Blogs, Not Just Web Sites

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric on April 11, 2008 at 6:25pm

Restaurant websites are only the beginning... the site certainly needs to have useful information - such as address, phone number, menus, photos -- but, once you've built a website, you need to get people to it. Many, many consumers will seek out third-party opinions (like reviews!) so you need to be sure you're listed accurately on all the third-party directory and reviews sites, as well (here's a starter list - yes, there's a lot of them!) Fortunately, getting listed on all those websites will also help you get traffic to your own website.

In talking with restaurant owners about online reviews, the one thing that seems to be lacking is restaurant-customer engagement -- there seems to be consistent frustration about the "drive-by" reviewers. What do you all think? Could a restaurant blog be an effective way to tell your own story?

Permalink Reply by Carol Ott on April 11, 2008 at 6:42pm

I think most of my regular customers appreciate and use my blog. Since I write the same way I talk (read: slightly scattered....) -- they know it's really me behind the posts, even if I say "we". :)

I think having a blog is a great way to keep in touch with a large number of people, whether they're customers, friends, or family -- and if you allow comments, you're encouraging their participation, which is always a plus.

Permalink Reply by Libby Tucker-beer2buds/promobomb on August 20, 2009 at 1:02am

I've been involved in building website for over 10 years. I recently stopped recommending simple static websites and blogs as the only means for restaurants to promote their business and be on the web. Today it's about social media, being dynamic, involved, and connecting with your customers. I recommend a FaceBook Fan Page as a near-replacement (you should still have a website just for SEO and branding) for a website. Blogging (blogger.com just celebrated 10 years!), while still alive, has been replaced by micro-blogging. Getting involved with platforms like Twitter (and automatically linking FaceBook to Twitter) is the new trend in my opinion, challenging the traditional website/blog combo.

To read more on the importance of Social Media, Michael Atkinson posted an article just today on how important it is to get involved - http://www.fohboh.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1411008:BlogPost:321563

Permalink Reply by Jon Bishop on July 14, 2010 at 1:13pm

People want information. A website is a great place to share nutrition info, prices specials etc. You should also make use of events that people can easily save to their calendars and networking sites.

Blogging may or may not help in general but using the blogging tools to share specials and events can be a great way to leverage the existing technology. You can use your blog like a newsletter and allow people to subscribe using a service like feedburner.

There are also sites that blog about food and restaurants that businesses can benefit from knowing. They are mostly local and usually easy to find. (example: http://www.northshoredish.com/)

I am personally big into Foursquare and Yelp and I like when businesses are aware of their online community.