Today’s “TR Live: Social Media Q&A” is with Kat Cole, Vice President of Hooters Restaurants and widely-sought Communications & Leadership speaker and consultant.
TR: How long has your company been using Social Media, either for marketing or recruiting?
Kat: “Hooters has been utilizing Social Media, in some form or another, for the last three years.”
TR: Did your company develop a strategy first?
Kat: “No, we were very experimental in that we would place an add here, and post an update there. When we started, there wasn’t an abundance of guidance available like there is now.”
TR: What has been your biggest challenge with Social Media?
Kat: “It’s been minimizing risk while maximizing benefit to guests, employees, and the company. Also, getting people to really understand it takes authentic engagement, which takes time. In some ways, it’s no quicker than face-to-face marketing or recruiting but it is less expensive, and when done right, it can reach more people across a larger area. Like the entire globe.”
TR: Who has helped or influenced you in regard to leveraging Social Media for business, either for recruiting or marketing?
Kat: “Several groups. There’s Talent Revolution and Amanda Hite, spreading the message of authenticity as a strategy and method of execution. Claim Jumper and Avery Block truly lead by example in reaching out to guests and employees. Women’s Foodservice Forum and People Report were bold enough to highlight Social Media in marketing and recruiting early by bringing speakers and consultants to their members in order to elevate recruiting and marketing practices.”
TR: Do you have a success story or example you would like to share?
Kat: “Countless. Some are small scale like when I was on Twitter once and saw a conversation about our restaurants. I engaged with the guest, and it ended up making them happy and directly creating a restaurant visit and additional sales. Similar scenarios have happened repeatedly in various forms such as recruiting, where people have found me on Facebook and LinkedIn to get jobs. We’ve found great managers who first sought us out through Social Media.”
TR: What “first steps” do you recommend for companies looking to utilize Social Media?
Kat: “Get key executives engaged individually, so that they have an understanding of what Social Media is and what it is not. Bring in someone with experience and passion to highlight key opportunities and share best practices. Think Globally, Act Locally – simply stated – realize the massive potential, but understand the potential is only realized through local, real-time interaction in your online communities. Only then can you reap the wide-reaching benefits.”
Our very special thanks to Kat Cole for her time and generosity! If the time has come for your company to develop its own Social Media strategy, please visit:
