When you start talking to a social media guru it’s easy to get lost in the jargon. The epicenter of any social media marketing effort lies with Facebook. It’s proliferation is immense and not up for argument (although some try.) Just posting your facebook page for your restaurant is the right move, but, like anything else, you can always do better and more to interact with your customers. And that’s exactly why you should be using social marketing: to interact with your customers.

Beyond commenting and posting, facebook has other ways to kick up the marketing a notch or two. One of my favorite is based on FBML which stands for FaceBook Markup Language. It allows you to create custom tabs on your facebook page for promoting different items. These tabs can be used as landing pages to do many things. First you have to install it. Here is a great tutorial on installing and using FBML.

Once installed, you need to figure out what to promote. Here are a few suggestions on promoting your restaurant and its features using FBML and other facebook apps.

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You’ve setup your Twitter. You’re using Facebook. You have some rad specials on FourSquare. You’re building your email marketing list and sending out messages. Great. Now people just have to remember to use them.

You’re probably promoting your social media on your restaurant’s website, but what about when people come to your location? Usually the ball is dropped during a crucial time like the customer visit.

The key to getting the follow, like, blab, check-in or review is to give them a good reason. This doesn’t always mean discount incentives, although it usually does, but answer the questions, “Why would someone want to interact? What am I offering that’s truly valuable to them?” Use the answers to those questions to design these elements, write the text content and deliver the marketing message so people actually act.

There are a number of ways to promote your social media interaction using traditional media throughout your location’s experience. Here are 5 ways to leverage social media at your location:

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The restaurant industry has been notorious for super tight budgets. With the economy taking its toll heavily on the industry, that fact is more apparent than ever. Through hardship comes innovation though and restaurants have tools at their command that are inexpensive and sometimes even free!

“But, what are the right medias for my restaurant?” You may be asking yourself. Here are the musts for EVERY restaurant in no particular order:

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So we all agree Facebook is as necessary as a website if you’re going to make any kind of traction with online marketing, right? Good. Now that we have that cleared up, let’s talk about some ways NOT to use Facebook for your business.

Facebook has given businesses a way to connect directly to consumers on the consumers’ terms. It’s the epitome of why online marketing works. Facebook’s tools give businesses a way to engage them, bring them in and let them experience their brands. However, they can be used negatively without the restaurant or brand even knowing. Obviously this is detrimental as abusing a consumer’s acceptance of you will result in ejection and a bad reputation to their friends. Not good. So, let’s stave off some common pratfalls by other brands….

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If there are any doubts about social media’s permeation into everyday life, or if anyone doubts its reach, power and effect on brands, well, this video is for you.