What should a Food Truck business be tweeting about?
My food truck sits at a Farmer's Market on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The other trucks and booths there have come up with a hashtag and Twitter handle that everyone can use to share their recipes and promote their food products. As a Food Truck business, how many times can I tweet the same variation of my product that isn't constantly changing? Any advice on how others keep their feed fresh while posting consistently?
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Mar 10, 2017
Differentiate yourself from the competition by putting a new twist on social media content. If they are using hashtags for users to share recipes, try coming up with a different angle that either uses video content with a unique twist or encourage people to share their own user-generated content.
Depending on where your food truck business is located, you need to decide if you're able to add a different attitude or twist to your content that isn't being replicated by competitors. For example, try creating unorthodox recipes with your product and/or quirky videos showcasing your product in a positive light.
As mentioned by others within this thread, your main goal should be to produce authoritative content. Complement your social media marketing activities by setting up a blog and start producing a wealth of engaging and informative content. You can even use SEO tools & search engines to find popular questions people may be asking in relation to your product and/or product type.
Last thing: follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to community content vs. promotional content. Being too promotional will just force people to tune you out.
Cheers!
Mar 4, 2016
Stories , people relate to real and funny things that happen. Plus invite comments, plus a lot of the previous comments. Have giveaways for people who front up with something you have ask only on your twitter, like the word for the day, or an item that would be funny, and take a picture of it. Like the first 5 people who front up with a egg beater, gets a free upgrade.
This way you will also get a feel as to who is responding to your tweets.
Mar 3, 2016
First, you can retweet messages every few hours as different people look at different times. The biggest thing is to stay consistent with the messages. Running sales messages to build sales is great. Also associating the products to people and places in the market will help. But the key is consistent messages.
Mar 2, 2016
Don't limit you posting/messages to just one area, spread out to other topics that are similar to what your offering. Example could be to "#" other food/catering groups, also as you have your own business you can also "#" business type groups and postings. It does not matter how many times you keep repeating your posts and messages because each time you do it is seen by different people and that is what you want "to attract as many people as you can".
Mar 2, 2016
You are better off finding a Social Network for Foodies
Twitter or Facebook is too broad. Your area is FOOD and your niche is more specific within this topic. So research on places where there are Foodies
Main point, find your NICHE social network, it could be Facebook Page group or actual site dedicated for Foodies and Chefs
start here
http://socialmediapearls.com/8-social-networks-for-foodies/
Mar 2, 2016
I would think your biggest selling proposition is that you are selling "healthy" fast food. So besides the other ideas put out here about adding images of your patrons enjoying your food and recommending it, promotions, etc. I would connect with others in Twitter whose interests are in healthy food or nutrition. Their connections are interested in the same. By retweeting some of their posts, they may, in kind retweet you and lead to others connecting with you. It is all about building a community in all Social Media platforms. So don't limit your tweets to promoting you, but sharing info and content that your connections will appreciate. Building the "know, like and trust" in your community first and promote your products second. Also, if you set up in one location, or several, periodically tweet where you are with the appropriate local hashtags so people can find you.
Mar 1, 2016
The key to your tweets should be selling the experience of eating your food. You want to promote how your food truck promotes community, family, and fun. You want to add hashtags to photos that show the emotions that your food conjures up in your audience. You also want to remind people where you are located, what you make, and any specials- either price or menu items. You need to be top of mind which hopefully gets you to top of your customers' stomachs.
Mar 1, 2016
I think you should tween about how much your customers appreciate your food. Tweet like "A young couple from xxx just raved about our yyy".
Feb 29, 2016
Take note what Ali wrote below. Before you start tweeting, take the time to think about, create then develop an actual strategy.
As part of your strategy, I suggest you nail down a few important staples of any good social media strategy. First is determining the differentiator. What is your "secret sauce"? Why should patrons walk towards your truck as oppose to the others?
The most important concept to understand is what Ali talks about in a comment below. If you think of Twitter or any other social media platform as a tool of "sales" you may do yourself more harm than good. Social media started as the one of the first tools that gave customers a microphone and a voice. This translated into a very clear reality that (surprise, surprise) people do NOT want to be sold. Do this on your social accounts and you will turn people off and possibly lose them period.
Your out going messages have to contain value. They must contribute to the user's experience in some way. Yes, you can include coupons and discounts too but as a whole, you should be thinking of education and entertainment if you want a bigger audience that pays attention. I see a lot of good ideas below that should help you begin to approach a theme strategy.
The example I always use to teach business people how this looks is by pointing them to a company called "Graico". Maybe you've heard of them. They sell children's stuff, gadgets and equipment. Strollers, car seats, cribs, high chairs and more. Read their blogs or social posts and you will never see anything that mentions these products. Here is the key:
BECOME THE AUTHORITY: It will take some time but your ultimate goal is to use all of your social media platforms to build authority so when the subject arises (lunch, food in your area, lunch trucks, your style of food, etc.) people think of you first. So your posts have to be centered around ideas like, how did this style of food begin, who gets the credit, the history of the food truck, innovative mobile restaurants, best ideas for how to spend a lunch our (make it a content), what does this food look like in other places, etc. Here is a cool video that talks about developing "Digital Authority" - https://youtu.be/bYQSRY7K3LM.
After you get a good feel for this, remember to learn the best frequency to post in each social platform. They are all different and have certain strengths and weaknesses.
Go get em!
Daniel
Feb 28, 2016
Well first you need to figure out the type of Customers you want to draw aside from "People who want fresh produce at great prices". Make a list of things, then for each thing make another list of relevant things about that thing. Then for each of those things make more lists of things relevant to those and keep going as deep into it as you can. Once you have those lists, start brainstorming ideas around each thing and grow those ideas into their own campaigns.
For example, say all your product is non gmo and grown without pesticides. You can make a campaign telling people how much healthier it is to eat those types of foods vs. all the gmo stuff with chemicals sprayed on it. You can build a campaign around each farmer you deal with that shows whatever natural process of diverting pests they use in place of toxic chemicals. You can get wise quotes from each farmer and make slogans out of them. You can do a little research and find medical comparisons to how much healthier organic food is. You can give news updates on new fruits and vegetables some of your farmers may be adding on for the season. You could go as far as finding studies on children's health and academic performance based on eating natural foods for breakfast and lunch.
There's so much more you could do just based off of that ONE fact. Also instead of thinking of it in a competitive sense, find ways to link into the other sellers Business by making content that supports what they're selling. Say somebody there sells baskets of organic apples and are pretty much "The Apple Guy" above everybody else who sells apples, Post some apple recipes and even tell them who to talk to once they get there. You could talk about the health benefits of apples, or...... if you're able to, you could make your own apple cider vinegar from those apples and promote that letting people know you're using that guy's organic apples, so his reputation helps instill confidence and trust in the product.
It's all about educating your market, you just need to draw up a web of key points so you can have something to inspire ideas in a way that stays organized and relevant to the overall mechanism so you're not just randomly talking about different stuff throughout the week. People will be able to detect that you're just saying anything that comes to mind to try to get them to buy from you. Just start with making those lists about your Business and Products and everything else will start to pop up from there.
Feb 28, 2016
That's pretty simple actually...you need to identify the personas you are marketing to...figure out what would help them best in their business or life...does your product contribute to making this happen? If so, tweet about that...per persona so it is speaking to them.
Anything else about your product gets ignored. Don't make them connect the dots and figure out what your product is/does and how it might help them...they don't have time so they will ignore it.
Feb 28, 2016
Everyone has offered great suggestions here. Establish yourself as an expert in your field with your posts as suggested: cooking, preparation, ingredients and the food truck industry. Also, share the love by sharing posts from people who are partnered with your business such as your suppliers or other food truck vendors from across the country.
Feb 28, 2016
Tell a story. Be an interesting person that has a product. You're trying to put the product out there without any hooks for people to grab on to. You are the hook. Your story about you, your truck, your day to day are all hooks that get people to remember YOU and your brand and your product. Brand building never stops. At a simple level it could really just be you telling interesting stories. Maybe micro stories. YOu have to work at it and you have to be patient and keep after it. It is a habit that needs daily cultivating, not just "one and done" like most people do with their social media.......
Make a list. recipes, calories/serving, healthy stats, complementary foods, wine pairing, pix of your customers eating, making dishes, in their kitchen with your stuff in the shot, etc.
Think a little.
Feb 28, 2016
Hi Heather!
What a great business! There is so much content that you can share on Twitter. Photos of your food, the view from where the truck is parked, customers enjoying your food, customer quotes, hours of operation, etc. Twitter moves so quickly so sharing similar updates over time won't necessarily be noticed and allows you to potentially reach more people. If you have a signature product I wouldn't be afraid to highlight.
Twitter also gives you the opportunity to hear what customers have to say about your product and your competitors and is a great opportunity to build your community.
Hope that helps and best of luck!
Charlotte Chipperfield, CEO of Chipperfield Media LLC.
Feb 28, 2016
Hi Heather:
Standing out on Twitter and other social media is one of the biggest frustrations & concerns for many small businesses--and not just content, but how to measure its effectiveness to justify the time & energy to put into it.
Not knowing much about the specifics of your business, I would suggest considering the following:
1. Since you're very local, I wouldn't worry about coming up with a branded hashtag. I think you'll be better served by latching onto other more established hashtags that your customers might follow or search (the farmer's market hashtag, your city hashtag, the type of cuisine you serve, etc.)
2. Definitely feature your product (include lots of images as they have consistently better response). Also feature the background on your food (the people who make it, the ingredients, how it's prepared, what makes it unique, etc.) Don't just show you the end result. Tell the story behind the food.
3. Sprinkle in any offers or promotions you have.
4. Engage with your customers & followers. Ask them if you can take photos of them at the food truck or enjoying your food. Make it fun and include them in on the action. People like being a part of something and will RT and post their participation if it's fun and not too salesy.
THere are quite a few other tactics you can employ, including tying in other social networks or a blog, layering in inexpensive ads, etc. Let me know if you need any help or have questions. I'd be happy to help you with a social strategy.
Feb 28, 2016
Hi Heather
I think it is a big mistake to think Social Media is about simply promoting your product. If you only use it for this purpose you will soon turn people off.
You should think about what people want to hear in your sector and not what you want to tell them. I have a personal twitter account and a business one (as well as G+, etc.), and you see very different content in those two. Our business stream is about our industry (Web, Web Design, and Technology in general).
We do not constantly shout about what we do and sell. We send out information about the industry, what is happening in IoT, Web Technology, Smartphones, Internet in general, etc. and yes occasionally we send something out about “Look a this great website we designed last week”.
We talk about our customers and what they do, how they use technology, and yes we retweet their tweets too. So think outside of the square and remember it is not about you and your products, but about what people want to hear. Just keep it relevant, interesting, and varied.
Also remember images do well and you are more likely to get engagement if you include an image. When we tweet about a new customer website, we always include a screenshot. If we talk about a new Smartphone, we always include a photo, etc.
As someone already suggested, take photos of customers having a great time and eating your food, etc. Tweet about the event you are at not just you.
Also do short blogs and then tweet about your blog to pull in traffic to your website (assuming you have one) or your blog or your Facebook.
Hope this makes sense.
Feb 28, 2016
You can start this today. Take pictures of people eating your food and ask them to give it a #thumbsup. Ask their names or Twitter handles and what they love about your food. Tweet the photo with their name, #thumbsup, and what they love. Reward these folks with a coupon for a discount next time or start this campaign by giving folks a freebie today. Choose regulars or familiar faces to begin -reward the faithful.
Feb 28, 2016
You can tweet about recipes, side dishes, info about your location or your next stop, quotes from your customers, info about the chefs, why you launched your business, really anything you think would be of interest to your followers.