. Here are 5 ways food trucks are using social media to improve their bottom lines:

1. Facebook: For food trucks, having a strong social media presence reigns in importance over print flyers and newspaper placements. “Word-of-mouse” packs just as great of a punch as traditional word-of-mouth marketing. With knowledge of that, food trucks are using Facebook Fan Pages to connect, communicate and build relationships with their customers off the streets.

2. Twitter: Twitter is the golden boy for real-time communication. Tweeting up-to-the-minute truck locations connect hungry customers with their favorite street vendors and foods. As it’s uncommon for food trucks to hold set hours and a location, customers have to get tactical with using social media. Food trucks pose as moving targets; Twitter helps these targets become more hittable.

3. Foursquare: At the end of a treasure hunt there’s usually a reward. Food trucks use Foursquare to provide that reward. Although Foursquare limits badge development to selected brands and campaigns they want to associate with, there are other customer incentives that make checking-in worthwhile. Discounts for first time check-ins, a promo code for repeat customers or a free “x” if you try the day’s special, are all ways food trucks are encouraging their customers to engage with their business.

4. YouTube: Television placements are expensive, making a YouTube video is not. Most recently, food trucks are creating video content to promote their mobile businesses. With camera in hand, social-savvy street-vendors are vlogging and filming food tutorials & customer testimonials to promote their brands and real in customers.

5. Instagram: Food bloggers and amateur food enthusiasts love Instagram. Naturally, the fun photo sharing application has risen in popularity with street-food vendors as well. Food trucks are using Instagram to take and post mouthwatering photos of their daily specials to their Facebook Walls and Twitter feeds.

These are just a few ways social media can be utilized to help promote a growing business easily, effectively and cheap!

What food trucks have you seen that serve up excellent content through social channels?

A Blog Post By: Evan Connors (@evcon)

I get a lot of different reactions when I tell people I work in Social Media.

“You get paid to play on Facebook all day?” (sort of)

“You must watch a lot of YoutTube videos.” (not as many as you’d think)

“Did you hear about the…” (yes, last week)

But one of the most common reactions is probably similar to the incredulous disbelief of the first guy who had LASIK.

“You’re going to shine a laser into my eye to make me see again? Riiiiiight.”

Social Media professionals are constantly faced with the hurdle of justifying the industry and it’s value as a key part of marketing strategy. Like many new technologies, much of the older generation of executives write Social Media off as a time waster for children. Even brands that do get into Social Media often under-fund and de-prioritize their efforts.

Why is this? Could it be that today’s decision makers still think in terms of myspance and refer to Facebook as “the Facebook.” I think it’s even simpler than that: people don’t understand the ROI of Social Media.

The connection between fans, follows and sales figures is not always transparent. Luckily for people like me, that connection is the subject of much research and study.

In one such study conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey, Facebook users 18 and over were found to be 56 percent more likely than non fans to recommend brands they liked on Facebook to their friends, and 51 percent more likely to buy products from that brand.

The same holds true for Twitter. In sister study by the same agency, Twitter users were 60 percent more likely to recommend a brand they follow and 50 percent more like to buy that brand’s products.

When you consider the user base for both networks (Facebook has over 800 million while Twitter has about 100 million active users), the implications of those statistics are hard to ignore.

Soical Media isn’t just a pastime for kids or a way to reconnect with old school mates anymore. It is vital part of every successful marketing strategy.

A blog post by:
BRIAN DIGGELMANN
Brian is a Social Interactor at No Limit and swears he isn’t addicted to lolcats–he can stop looking anytime he wants.