Twitter is beginning to make an impact on the hospitality industry and the smart operators are taking notice and taking action. Unless you've been hiding down a dark hole for the past six months, the chances are you have heard about Twitter in some format. You may not know what it is or why you need to know anything about it, so I'm going to tell you: Twitter is the simplest, most effective, and cheapest (free) tool you have ever had to communicate with your customers. The smart restaurateurs and bar owners are using it to build and interact with a community of loyal customers and fans, get feedback on new menu items, products, promote events and promotions, take reservations and even hire staff. In a previous newsletter, I explained the damage a few disgruntled (rightfully) customers posted their reviews in real time of a bad hotel experience which was picked up by news agencies, followers, magazines and the blogging world, resulting in significant bad press for the hotel. So even if you don't intend to use Twitter as a free marketing tool, you need to know the effects it can have on your business if you ignore it. Use it to benefit your business, by monitoring it and using it! Twitter is here to stay. It can hurt you or help you depending on what you decide to do! We have been getting a lot of emails about Twitter lately with many businesses asking us how it works and what they should do, so we have put together the definitive booklet for bar & restaurant owners on how to get setup on twitter and how to market your business on it: A BAR & RESTAURANT OWNERS GUIDE TO USING & MARKETING WITH TWITTER Contents: What is Twitter?
How does it Work?
Who Uses Twitter?
Why Twitter Works for Marketers
How to Get Started with Twitter
Setting up an Account
Tweeting
Answering the Ever Popular Question, "What Are You Doing?"
Replies & Direct Messaging
Retweeting (RT)
How to Find People to Follow & Get Followers Too
Mistakes to Avoid with Twitter
Additional Tools to Make Twitter Use Easier
50 Bars & Restaurant Profiles on Twitter
Conclusion
Appendix/Additional Twitter Resources