Spreading the Word - Motivating a following and getting them to advertise for you

You have seen ads that identify which of your friends have liked a business or a product. Research indicates that you are much more likely to be convinced to try a product or service if it is recommended to you by people that you know (Sukraj, 2021). Not only is it the most effective advertising, it is among the cheapest (money-wise) but might require time and effort spent on developing relationships with your social media customers and friends.

One way to build solid relationships with customers is to follow the advice found in Simon Sinek’s famous Ted-Talk lecture about knowing your “why” (Sinek, 2010).

The companies and organizations that truly succeed in connecting with their audiences are those who understand the reasons they are in business in the first place, and effectively communicate and share those motivations.  For my own business we believe that everyone has something to contribute. We believe that Deaf people can do anything but hear. We believe that people deserve delicious and healthy food at reasonable prices and that Deaf people can enhance that experience through sharpened senses of sight, smell, and taste. We happen to make great food. Come and share your eating experiences with us.

The most widespread and well-known social media publishers are Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Customers and friends can be encouraged to participate in your name recognition through word-of-mouth advertising, or in those cases, word of hand (texting, typing or signing). Video testimonials on YouTube, posts on Facebook, Twitter contributions to #DefBurger, and food reviews on Yelp and Google all contribute to convincing a person to become a customer.

Additional social media strategies include using Prezi video to combine text, pictures and a video message (accessible through YouTube), Snapchat, and Instagram. YouTube provides educational and entertainment for many people and that leaves the freedom to develop instructional cooking videos, geared to Deaf chefs, that promote the entrée and appetizer items available in the restaurant. Eventually the Def Burger YouTube channel will include sign language instruction, and general employment tips and strategies to encourage more Deaf people to advocate for themselves and pursue the jobs that they want to do the most, regardless of previous discrimination that typically incorporates the phrase “but how will we communicate?” Now that I think about it, the first one of those “tips” videos will be “How to communicate with a Deaf person” for hearing people.

 Deaf people already know how to resolve the “how will we communicate?” problem that non-deaf people appear to have. The non-deaf (known as “hearing”) people already have the answers, but they just don’t think of them. Those answers include texts, emails, social media.  One additional means to improved communication between Deaf and hearing people is the video relay services provided through telephone Federal taxes – a hearing person on a phone and a Deaf person on their phone (but using video such as FaceTime) can each use their preferred languages which are interpreted back and forth by an interpreter. The service is free.  Deaf people know all about it.  Just ask one and you won’t have to worry any more about the “how will we communicate?” dilemma. 

 One idea that has come to me was inspired by research conducted by Olsen and Praejus (2020).  They had customers compose their own advertisements (in the study the ads related to cell phones) but the point of the study was to determine how effective the ads were. People responded better to the ads that they composed themselves as compared to the alternative versions that other subjects composed. While the research is somewhat inconclusive (I think I would remember my own ad and show a little favoritism for it) the concept is simple enough – get your customers to participate in the advertising process and they are likely to generate results that appeal to someone similar to themselves.

So how do you trick someone into doing it? The idea in my mind relies on the use of smart phones or ipads. Either send advertising elements to the customers phone or have them automatically load on an iPad associated with their table. Each order is another potential advertisement. When a customer orders, the ordering system would have an associated photograph of all the possible entrees and appetizers in that person’s order. These photos would load on to the smart device being used. Customers would then be asked to generate a selfie of them at the table (in the restaurant) and then finally to choose one of several text statements with places to add the names of people who are with them.  When the customer is satisfied with all three elements they would SEND the combination to their Facebook home page. 

Step one complete – friends will see the post, believe their friend is genuine in recommending the place, and new potential customers are intrigued. Then when the original customer logs in that night or the next day, they comment on their own post – how delicious the food was and how excellent the service or how reasonable the prices (we hope this is what they would add) and now the friends just HAVE TO come and see this place for themselves. Cost is all up front to develop the software and take the photos for the program to use.  Most likely it would pay for itself in just a few weeks of postings. The point of this is multi-fold: a) give the customer something to do while they wait for their food, b) remind them of their visit the next day, the next week and so on, c) encourage their friends to experience the restaurant, d) rinse, repeat, etc.  If all goes well, the advertising budget could come down to zero because you already have lines out the door to experience the Def Burger Experience. That sounds like a theme park ride… hmmm.

The use of technology has already become the new tradition for the “Millennial” generation and their children. Millennials are invested in sharing their experiences virtually, both as a marker of accomplishment and, to some extent, bragging about their own experiences and achievements. Social Media allows people to see the word as “all about them,” and merging the restaurant experience with that world view allows them to include the restaurant in their “all about them” existence.

Is this ethical? Isn’t it a little like using your own words against you in a court of law? No! No one is forcing them to create the posts. But, psychologically, once you start to convince them that they are having fun and that the food is delicious then they are more likely to remember that they had fun and the food was delicious. In this way, we might be enhancing their dining experience, bumping it up from dining 1.0 to dining 2.0 and beyond.

All of this ties right back into my “Why.” I believe that people deserve delicious and healthy food at reasonable prices and that Deaf people can enhance that experience through sharpened senses of sight, smell, and taste. We happen to make great food.  Come and share your eating experiences with us.

 

References 

How great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek. (2010, May 4). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4.

Olsen, D., & Pracejus, J. (2020). Customized advertising: Allowing consumers to directly tailor messages leads to better outcomes for the brand. Journal of Business Research, 245-257.

Sukhraj, R. (2021, April 18). 7 must-have word-of-mouth marketing strategies. Retrieved from https://www.impactplus.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing-strategies-infographic.