Jaime Oikle from Restaurant Report is hosting a 1hr teleseminar focused on social media marketing for restaurant owners tomorrow, Wednesday Aug 5, at 3pm EST.

Click here for the full scoop on what will be a VERY informative call

Mr. Oikle invited Joan Stewart from Publicity Hound and Nathan Gilder from Restaurant Revolution to share step-by-step examples and how-to for restauranteurs desiring better relationships with customers.

On this exclusive call with Restaurant Report, new media marketing techniques such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and other important websites will be discussed.

Restaurant owners will be given expert advice and real world examples of other operators using these tools successfully.

Other topics include blogging, dealing with poor reviews online, Internet video creation, and common mistakes operators (both large and small) are prone to experiencing.

Click here for the full list of topics and to register for the call

If you cannot make the live call, a recording will be made available to you!

Adding the most modern element - video - to your website… in a way that is affordable, easy and fast… is now available with Easy Restaurant Video.

It’s a simple fact: having video on your web site will increase your profitability. People love watching videos. They will stay on your restaurant website longer if there’s a relevant video to watch.

More time spent on your web site increases the likelihood that visitors will explore other areas of the site: menu, specials, bio/about pages, and… most of all… your e-mail newsletter or e-club.

Restaurant videos can also be used to present a Call To Action… the important part of a sales message that requests the customer to do something, like visit for their next lunch, call to order delivery “right now”, etc.

Bottom-line: having video on your web site is a worthwhile investment. The fast, affordable (not to mention professional quality) videos produced by Easy Restaurant Video remove all barriers to adding this attention-grabbing technology to your web site.

Restaurants that normally don’t use limited time offers, Outback for example, have done so recently to weather the storm. Only time will tell if the strategy reaps profits, but the fact that LTOs are being used says plenty.

Bottom-line: people are looking for value. Attracting new and return customers with coupons is not a difficult concept, but when other restaurants are also opening accounts with the direct mailer… it’s even more important to become familiar with Restaurant Revolution’s Clever Coupon process.

Howard Moskowitz has consulted many companies in the food industry to help them discover profitability through offering variety. Clients include Pepsi, Prego, Ragu and many others.

I recommend watching this video of author and speaker Malcolm Gladwell as he details revelations of Howard’s research and life experiences.

Things to note:

• People don’t often know what they want
• There is a great variety in what people like to eat and drink
• Don’t search for the perfect recipe. Instead, seek the perfect recipes.
• Offering variety will increase your audience, and your profit margins.

There are many considerations when crafting a menu. Experts will say to keep the menu small and centralized. My recommendation is to find ways to offer variety around your primary dishes, whether that’s through toppings, sauces, rubs, etc. Offering samples of these might also be wise to ensure guests are satisfied with the full dish.

I had the pleasure of working with Ted Cohn and Michael Atkinson to produce this video tour of FohBoh, the premiere restaurant industry social network.

During production I interviewed people such as Doug Golden from AdvanceMe, Ray Villaman from the Tahoe Restaurant Group, Amanda Hite from Talent Revolution, Andy Swingley from Thomas and King, and Matt Urdan from Nantahala Outdoor Center.

If you haven’t already, make sure to join FohBoh and get involved. The amount of resources available are powerful and will do much for your business.