(Source: Technomic/American Express MarketBrief) With such widespread visibility, social media present an unheralded opportunity to disseminate information, but as with any new venture, there are also risks inherent in using it.
Where the action is
With new sites springing up every day, there are more social media channels than one person could ever attempt to count. When consumers were provided a list of the 26 most popular social media web sites and asked which ones they had visited in the last 30 days, certain sites stood out. More than half of consumers (56%) report that they visited YouTube.com, and only slightly fewer (54%), Facebook.com. Exactly one-third of consumers (33%) indicate that they had been on MySpace’s web site, and a smaller amount on Classmates.com (18%) and Twitter.com (17%). Of those surveyed, 19% report that they had not been on any social networking web sites in the last 30 days.
How restaurant patrons use social media
Consumers who connect to a chain restaurant brand via social media believe there are multiple benefits to doing so. Topping the list are access to coupons (78%), awareness of regional promotions (76%), awareness of general promotions (73%) and access to special “members only” deals (61%). This suggests that tech-savvy consumers are willing to connect to restaurants’ social media campaigns and sites in order to get deals on menu items; it also suggests they plan to visit the restaurants and/or are looking for encouragement to do so from such sites.
Well over half of these consumers indicate that they connect to chain restaurant brands via social media to be the first to know about new menu items (55%) or to get news about the restaurant (53%). A fairly high percentage of users also note that they connect for the purpose of showing others that they are a “fan” of the brand (46%).
Consumers apt to trust these sources
Consumers rely on social media to learn about restaurants, and often times this information comes from sources not sponsored by the restaurants themselves. With regard to online, non-professional restaurant reviews, consumers trust those about regional/small chain restaurants the most: a combined 78% of consumers report that they trust them “completely” (11%) or “somewhat” (67%). Online, non-professional reviews of independent restaurants are trusted almost just as much: a combined 77% of consumers indicate they trust “completely” or “somewhat” these types of reviews. Where large restaurant chains are concerned, consumers are a bit more cautious about what they read online: a combined 72 percent of them trust “completely” (9%) or “somewhat” (63%) the non-professional reviews.
It appears that to a large extent, consumers believe what they read in online, non-professional restaurant reviews for dining destinations of all sorts. This includes negative assessments, which could impact traffic.
Keeping the above in mind, it’s interesting to see where online, non-professional reviews fall in the hierarchy of factors that influence consumers to try new restaurants. Indeed, such reviews rank far below time honored classic pulls such as a promotion/discounted price deal (87%), a recommendation from a family member (87%) or a recommendation from a friend (85%). Eight of 10 (80%) consumers report that they’re tempted to try new restaurants by a new menu item, and three-quarters (75%) by a recommendation from a co-worker.
Bottom line
Social media is already a force to be reckoned with. Whether or not an operation establishes its own presence in this space, it will be commented on by others, most likely by non-professionals. Operators who jump into the game require an investment of time and effort, but could pay off if they are able to transfer an online audience into paying, in-store customers.
1 Facebook: CNN.com, February 11, 2009
