Last updated on July 1, 2022
In the mid-late 2000s, a divine trinity of an emergent foodie culture, the increased market penetration of internet-capable phones, and the rise of phone-friendly social media apps have led to the present-day ubiquity of the food truck in metropolitan areas all over the world.
According to Los Angeles-based think-tank IBISWorld, the street-food business, which includes food trucks and smaller food carts – is a $1 billion industry with an 8.4 percent growth rate from 2007 to 2012. At $40,000 to USD 120,000 for a custom-built, road-ready food truck, it simply wasn’t as feasible to set up food trucks in less densely populated cities before the mobile social media boom.
Add the operating costs and the lack of a simple, quick way to advertise their routes and market their brands, and a full-size food truck was an uncertain and often expensive proposition. Thanks to social media and smartphones, food truck entreps can now follow the market… and vice-versa.
Now it seems that food trucks are everywhere, and not all are successful. In fact, growth has slowed considerably since 2013. Tweeting your location isn’t enough anymore. Interestingly enough, social media innovation seems to move slower than innovation in the food itself. Nearly any somewhat densely populated area will have at least a few trucks trying to earn your Twitter following.
And failing.
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Here are 5 things we guarantee ALL successful food trucks do on social media.
5 Deceptively Obvious Ways Successful Food Trucks Use Social Media
5.) Tell an Interesting Story
Interesting businesses will forever have a special place in the hearts and minds of the general public. It helps if you can tell a story about your company that could hold your customers’ attention. It doesn’t even have to be precisely accurate. No one cares about the absolute truth of who started your business. No one thought a Ronald McDonald clown just up and went making fries and burgers.
It’s more important to hook your customer and tell them something they haven’t read on other food truck social media pages.
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4.) CRM Forever
Social media isn’t just a way to give followers your daily routes. Social media platforms also function as a virtual contact center, helping your customers get in touch with you – albeit very publicly. You will eventually get some complaints and bad reviews. A single one of these can totally derail your business if you let it.
Complaints are a way to build rapport and address customer concerns. A well-handled complaint may very well be the thing that earns you a loyal customer or even a brand evangelist.
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While this isn’t just about social media, it’s important to realize one major point that causes so many food trucks to fold. CRM also involves anticipating and gathering customer experiences –and fixing them preferably before problems occur.
Slow service has no place in food trucks. People are probably on their feet, and many want to get out of there as soon as possible. If you have process bottlenecks that slow down service – or, god forbid – rude service people – there’s very little social media or any amount of spin can do for you.
3.) Engage!
Engagement on social media isn’t just a way of understanding what your customers want. And it can be a way to flesh out your branding and help you make a real connection with customers.
While simply posting your scheduled routes and the day’s specials might be enough to get you all the customers you really need, a little effort can increase the multiplier effect social media platforms can have on your business. Even a simple question about what people are doing on a Saturday night can provide a way of helping your customers connect better with your brand.
2.) Not Rely On Crowdsourcing
Wait, didn’t we say you should engage your customers? We did, and you should. But don’t fall over yourself doing it. While your customers can provide you with plenty of valuable feedback, you are the only one who knows what your brand is about.
Customers will never get to see the big picture from your food truck’s perspective. This means you shouldn’t change your routes or menus only because you got a few tweets telling you they’d be appreciated.
MORE: A Person Is Smart; People Are Stupid – How the Crowd Can Mess With Your Ideas
1.) Not Spread Themselves Too Thin On Social Media
Chances are, you don’t need to be active on more than 3 social media sites. It’s usually just better to stick with what works and to develop your brand there. Derelict social media sites with hardly any activity won’t speak very well of your brand when someone does find them.
BONUS: Make Their Food AND Food Truck Logos Fun and Easy To Photograph!
How you serve and plate your offers is highly critical for when your customers inevitably take pictures to share on their personal social media networks. Food should not only be appetizing, but ideally interesting to look at as well. You can’t really control how great the pictures turn out, but if there are distinctive elements to how you serve the food, it can add to your offer’s overall appeal.
Some of those elements (napkins, plates, placemats, etc.) are also places you could stick a logo, further helping your brand’s reach. We’ve posted several articles underlining the importance of your logos to any business.
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A food truck, however, has to take this a step further, given the cultural shift in the past generation where taking photos of food and everything else barely interesting has become the norm.
You’ll want to consider reworking your logo if it isn’t recognizable on a low-resolution picture.
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What other productivity and social media ideas can you share? Comment below!
Photo credits: mista_carrot via photopin cc, RomanK Photography via photopin cc ,EJP Photo via photopin cc, Greg Lilly Photos via photopin cc,Scott Beale via photopin cc, Rut