With eight out of 10 restaurant operators saying social media will be an increasingly important marketing tool, the National Restaurant Association will feature leading social media experts at its Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in May.
Event attendees will interact with companies such as Facebook, Google, Groupon, LivingSocial, Social Grub, TravelZoo, Where and Yelp to explore how their services can help restaurants become more talked about and recommended.
The NRA Show 2011 will be held May 21-24 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
“Social media savvy consumers dine out more often and show a higher level of engagement in the restaurant community than other consumers, so building a strong social media marketing strategy is a smart move for restaurateurs,” said C.W. Craig Reed, convention chair for NRA Show 2011 and director of Food and Beverage, Broadmoor Hotel. “This year’s NRA Show presents social media marketing leaders to help restaurant and hospitality operators navigate the world of online word-of-mouth marketing to reach and interact with more consumers.”
Google will be the keynote in the Technology Pavilion on Sunday, May 22, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Additionally, the NRA Show will host a series of social media-focused education sessions to highlight best-in-class strategies and implementation, featuring both social media companies and restaurant operators. Social media education session highlights include:
Making Friends, Building Followers and Turning Fans Into Ambassadors Through Social Media
Saturday, May 21, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. – Learn tips and insights on what to post, who will manage it, how to attract followers on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites from restaurant operator Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, The Castle Group, Langdon Flynn Communications and CoverBoom.
Using Social Media Technologies to Reward Brand Loyalty
Sunday, May 22, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. – Discover how Tasti D-Lite integrates conventional loyalty programs with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social media and geo-social applications to build loyalty activity online and receive tangible benefits through social-friendly POS applications and TastiRewards program.
Collective Buying: How Social Commerce Can Help Your Restaurant Find New Customers
Sunday, May 22, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. – Gain insights from Groupon, Geja’s Cafe, PYT Philly, Butter Lane Cupcakes and Wyndham Hotel Chicago about what collective buying is all about, how it can help attract and retain customers, how to prepare when you run a deal, what to avoid and more.
The Power of Social Media INSIDE Your Organization
Monday, May 23, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. – Learn from P.F. Chang’s, Taco Bell, CiCi’s Pizza and Hoffmann and Associates about how to use social media successfully to recruit, engage and communicate inside your organization.
The Future of Social Media and Word of Mouth for the Restaurant Industry
Monday, May 23, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. – Join Johnny Rockets Restaurant Group Inc., Cold Stone Creamery, Facebook, LivingSocial, SCVNGR and Zócalo Group as they highlight what you need to know to fully capitalize on the most compelling social media trends today, and tomorrow.
Debate: Are online reviews a good or bad thing?
Tuesday, May 24, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. – Top Chef runner-up Stefan Richter and Yelp’s Luther Lowe will debate the merit of online reviews, including why chefs and restaurant operators often view online review sites as a double-edged sword, moderated by Corby Kummer, Atlantic senior editor and curator of The Atlantic Food Channel.
Additionally, NRA Show 2011 and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) now have the ability through eventSocial – an online social media tool – to log into their social networks and email accounts, identify fellow registrants already in their networks, connect with them and post show-related updates to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Visitors also will be able to check in for the first time to NRA Show and IWSB and key show floor areas using Facebook Places from their smartphones.
