KOPI Restaurant Social Media Strategy: Results - Assignment Example

KOPI Restaurant Social Media Strategy: Results Introduction KOPI restaurant, situated adjacent to the New York City has been designed in order to exclusively offer different kinds of Indonesian cuisine and coffee specialties. So far, the restaurant has been struggling in the process of establishing an effective social media strategy that can enable it achieve its goals and objectives. However, recently the company has re-invented its social media strategies, with the aim of reviving its marketing and management fortunes. The implementation of recommendations made earlier on how to effectively develop and utilize social media marketing approaches have been effective to a certain extent, although there is need for additional strategies in order to achieve restaurants objectives (KOPI 2015). In the implementation of the restaurant’s recommendations for effective and efficient social media marketing, the objectives that were set to guide the process included increasing the flow of traffic to the store in the online platform, increasing the level of brand awareness as well as having a high level of new customer acquisition and retention. To achieve the above stated objectives, the restaurant’s social media marketing team developed a strategic plan, which acted as a guide towards execution of the plan and achievement of the set objectives. The plan involved a careful examination of the approaches that were being used in the past, with the goal of identifying reasons why they could not help the restaurant in managing its marketing strategies. The team also examined some of the companies and restaurants in this industry with an aim of understanding the strategies that they have developed in the past and how they have helped them build their businesses. Qualman (2012) explains that the process of building personal and business success is multifaceted; however, it is important to learn about some of the effective strategies and approaches used by peers in the same industry. This understanding is what underpins the need for learning from other companies and restaurants in this industry by the KOPI’s social media marketing team. After making this comprehensive analysis, the marketing team drew a plan of implementing the objectives. This paper examines the effectiveness of the social media strategy in relation to the way it was implemented in KOPI restaurant towards enhancing its marketing prospects. In this paper, an analysis of the strategies that were implemented by the restaurant’s social media marketing team will be instrumental in determining the correctness of the thesis. 2. ROI funnel strategies used by the social media team The implementation of the three objectives mentioned above was tied to the two strategies that were being used in order to rebrand and re-invent the restaurant’s social media marketing approach. It is important to note that the success of any social media marketing strategy depends on the number of people that can view the social platforms that any business is using. For this reason, KOPI had to use these major events as strategies by which they could reach out to new customers and market their products and brand name (Arline para 8). In ensuring continuity in the success of the strategies, the social media marketing team decided to follow up on the number of new customers that the restaurant got in the two major events. Part of the follow-up process involved sending appreciation messages to people that had visited the company websites and social media platforms. This approach became an important process that also turned out to be a marketing strategy on its own. This is because; the number of customers that increased following this process was also overwhelming. In future, it is expected that the restaurant will devise ways of ensuring that the social media marketing approach is given first priority, following the increase in the number of people that use these platform in their social interactions across the world. 3. Awareness creation In achieving this ROI, the two events proved to be an important point of getting the customers and making follow up on their responses. The achievement of this objective, just like in other objectives, the need to integrate it with the company’s KPIs and ROI was evident. In this regard, the social media marketing team, besides examining how the major events had managed to create awareness for the KOPI brand, it also examined the aspect of preference. Preference, as a major KPI enabled the team to examine by monitoring the performance of the social media platforms, which were being marketed to the target audience. The team was focused on examining the manner in which the users were engaging with the restaurant’s brand. They were interested in knowing the number of brand mentions using the Hashtag, the number of posts and tweets that followed posts that mentioned about the restaurant as well as the engagement rate that was happening (Cloutier para 7). Additionally, the team was also interested in the region segmentation in order to tell the prevalence of the brand to its targeted customers for the future marketing activities in the restaurant. In this case, the team was interested in knowing the exact placed that most of the users of social media platforms were coming from. This would be important in the restaurant’s future growth and development, as well as marketing approaches. The company’s social media team targeted many of the new customers that were attending the two events. This would ensure that those that had least heard of the restaurant would have the chance of not only learning about it but also testing its delicacies and service. According to the plan, the two events did live to their expectations; the foodies that were invited played a very essential role in making positive reviews about the restaurant; they posted several pictures of the events at the restaurant during the anniversary. There were photos of the cultural dancers, different foods that were on offer as well as the services that they enjoyed. The restaurants idea of letting the foodies enjoy free meals was an effective that it made them post nice and positive reviews that received overwhelming reviews on instagram and other social media platforms. For effective achievement of this objective, it was integrated with other KPIs and ROIs; for instance, in creating awareness, the restaurant had made a wise decision to invite the bloggers into the event, with the aim of having them make positive reviews about the restaurant, specifically on the services and foods that it offers in its daily operations. This will mean the that people that were to see the photos posted as well as the positive comments about the foods and services would come to taste them not on the days of such events but on normal days. Besides the event, another way of achieving this objective included posting photos of the events and other restaurant programs on social media platforms like facebook, twitter and instagram by the social media team. These posting were done alongside information and reviews on the event before it happened. This approach was aimed at building synergy and psyche in the people that would attend the event. The same idea was done for the NYU event, in which the restaurant was hosting an Indonesian cultural event for a group of students from the New York University. In both events, this objective was achieved overwhelmingly since the number of new customers that attended the event were many and that they also likely the kind of hospitality that was offered to them. The social media marketing team made follow up to this strategy by thanking all those people that had visited the company’s social media platforms. In the end, the number of people that had made likes to the website and social media had increased tremendously, indicating that the strategy had been very successful to a very large extend. Here, the team decided to target new customers to the restaurant, while enhancing brand loyalty to those that had visited the restaurant before but were not coming on a consistent basis. Therefore, these two events were the best entry point for the team to identify and reach to these clients. In the cultural event that had been hosted by the restaurant following a requested a team of students, the team knew that there would be people attending the event for their first time, and were not from the Indonesian culture. In the same way, Bunskoek (2015) agrees that the publicity that was made in the second objective would create curiosity in those customers that would want to taste not only the services of the restaurant, but also to enjoy what the Indonesian cultural festival would offer. The invitation to the foodies was very effective because they have a wide following on their social media platforms; this meant that by their reviews to the event and the services at the restaurant, many people that had never heard or visited the restaurant would want to do so. This assumption worked to the restaurants advantage; this is because, after the two events, the restaurant received an increase in the number of new clients that visited because of the positive reviews given about the restaurant on social media. Just like the other two objectives mentioned, the achievement of this target was also effectively integrated with a KPI. Here the social media team gave attention to the need for consideration, which means that the restaurant realized the need to host the events, with an aim of enhancing the company’s prospects in marketing and general performance. 4. Results of the strategies After the success of both events, the social media team explained that there were overwhelming results. In this regard, the three strategies were achieved as indicated by the number of responses that were received on the company’s social media platforms. The team explained that after the event, it was busy making follow-ups to the people that had visited the restaurant, thanking them for their support. Additionally, the team also took time to respond to the issues and questions that had been raised by many of the customers on social media. In explaining the success that the team had received following the implementation of the strategies, it was discovered that there was an increase in the restaurant’s Hashtag brand mentions by people that visited its platforms. Many of the likes and feedbacks on twitter, facebook and instagram emanated from the reviews that had been given by the foodies that had honored the invitations. Additionally, the rate of success that the restaurant received in this new marketing approach can also be measured in the number of queries that were raised in the search engines. In fact, after the events, this is one of the reasons that made the social media to be very busy, responding to these queries and many other issues that had been raised by the clients who visited the restaurant physically during the events and others who saw the reviews from the social media platforms. In the end, the team derived satisfaction and motivation from the fact that the number of its followers on these social media increased tremendously, which according to Sterne (2010), will be helpful in the restaurants future marketing endeavors. 5. Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to acknowledge the fact that social media has proved an essential marketing tool that any company or business organisation can have in its marketing activities. The strategies that were set by KOPI restaurant’s social media team proved very effective in ensuring that the company creates and manages its customer base. Were it not for the vibrant marketing that was done on social media, it would have been quite impossible to get such a number group of following online. With many people asking questions about the restaurant and being answered, the social media team uses that opportunity to sell the company’s products and services (Washenko, para 5). This is important in increasing the number of customers, who often go telling others about the kind of services that they have received in the restaurant or any other business. It is important to realize that the online system of marketing exposes a company and any other business organisation to a wide range of customers, most of whom are located across the world. By using this approach, the need for business expansion and globalisation can be achieved effectively. Works cited Arline Catherine. What is a vision statement.11 December 2014. Web. 9 April 2015. Bunskoek Krista. Social Media Marketing for Restaurants: 21 tips. 2015. Web. 9 April 2015. Cloutier Chris. 30 Businesses that are rocking social media.17 July 2014. Web. 9 April 2015. KOPI. Kopi Kopi. 2015. Web. 2015. Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. 2nd ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2012. Print. Sterne, Jim. Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley, 2010. Print. Washenko Anna. 4 Restaurants doing social media right.19 October 2012. Web.9 April 2015. Read More