Restaurants using more online tools than Web sites to attract customers

What's for lunch? Better check Twitter.

The social media explosion has hit area restaurants as eating and drinking establishments gain exposure by posting daily specials, menu changes and other promotions.

Amy Wyss, co-owner and executive chef of Zins, 227 Second Ave. SE, created Twitter and Facebook accounts just before the restaurant reopened in June - the anniversary of when it closed during 2008's catastrophic flood.

She did her research, looking up Twitter accounts of other restaurants and bars across the nation.

“Everything was so boring,” she says. “We are trying to make it funny while we try to figure out how to do it.”

Wyss says she gets better response from the Facebook page, I Luv Zins, than from her Web site, www.zinsrestaurant.com, primarily because pictures and information are easier to update on social media sites than the Web site.

Every Friday, Wyss posts a promotion on Zins' social media accounts. For example, on Sept. 18, the Twitter promotion read: “$1 off Fridays! The secret phrase is...What's your favorite color of crayon? Mine is Jazzberry Jam, gotta say it, to play!”

About five or six people respond to the promotion each Friday, Wyss says.

Another popular promotion, the Zins Great Grape Hunt, is intended to bring people back downtown as it recovers from the flood.

“Still every day, people come in and didn't know we were back,” Wyss says.

Earlier this month, Zins employees hid 50 bunches of plastic grapes in various locations downtown. Each grape bunch has an attached coupon for a special at Zins. So far, 15 of the 50 bunches have been turned in, including the grand prize golden grapes.

Wyss posts pictures and hints of the grapes' hiding places on Facebook and Twitter to generate interest. While she hopes it boosts Zins' business, Wyss also wants downtown to thrive.

While Wyss updates her own social media accounts, Victor's Place co-owner Becky Bateman has Jacob Kopp of Vital Viral Marketing update her restaurant's accounts.

“I am focused on day-to-day operations,” Bateman says. “It's something I could do, but I feel my time is best spent on customers who are here.”

Kopp strategically posts status updates of Victor's daily specials just before lunch, usually around 10:30 a.m.

Bateman is pleased with the results.

“I think it helps our business because it helps us focus on the current market,” she says. Like Zins, Victor's Place, 209 Third St. SE, is re-establishing itself after recovering from the flood.

Connecting through social media gives customers a more personal relationship with their favorite restaurants, Kopp says.

“It makes it feel like they are friends with them,” he says.

Reid Travis, social media manger at Panchero's Mexican Grill, agrees that customers appreciate the interaction.

“It shows people are behind restaurants, not just food,” he says.

Pancheros has more than 2,600 followers on Twitter and more than 2,500 Facebook fans. The chain based in Coralville has expanded to 20 states.

Social media allows Pancheros to promote specials as well as receive immediate feedback.

“We just like interacting with customers,” Travis says. “I usually know how to get information they want, whether it be a complaint or request.”

This summer, Pancheros began a “burrito tour,” in which employees go to a different location each week and hand out free burritos. While anybody can get a free burrito, those who follow Pancheros on Twitter and Facebook have the upper hand on the date and location.

“If you're following us, you will definitely know about it,” Travis says.