Many resturants, pubs, bars and cafes have certain days and times of the week which are quieter than normal. Most owners would love to find a way of increasing sales during these less profitable periods. One easy way to attempt to attract more customers is to use social media marketing. During these quiet times the staff are not fully employed. Train them on how to use local search on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. I like to use the free version of HootSuite as I find it has a better search tool. In the previous two pages of this website I explained how to set up "listening" columns. If I ran a restaurant called Gino's in Wimbledon and needed to attract more customers through the door on Mondays and Tuesdays I would conduct a search on the word Wimbledon. I would then look for people talking about going out with friends in Wimbledon. They may be going to the local Theatre, Cinema, Gym or out for a meal. They may even be talking about meeting friends at Wimbledon Railway Station before catching a Train to London.

Once I find people talking about going out I will send them a message like "Have fun tonight. If you show this message at Gino's Bar you will get a free Cocktail" followed by a link to the page on my website that has the bar's address, directions on how to get there and hopefully a map. This web page should also be a responsive designed page that can easily be read on a mobile cell phone. 

This message is not trying to overtly sell products to people. Those types of messages just get immediately deleted or ignored. This message is trying to encourage people to visit Gino's Bar for a free drink. They may never have walked through the door before. They may like what they see and come again. They may even decide to stay a bit longer and buy another drink before going off to their main evening's activity. Try to encourage them to "like" your social media site and tell their friends about the bar using e-mail or sharing the original message. The idea of the exercise is to attract new customers to the bar when it is quiet.

Getting your staff to use social media to find new customers when there is not a lot to do is a good way for them to spend their time. If you are not very IT proficient yourself then you will have to find someone locally who is. Most restaurants and bars employ staff who are young and have been using social media platforms like twitter and facebook for a number of years. They may still need training on using search, Hootsuite, and how to correctly interact with potential clients. If I did not find many talking about going out in Wimbledon I would  do a new search using the names of surrounding towns and villages. There are software settings on different apps that can limit the search returns to messages sent from phones over a set distance from where you are based. Then I would use connected keywords for my new searches like meal, beer, wine, party, night club, hen night, stag night, food, pasta, cocktail etc...

If you get resistance from staff who have been used to an easy time during the less busy times give them an incentive. Many staff members work part time whilst they are studying for qualifications at University or Collage, others are using a waitressing job as a stop gap until a higher paid job becomes available.  Promise them that when they need a reference you will state that they have been employed in the companies Social Media Marketing activities. That will look good on most CV's.