Restaurant POS and technology news, trends, best practices.

One of the frustrations with Facebook marketing is that the kind of visibility you once could get online for free now comes with a pricetag. In the past year, it has become much more difficult to get your brand page posts to appear in your fans’ news feeds. Probably the best way to improve your chances is via Facebook Promoted Posts. But how can you make them improve your guests’ engagement? Read on to learn how to use them, and how you can track your success.

The internet is the key to low-cost measurable marketing that helps you reach more customers with the right message - and drive sales in near real time. It’s the recipe you need to market profitably on the web, through social media, email and text. Read on for a simple workbook from our partner eThor, to map an online marketing strategy for your restaurants.

In a seminar at the International Pizza Expo this year, Dan Collier (PizzaMan Dan’s, Port Hueneme, CA) shared some pointers for marketing to reach parents through their kids. Read on for a selection of tips.

At last month’s International Pizza Expo, I attended an excellent Social Media Roundtable discussion moderated by marketing specialist Joel Cohen and led by panelists who make extensive use of social media in their pizza businesses. During the Q & A, an operator stepped up to the mike to ask, “How do I prevent negative posts?” Of course the short answer to that is, “You can’t.” But read on for the panelists’ advice on how to deal with negative reviews—an inevitability even for the best restaurants.

In a pizza-makers discussion forum the other day, I read a post by a restaurant operator who put out a radio ad thanking local suppliers. The ad didn’t mention a specific pizza or price promotion, but the subtle implication was that a) they make their product using fresh, local ingredients, and b) buying from local vendors (like their friendly local pizza shop) is a good thing to do. How important is this kind of local branding in your restaurants? Keep reading for a different perspective on local store marketing.