Micaela Wright | @caelawright12

Happy Food Truck Friday, everybody!

It is no secret that food trucks are incredibly popular. Some of the best grub (especially in my hometown of Austin, Texas) can be found at these trucks. Over the past 2 years, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the social media use of these local trucks – some good, some bad. Here are 4 lessons we can learn from food truck’s use of social media:

1. Interacting with you customers is crucial. We’re not talking about national chains here; these are small, local companies with one or two trucks in just usually one city. People want to feel like it is an intimate setting and social media can help this. By responding to mentions/tags, you can show your customers that you really care; an important lesson to remember even with national brands.

2. Food trucks aren’t afraid to promote. Remember, people are following your account because they like your product. Especially with food trucks, they love logging on and seeing delicious food. By doing a “meal of the day”, this can be a great way to promote products without being annoying.

3. Social media for food trucks is strongly focused on their location. With smaller businesses in just one city, you have the ability to connect with your followers based on what is going on. Go to local events and post that you’re there. In Austin, the plethora of festivals offers tons of opportunities for trucks to show their local interest.

4. Lastly, food trucks aren’t afraid to have fun! Creative hashtags, fun contests, and giveaways are sure way to keep followers engaged and coming to your truck.

Just for fun, here are some of my favorite social media food truck accounts:

Chi’lantro BBQ -  @ChiLantroBBQ

Mexicue -  @mexicue

Grilled Cheese Truck – @grlldcheesetruk

Wafels and Dinges –  @waffletruck

Dogzilla – @dogzillahotdogs

 

Now go get yourself a taco! :-)