Social Media Tips & Tricks

Food for thought:

“In a study of over 5,000 consumers, the EIA found that emotionally resonant online content falls into one of four buckets: inspiring, useful, funny, or beautiful. The agency also discovered that the most successful brands win by using a mix of all four types.”

Thematic strategy:

Create connections and drive conversation; initiate playful interactions
Amplify creator stories; deliver on Off the Grid promise of helping creators achieve their business goals
Act as an aggregator of content and connector of fans with topics of interest

Tips & tricks (help us feature you!):

Tag @offthegridsf and #offthegridsf in your posts — we monitor all mentions and are always looking to feature quality content from our creator community (plus, as best practice add a location i.e. Fort Mason Center and up to 30 hashtags to each post increase your engagement)
Aesthetic matters — when taking food shots, ensure you have a clean workspace free of clutter and that dishes are presented in a way that represents how YOU want your brand to be perceived. You don't have to be a professional photographer either – great things can be achieved with an iPhone in natural light.
If your business is nearing a significant milestone i.e. adding a truck to your fleet, opening a brick & mortar, or overhauling your menu — let us know! We want to be part of documenting your journey and touting your successes.

Send tips to marketing@offthegridsf.com (this info will be available on our one-sheeter distributed after this presentation)

Promote Yourself!

Post AT LEAST once a week, you can choose your frequency based on available resources.

Once a week: Post every Monday with your schedule for the week so your fans can plan their visit!
Daily: Post a photo of what you’re serving today and announce your schedule for the day.

What to post:

Food photos! Your fans are foodies! Share photos of your daily menu items, and specials available for a limited time!
Behind the scene photos: Feature your crew preparing the food to drum up excitement for the day or feature a regular who comes weekly!
Include Call to Actions in your posts: “Retweet” “Like” “Share” “Comment” to make your fans act

Food Photo Do’s and Don’ts:

Do’s:

Photograph colorful food
Get the light right!
Daylight is your friend but avoid shooting under direct sunlight.
At nighttime, avoid overhead spotlights, and never use a flash
Clean, uniform backdrops (either a pattern or solid color
Capture the entire dish, either from the front or from above (stand on a chair if needed)
Tap on the focal point of the picture for clear photos
For burgers and sandwiches: Remember to display the ingredients. The outside of a sandwich or pastry isn't nearly as interesting as the fillings.

Don’ts:

Closeups are great but not when the viewer can’t tell what the dish is being displayed
Don’t try to incorporate too many factors. Limit to 12 items focus
If it’s gloomy out, remember that lighting affects the photo. Pick a filter that brightens up the photo
Don’t cut off food, try to capture food in its entirety
Careful with white and brown foods/sauce easy targets for inappropriate comment

Free App Recommendations:

Photo editing: VSCO Cam, Snapseed, Rookie, Focus
Collage tools: Instagram Layout, PicStitch, Photo Grid
Go onto your business’ FB page and like Off the Grid’s page. This will make for easy tagging in the future
On Twitter, follow @otgsf
On Instagram, follow @offthegridsf