How Your Food Truck Can Spread The Word Using Mobile

Mobile websites aren’t for everybody, but they’re ideal to have in the restaurant business.

Combine that with a moving restaurant, and a marketing strategy for mobile devices is an absolute necessity!

We’re talking about food truck mobile websites.

Here’s seven food truck marketing ideas for those seven-digit devices…

1. Optimize!

Because you’re operating from a remote location, people will often be searching your site from a  mobile device. Your first step should be making sure your food truck’s website always looks professional on smart phones and tablets. This means the look and feel of your site should change to suit the features of a smaller device (ie. smaller screen, different navigation format).

Optimizing for mobile doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. When you use the right design platform with built-in mobile compatibility, the template switches automatically for each device.

2. Make mobile sharing easy

Use social media buttons on your website to make sharing easy from a mobile device. Add key “share” buttons for Facebook and Twitter to the top of your mobile page, and with every new blog post. This encourages people to share your content without having to copy and paste anything – a real benefit when working with mobile devices.

3. Broadcast your location

Embed a Google Map on your mobile website’s home page to broadcast your location in real-time. (tweet this)

Always drop a new pin when you change your location, so it’s easy for customers to find you on their mobile devices.

Updating from your smart phone is especially useful in cases of surprise schedule or location changes. If there’s an unexpected complication that pushes your truck to a different spot, it’s easy to keep your customers informed on-the-go.

4. Host a scavenger hunt

Pick a spot to set up your truck, then send out a location clue via social media the night before. Offer a free meal to the first person to find you and broadcast your location using their mobile device. This is a fun and creative way to get your customers excited about your truck. It also broadcasts your name and location to a whole new audience of potential customers.

5. Text campaigns

Get personal with your biggest fans – ask them to sign up for texts with exclusive news and specials. You can even have customers sign up via text message by having them send a code to a specific number.

After you’ve built a decent following, send out important announcements, flash deals and discount codes to your SMS subscribers. Remember that timing is everything with texting – catch people right before they’re deciding on lunch or dinner plans. Always offer something special to make it worth being on the list!

6. Mobile photos

Photos are a great way to engage customers using mobile devices. They don’t require any reading, and they look great on small screens. Get the Instagram and Pinterest apps to share spontaneous photos from mobile locations. Share photos to your Facebook and Twitter profiles using mobile uploads. The more spontaneous the better.

You should always tag your location, or any other special theme, for each photo. (tweet this)

Think about how each photo connects to a street intersection or even a nearby business or event (eg. a music festival). This ties you to the larger community album for that tag, and gives your truck more visibility.

7. Encourage mobile check-ins and feedback

I was once sitting with a friend at a food truck, when he took his first bite and said “I have to tell people about this now.” He immediately whipped out his iPhone and started typing a review on Yelp. Sure, my friends can be especially crazy about food, but plenty of people feel inspired to write a review or check-in the moment they fall in love with a restaurant.

Print and post your website and social media profiles in a visible spot on your truck. Yelp discourages restaurants from directly asking for reviews, but having the Yelp logo somewhere on your truck will give a gentle reminder. Even if it’s just a quick mobile check-in on Facebook, this gets the word about your food truck out to more people.

When forming a mobile strategy for your truck, it helps to work with a powerful design template.

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Photos by Charleston City Paper and Buzz Times Business