How Social Media Has Changed the Restaurant Industry

A decade ago, much restaurant content was driven by professional reviews. Once every couple of months a food critic would come along and a kitchen would cook its best food and await the review in the newspaper.

Then restaurant review sites came along and changed all that. These days, reviews can be completed while a diner is still in the restaurant. That has many implications, largely around the velocity of information and the extensiveness of information.

What is important for restaurants is to recognize that reviews can happen with almost every customer interaction, since mostly every diner has a mobile, and over time, virtually all those devices will be smart phones capable of uploading reviews and photos on the spot. Nor can a restaurant owner assume that there are only a few places any such reviews will be posted. They will be "all over the place."

The practical implication for restaurants is that content marketing of any sort is going to have to contend with a tidal wave of potential content posted lots of places by its own customers. And it is fair to say that there is only so much any particular brand can do about managing content, under such circumstances.

The best way to fend off bad reviews is of course to cook amazing food and provide superb service and the upside is that restaurants doing that will benefit from massively powerful word of mouth like never before.

How social media has changed the restaurant industry