How to Market Your Food Truck on Social Media
Being a “good” cook isn’t the only requirement to lead an effective food truck. I’m going to show you why you need to be a decent social media marketer too.
Did you know that according to Social Media today, “81% of people [are] saying they’re influenced by what their friends share on social media, an organic social strategy is imperative to building positive brand perception and share-of-voice.”
First Question
What are your goals? In an article on Mobile-Cusine, they suggest “figure out whether you are looking to drive sales, find new customers, provide customer service, or just give your food truck brand a boost.”
Deciding which platform works best
Currently, organic reach is about 2% or less. Unless you’re a celebrity, only about 2% of your audience is actually seeing your posts on their Newsfeed. You might want to start to budget paid Facebook ads.
But wait! Before you do buy them. You can learn a lot about your audiences using the “Audience Insights” section. There you’ll find out if the majority of your “likes” are male or female. They offer insights on Purchase Behaviors too.
Gather this insight to make targeted ads through Power Editor, a Facebook Advertising Tool. If you have a food truck that sells Asian food. Create an ad that only reaches people who have expressed an interest Asian cuisine.
Other options in the “Food & Drink” section include: Japanese Cuisine or Korean Cuisine or Chinese Cuisine or Vietnamese Cuisine. Again, these are actual options to choose from.
There is a Purchase Behavior Option where you can reach people who are “Foodies”. Isn’t that ironic? Finally, there is another button where you can target “Expats” that include various Asian countries.
Custom Messages
If you go to your settings section, where it shows messaging on the left hand corner. You can create custom messages whether you are away from your phone, during business hours, or off business hours. This option even offers personalization options and immediate customer service. It also allows you to include a first name, last name, person’s full name, your website URL, your phone number, or address.
Preferred Page Audiences
This button on the settings allows you to post to a target audience. It allows you to set up by location (city or zip code), interests and ages too.
“If your business isn’t on Instagram these days, you’d better have a good reason.” – Social Media Examiner
According to a NY Times article: “About 700 million people now use Instagram every month, with about 400 million of them checking in daily.”
Instagram is all about posting stunning visuals whether it requires befriending a photographer or paying for one. You need to have them! This not only means great pictures of your menu items but of your truck, staff and venue location.
I highly encourage the use of “Stories” where images and videos disappear in 24 hours. There are countless tools and apps that make your posts and Stories pop out.
But, I love “Turn On Post Notifications”. You click the three dots on that person’s bio page. That way, you get an alert on your phone when your most loyal customers, fans and friends post. I’m all about engaging with potential and current customers to keep them top of mind!
Make time to “like” and comment to those who have tagged you on their posts or mentioned you. Keep a list of customers that have done that and like their other posts too.
Additional Thoughts
Be Creative
Have you asked your fan base for help on suggestions for the menu? I loved the example shared in the article, 4 Social Media Lessons From a Successful Food Truck:
“For our brand, we created a “Waffle of the Week” poll on Facebook and asked our friends and fans to vote on whether they would like us to serve a banana pudding, sweet potato, or cinnamon roll waffle for the week. We integrated the poll on Twitter by using the hashtag #WOW or #WaffleOfTheWeek, and asking followers for their suggestions. Sometimes, we’d even name the waffle after the Tweeter! Our customers (also known as Cravers) got a kick out of voting—and of course eating—their favorite waffles.”
Serve with a Purpose for Others
Do you have a charitable cause that is close to your heart? I just read in Forbes that “seventy percent of millennials indicate a willingness to spend more with brands that support causes or operate using business models that align and resonate with their own values.” A local food truck here in the Tri-Cities just started using this concept for their own food truck that helps to fundraise for schools, churches and other organizations.
Any questions? I’m speaking at several Social Media Workshops and I invite you to join one of them.
Can’t make it to one? Call 855-880-5082 or email at Valentina@Beyond-Engagement.com to learn more about my confidential social media services.