The Dos and Don'ts of online marketing

It’s Barry Martin’s job to bring food brands online. As head of the advertising agency Hypenotic, Martin develops web strategies for the likes of the Gladstone Hotel, Fiesta Farms, the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance, and the Southbrook Vineyards.

At Hypenotic Martin studies each of his clients’ businesses and finds out with it is about them that resonates with their most loyal customers. Hypenotic uses that insight to plan websites, blogs, and video shorts for the brands, hoping to engage current customers and make new ones out of food lovers surfing the web.

Opening up the corporate conversation to the public and finding out what consumers have to say about your business can be daunting for any brand, food-based or not. To help Martin has laid out a few DOs and DON’Ts for online marketing.

DO:

Be authentic: “Balance your promotion, make sure your perspective comes clear and you’re not just broadcasting restaurant specials,” he says. Using the web to communicate with customers is your businesses’ chance to tell its story and connect with people who care about food as much as you do. It’s not just another promotional channel to inundate users with traditional advertising.

Reveal yourself: “Open the kimono,’ Martin says. “Let people see what’s going on in the kitchen. That’s what builds loyalty these days.” When customers come into a restaurant or grocery store, or buy a bottle of wine from a liquor store, they only experience the tip of your business. If you use the web as a channel to share the more intimate details of what you do, customers are more likely to feel a connection to your brand and become long-term shoppers or diners.

Communicate: “Communication on social media is about engaging,” Martin says. “One person has an off palette or comes in a bad mood and everyone who searches on Google ends up reading their rant. You need to get out there and balance that out.” Bad experiences go viral more quickly than good ones, and they are going to go viral whether you respond or not. Responding to customer feedback, both good and bad, gives you a chance to create positive relationships and combat negative reviews.

Turn your best customers into Brand Ambassadors: “Try to turn people into marketers for you instead of trying to do it yourself.” Martin says. Every good business has its most loyal customers. If you can engage them online and have them talk about your business, it will have more impact than trying to broadcast the message yourself.

DON’T:

Talk at users: “Don’t think this is just another chance to broadcast shit people are trying to ignore,” Martin says of social media. “Spend your energy and resources simply looking for an audience.” The web is full of people searching for recipes, food information, restaurant reviews, and local products. Consider what type of customers you have and make sure you have searchable content on the social networks and websites they are already using.

Engage alone: You get out of social media what you put in. Toronto has an engaged and wired food community that is discussing local issues online. By supporting local causes and charities, and involving your business in the events that are taking place to support local food, you have the chance both to create good will and to communicate with food lovers in a space where they are already sharing their passion for food.

Suck: This one is simple. Before you make the jump into the social web make sure you have a quality product people will want to share with their friends and followers. “The era of projecting at people, trying to get their attention and tricking them into trying your product is over,” Martin says, adding that when consumers have a bad experience with a brand, it quickly goes viral. “They can pass on that you suck really easily,” he says.

Separate online and offline activity: “The conclusion of social media not online,” Martin says. “These initiatives should lead to people meeting in real life.” Use social media to promote offline events where your customers can meet other people with a passion for food. Every event you participate in will have a halo effect online if guests have a good time and return home to talk about it on social networks.