about internet marketing

Jenny An is a Chicago-based writer with a focus on popular culture, food and travel. Her work has appeared in Time Out Chicago and VenusZine.

Social media certainly has its benefits for those who love dining and drinking. From free drinks for Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare checkins, to Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter notifications about happy hours, to Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook messages about free food, there’s always something tasty happening online.

But the social web offers a lot more than just discounts and deals when it comes to drinking and dining. Restaurants and bars are giving social media users a backstage pass to the food and the people who make it. Chefs and restaurateurs are using social media to reveal how their dishes are made, generate familiarity with chefs and provide a means for diners to share feedback.

Revealing How Dishes Are Made

While customers go to lower end restaurants looking for value and discounts, higher-end restaurants think that “discounts cheapen the experience,” says Tom O’Keefe, a Boston-based restaurant tweeter and social media-focused marketer.

You can blame it on the rise of celebrity chefs or the success of The Food Network and shows like Top Chef, but now more than ever, people want to live vicariously through others who cook. Many restaurants, including Chicago’s Piccolo Sogno and The Bristol, are posting videos to YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube or Vimeoclass="blippr-nobr">Vimeo of new dishes being prepared. “The general idea is to pull the curtain back,” says Phillip Walters of The Bristol. “Allow people at home to feel more involved and engaged with that you are trying to deliver.”

But social media does a lot more than just satisfy curiosities. It makes Twitter followers or Facebook fans remember their last visit. Stu Mitchell, marketing director for Blue 13, a Rock and Roll spot in Chicago, says this act of reminding customers about their last visit “prompt[s] them to want to return, to keep us fresh in the minds of those who have yet to visit, but have been planning on it.”

But the behind-the-scenes social media technique sways more toward high-end than fast food restaurants. A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the origins of the McNugget (hint: it’s birthed from pink goop) led to class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet-wide horror and repulsion.

“A local Taco Bell is going to connect and build community in a very different way versus a Michelin-rated restaurant that brings passionate foodies together,” says Lorrie Thomas, CEO of Web Marketing Therapy.

Getting to Know the Chefs

Instead of attracting customers with deals, many restaurants strive to use social media for a tailored, personal experience. “People love to go into a restaurant or bar and know the owner or the chef,” O’Keefe says. Think of it as instantly becoming a regular.

That’s why chefs like Joanne Chang of Boston’s Myers and Chang and Flour Bakery personally tweet photos of the kitchen staff at work. “If you’re in a PR firm, you’re not going to get the same feel,” O’Keefe says. “It’s her and you know that it’s her.”

Grant Achatz, the man behind Chicago’s Alinea — named best restaurant in America in 2006 by Gourmet — also does his own tweeting. “Who would you rather hear from?” he asks. “Me directly or some weird person I paid to represent me?” When Achatz is not in the restaurant, he continues to tweet — from where he’s eating in Chicago to where he’s visiting in Japan. It lets people get to know him better and maintains a base, he says. “I’m not a celebrity, but I have a following.”

Achatz’s approach to helping his audience learn more about him is spot on. “Who we are” is the primary message of any effective marketing campaign, says Syeed Mansur, CEO of Sentrana, a firm that uses mathematical models to determine the most effective marketing strategies for companies.

Opening Communication Between Diners and Chefs

The restaurant experience has traditionally always been divided between front of house and back of house. Customers sat in the dining room and enjoyed their meals, completely disconnected from the people preparing the meals. The success of open kitchen designs, the farm-to-table movement, and books like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, show that diners want a deeper connection to the food that’s being prepared for them.

Not only does social media let customers view what’s behind that “Employees Only” door, but it gives customers access to the people behind it. Twitter allows Tony Priolo, chef of Piccolo Sogno, to connect with customers before they even come to the restaurant. And diners plugged in with social media receive special treatment. “If we tweeted with them beforehand I’ll usually come out of the kitchen and thank them for tweeting with us or send over something special,” he says.

Achatz likes to hear complaints from customers and says he actually responds. Sometimes he’ll refund a meal, but more importantly, “the more we know about who is coming into our restaurant, the better we’ll be able to fulfill our obligation to do what will make them feel happy,” he says. A couple had flown into Chicago from New York to eat at his restaurant and expected not only excellent food but also excellent service. The wife was escorted to the bathroom the first time she got up, but not the second. Achatz thinks the front of house staff just assumed she knew the way and could help herself. But the husband indignantly tweeted about the incident and then Achatz knew that his customers had different assumptions of service. The restaurant has tweaked its service accordingly since then.

“When people know, like and trust us, they buy,” Thomas says. “Pushing propaganda will freak people out.”

While restaurants are unable to quantify the exact monetary impact of their social media campaigns, the responses they receive assure them that somebody is listening. “We hear enough feedback to know that we’re reaching people and that they enjoy it,” says Amy Mills Tunnicliffe of 17th Street Bar and Grill in southern Illinois.

Before social media, it was difficult for the average person (even a person spending $200 for dinner) to have access to that ornery bartender or three-starred Michelin chef, but now, dishing complaints or compliments has become as easy as a tweet or a Facebook post.

How have you used social media to enhance — or complain about — a dining experience? Do you follow your favorite chefs or restaurants? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More Foodie Resources from Mashable:

- 10 iPhone Apps for Wine Enthusiasts/> - 3 New Recipe Apps for the iPad [PICS]/> - 10 iPhone Apps for the Global Foodie/> - 7 Services That Will Suggest Things You Like/> - HOW TO: Find Good Food Online

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

Research can sometimes be a bit of a chore, but when knowledge is wrapped up in charts, cartoons, or even some heart-holding robots, suddenly “information” isn’t such a scary word.

What do Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook’s 500 million users look like? Who’s suing whom in the mobile world? How does FarmVille stack up against actual farms? These questions and more are answered in the infographics below.

Have a look through the list and let us know which graphics you liked best (or learned the most from) in the comments below.

• Time-Lapse Twitter Visualization Shows America’s Moods [VIDEO]/> A group of researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities have gathered enough data from class='blippr-nobr'>Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter to give us all a snapshot of how U.S. residents feel throughout a typical day or week.
• Facebook’s 500 Million Members [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The illustration breaks down the demographics of Facebook’s burgeoning population (according to their own data on the service), and explores the international makeup of the site.
• The Social Media Impact of “Jersey Shore” [INFOGRAPHIC]/> With the premiere of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” come and gone, we can now analyze the impact of the show on our favorite social media sites.
• What Types of People Raise Money for Web Startups? [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Venture capital investment can be crucial for getting a company off the ground. But who are the entrepreneurs that receive funding for their startups?
• The Rise of Text Messaging [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Did you know that 14-17 year-old girls in the U.S. send an average of 100 texts each day? Check out this infographic for more interesting SMS stats and facts.
• Facebook Privacy: 6 Years of Controversy [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The release of Facebook Places raised serious privacy concerns for users of the social network. Check out this infographic that traces the history of Facebook’s privacy snafus.
• “FarmVille” vs. Real Farms [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Have you ever wondered how virtual farming and actual farming stack up? Do humans produce more virtual crops than real ones? We’ve harvested all the interesting data for you here.
• Social Good: Charity and Technology in the Online Universe [INFOGRAPHIC]/> How has social media giving changed over the last few years? How does it compare with traditional non-profit campaigns? Check out our infographic for some perspective.
• What People Think About America’s Most Pressing Matters [INFOGRAPHIC]/> An infographic created by creative agency JESS3 asks, “What are the nation’s most pressing issues?” and displays the answers from 1,671,267 citizens.
• Connected TV: The New Battle for Your Living Room [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Apple TV, the Boxee Box, and Roku are finally bringing web entertainment to the living room. How do these products stack up? Check out this detailed price and feature comparison chart.
• The Tangled Web of Lawsuits in Mobile [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Who’s suing whom in the mobile industry? It can be a tough question to answer, even if you’re closely following all the lawsuits that have been thrown around.
• Survey Shows the Internet Would Have Passed Prop 19/> Prop 19, California’s controversial bid to legalize marijuana, lost at the polls on Tuesday, but if that vote had been up to the wider web of Internetusers, Prop 19 would have passed.
• Social Media’s Impact on the Midterm Elections [INFOGRAPHICS]/> Social media, especially Facebook, had a huge impact on how the U.S. midterm elections were perceived and decided. Here’s a breakdown by the numbers.
• The State of B2B Social Media Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The vast majority (86%) of B2B businesses use social media for marketing. See how they’re using it, which tools they’re utilizing and what the future holds.
• The Biggest Brands on Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]/> In the past few years, big brands have started taking social media seriously, and Facebook marketing is a big part of the plan for many companies.
• What Is the Web Thankful For? [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Thankfulfor.com has put together a (surprisingly long) report that details what things people say they are grateful for having in their lives.
• How the World Is Using Cellphones [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The infographic illustrates the number of cellphones per capita in various countries, the rate of cellphone adoption in the U.S. over the past decade and the acceptability of certain behaviors regarding cellphone use.
• Who Will Win the Mashable Awards? [INFOGRAPHIC]/> We’ve broken down a complete list of the finalists by category in one handy (and unicorn filled!) infographic. Make sure you get voting before it’s too late!
• How Connected Devices and Consoles Compare [INFOGRAPHIC]/> As 2010 draws to a close, we’re finally starting to see new and improved connected devices for bringing streaming content to the living room hit the market.

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

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