Okay, so maybe they don't rule it, but twitter fits nicely into any restaurants online marketing plan.  With Twitter, followers don't mind getting a tweet or two per day from their favorite restaurants, in fact, tweeting everyday, if it's worthwhile, is to be expected.  It's also easy to use and has mobile integration.

Twitter as it applies to businesses:
Twitter is a two-way communication platform that allows businesses to stay connected to their customers.

That's basically it, to stay connected. And you do that in the form of 140 character messages or "tweets".  The 140 limit works as an advantage to a business by forcing it to be brief and to the point and therefore makes sending daily(top of mind) tweets acceptable.  Besides, if you want to expand, you can send a link to anything you want, blog post, landing page, article, etc.

Dining out for the most part is an impulsive decision. Can you think of a better way to influence that impulsive decision than to remind patrons daily about a restaurant they chose to follow through relevant and useful and even mouth-watering tweets?  

recent mouth-watering tweets from Restaurants I follow

obarestaurant Tonight's Special: Mesquite-Grilled Mexican Black Sea bass w/ tomato coulis, fingerling potatoes, green beans,& jalapeno tartar sauce.

zaxaustin ZAX Special's: Jalapeno Marinated Pork Chop, Chile Rubbed Rib eye, & Rainbow Trout. Today's Soup is a French Onion Soup

nostranapdx Dine al Fresco@Nostrana tonight. The weathers finally awesome & we have refreshing wine, handmade gnocchi & Oregon Salmon w/potato salad!

elephantsdeli Time for lunch? Porchetta with fennel, garlic & onions - $5 hot hoagie special at all Flying Elephants. What are you having?

CaptainNeon 'Chocolate Thunder Nitro' at McMenamins on the Columbia. What more needs to be said?

As you can see, these restaurants made the most out of the 140 character limit.  A restaurant could make daily mouth-watering tweets their entire Twitter plan but, if you look around there is much more to tweet about for a more rounded approach.

Doing a little research can go a long way in planning a Twitter strategy.  You want to tweet about what your customers care about, right?  Well, using polls like the one below from the National Restaurant Association can direct you to what may be of interest to your customers.

Restaurant Facts for 2010

• 40 percent of adults agree that purchasing meals from restaurants and take-out and delivery places makes them more productive in their day-to-day life.

• 73 percent of adults say they try to eat healthier now at restaurants than they did two years ago.

• 57 percent of adults say they are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how much a restaurant supports charitable activities and the local community.

• 78 percent of adults say they would like to receive restaurant gift cards or certificates on gift occasions.

• 52 percent of adults say they would be more likely to patronize a restaurant if it offered a customer loyalty and reward program.

• 57 percent of adults say they are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how much a restaurant supports charitable activities and the local community.

• 56 percent of adults say they are more likely to visit a restaurant that offers food grown or raised in an organic or environmentally friendly way.

Twitter is about getting to know your followers.  If you're tweeting about what your customers truly care about and connecting with those customers, you can't help but succeed.

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