Food Truck Marketing – Getting Social
There’s something so authentic and fun about the relaxed camaraderie of eating at a food truck. It feels so personal. That’s not too surprising since most trucks employ just two to four people. The food truck industry as a whole is big business though, and is projected to top $996 million in industry value by 2020. And, did you know that the countries with the largest volume of food trucks are the U.S., Canada, Dubai and Saudi Arabia?
Communications and marketing for food trucks takes some savvy and some serious dedication. Here are three tips for setting up shop.
Pro Tip 1: Remember, You’re Selling an Experience
Developing a cult following of foodies isn’t just about what happens in the kitchen. It’s also about how well you create an experience and a community—in real life and virtually. Your marketing recipe needs the right mix of ingredients.
Imagery really matters in the food truck business. The visual energy of your truck wrap (the design that makes your truck a moving advertisement), the logo and typography all set the foundation for the rest of your marketing tools. Now you need:
Photography: luscious images of your food, your team (at work and play), and your customers enjoying their meals. Photography will feed your website and keep your social media channels fresh, so make it high impact and keep it coming.
Video: clips of the kitchen magic happening or high-energy events will bring your food truck business to life. Videos need not be expensively high end either, they just need to be authentic. Cheeky, fun and campy can fit the bill nicely. It’s all about helping the customer get to know you better and want to hang out—while eating your food.
Graphics: graphics are a combination of your brand logo, colors, font type and personality that you can use to advertise events, new dishes and more. Develop a couple of high impact design templates that you will use and reuse—and that are always on point with your business aesthetic.
Pro Tip 2: Social Media Is Your Bestest Friend
Your online presence begins with a website, of course. This is where the story of your business lives, the savory details of your menu, your full range of services, where your truck will be and when, and your business contact information. Then, you're ready for social media. Social media channels function as your sales force—most often driving readers back to your site for more depth of information. Social media can help customers find your truck; get foodies excited about new dishes or the return of favorites from the past; and promote contests, giveaways and stories about your business.
There are a lot of social media options available, but you needn’t use every one. It’s important to remember—once you launch a social media channel, you need to monitor it every day and keep it updated with new content. Here are the basics on what tools to use and what to post:
What to post: locations and details about where you will be; upcoming events such as food truck rodeos, new dishes or other promotions; and teasers for stories about your business. Using photos and video boosts your reader’s engagement--making it more likely they will come find you and eat. Hashtag your business name and use it every time.
What to post: gorgeous photos of your food, photos of you and your happy customers, and well-designed ad graphics—always with captions and a trigger to engage. The trigger can be something simple such as asking a question about a favorite food, or a prompt to share a funny experience of a date involving your food truck. You get the idea. Respond to comments on your post--that is part of building a community of loyal followers!
Yelp
What to post: business contact information, ways to find the truck location, and very carefully thought out responses to customer reviews. P.S. Set up a YELP page before someone else does. It will happen.
What to post: Facebook will function a lot like your webpage, but the emphasis should be more focused on the humans in your food truck world. So, this means stories (remember the flat tire on the way to that gig?), anecdotes and photos of your business in action, your events and of course, your customers. A Facebook page that only lists the food truck locations is going to flop. Respond to your customer comments and share your stories and personality.
But keep in mind, social media is not all happiness and smiles, as you’ll see next in pro tip number 3.
Pro Tip 3: Service Recovery
Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned: an entrée comes out not hot enough, there’s not enough sassy in a batch of picante sauce, or someone gets the wrong order after waiting in line for 20 minutes. It happens. But what happens next can seriously affect your business.
The downside of social media for food trucks and restaurants is that angry or annoyed customers can publicly vent their frustration and anger in real time—while you’re busy taking care of other customers and your business operations. It’s a hard lesson when you’re a small business and it’s all hands-on-deck keeping food prep and delivery under control—but you have to monitor social media constantly. Waiting even a day can make the situation worse.
Have a plan for how to respond to disgruntled customers quickly and respectfully. A response should include three elements:
- Tell your customer how much you appreciate their business and that you want to make it right.
- Take responsibility for the lapse in service, food quality, or whatever the problem was—and let them know that is not who you are as a business.
- Offer them a discount or a free replacement at their convenience.
It goes without saying, don’t lose your cool with a snarky comeback—your customer has nothing to lose. You do. Take the high road and focus on service recovery. It will impress and positively influence others subscribed to your social media channels.
What other advise do marketing pros have for food truck businesses? Share your own thoughts and advice!
Photo credit: Silver Seed Food Truck by photographer Brendan Bombaci. Cropped for site size.
Deborah Hill is an anthropologist and communications strategist who blogs about the ways humans and businesses interact. Her professional work has included science writing and implementing communications strategies for Higher Ed departments and schools. Her consulting work supports the development of small businesses.