Got social media? Here’s how to use it right

I’m so glad I don’t have to write another column about why everyone should be active on social media. You already know how vital it is to your pizzeria’s marketing plan and posting had become a part of your routine. Now that you’re a social media expert with thousands of likes, friends and followers, I feel it necessary to point out some ways you’re abusing the system.

The most common mistake I’ve noticed is one of pace. A burst of posts is a dead giveaway that you suddenly remembered you have social media accounts to populate. Not only is it annoying for users to see their feeds flooded by a single pizzeria, it’s also a waste of impression time. If you post five photos on Instagram within one minute, I’m going to read it as a single point of contact. By spreading those photos over three hours (pre-lunch through post-lunch) you’ll create five distinct points of contact. I know it’s a pain to remember to post when you’re in the middle of a busy service, but there are tons of third-party apps that will let you schedule updates in advance. You’ll be able to load up all your content and schedule distribution in one shot!

Once you have content, it’s easy to link all your accounts and blast a single message across all platforms with the push of a button. The only problem is that a photo on Instagram doesn’t necessarily read well on Twitter and a post on Twitter is often inappropriate for Facebook. Every social media platform has a unique language, so be sure you understand the messaging capabilities of each before you cross-populate all your profiles with the same post. Tailoring your messaging to each platform also gives your followers variation so they don’t get bored from redundant information. If you’re posting the same thing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram there is no reason for me to follow you on all three. Give me a reason!

Now that you’re crafting an effective social media plan, be sure your content is relevant to your brand. That’s my nice way of begging you to maintain separation between business and personal! I absolutely support your right to blab about your political views but please keep them off your company accounts unless they directly relate to your business and accurately reflect your entire organization’s opinion. The same goes for vacation photos, birthday parties, graduations and the like. If it reinforces your brand, go for it! Otherwise, leave it on your personal page.

When I follow a restaurant on social media, I expect content about their food. So why on Earth would you post stock photos instead of your own dishes? I know this sounds crazy, but I recently had to point it out to a pizzeria on Instagram because they posted an image of pizza that looked nothing like their own –– it looked much worse!

You’re proud of your food and social media is the easiest way to remind your customers you exist with fun and informative updates. Just remember that delivering an appropriate message will lead directly to you delivering more pizzas.

Scott Wiener owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.