I started working with Executive Chef and owner Chris Palios of Sophia’s Tuscan Grille about a year ago. My team took over the social media account and have been working on growing the fan base for the Warwick, RI based restaurant. Sophia’s is a very unique restaurant in they are a BYOB. Chris’s big concern was introducing the restaurant to NEW patrons as he already had a loyal following of clientelle.
As my team and I strategizied on the best ways to gain more traction it dawned on me that although Chris had a small exisiting following of 125 we needed to get them more involved. The folks who frequented Sophia’s were loyal RAVING FANS. Chris had been doing the social media himself and advertising the typical things restaurants post on their social media; specials, deals, photos. While I agree that posting deals and specials is great however it doesn’t get the audience involved. Having worked with Chris in the past at events I know he LOVES feedback from his audience my team and I had a hunch that his audience might be craving this as well. The core of our strategy is born ~ engage our ALREADY LOYAL clients. Chris’s clients are Explorer’s according to Carol Peason’s Archetype’s. They crave Sophia’s unique twist on Italian Food and want to share that experience with others.
THE LOYAL CLIENT STRATEGY: Sophia’s Tuscan Grille
Purpose: To engage the Explorer’s through the existing small database/facebook likes and leverage them as a way to expand the social media. Cater to the explorer’s craving for input and engagement.
The Strategy: Instead of static posts utilize posts that offer quizzes, user input, fill in the blank, videos, user requests etc. This strategy must be consistent but must remain entertaining to keep the users engaged so it must vary slightly from week to week. It should be a 3-pronged approach in that it has in-store, online, and in-person promotion.
Why Patience has PAID OFF. Quality over Quanity
My team and I began this strategy almost one year ago and while there were some tweaks along the way we have over 500 likes and are well on our way to 1000. Using a strategy likes this has forced my team to stay creative becuase we’ve been able to monitor the ROI and level of engagement each week. If engagement has fallen off then we know we’ve fallen off what the users want.
These users or rather raving fans have almost single handedly grown our database of likes. The new likes we have gotten are of similar quality to the original 125. They are just as engaged if not more engaged! These raving fans actively help us to grow the Sophia’s network. To see the strategy at work check out https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sophias-Tuscan-Grille/120196464663561
