More than 90% of chefs agreed that social media was a great way to increase footfall to their establishment and 87.9% cited it as extremely useful in recruiting, but many are still yet to join in the conversation.
Mars Foodservice is now set to launch two #SocialChef workshops, which will cover an introduction to social media and how it can be used to drive business via social networks. The one-day events will also include how to take the best food photographs and how to deal with challenging situations.
Marketing manager Sarah Gray said: “We are thrilled to acknowledge that chefs are the social media superstars of the hospitality industry. We want to help those who would like to become the #socialchef of the future.
“Social media is still seen as a hidden tool within the marketing mix and can be confusing if you’re not in the know. It’s a great way for chefs to follow their peers, get news and information. Many chefs have already harnessed the power with a mix between images and quick descriptions, and are attracting followers to their virtual profile.
“We would like to help and encourage other chefs to join in and are delighted to announce the launch of the Mars Social Media Workshops to assist with getting social.”
Craft Guild of Chefs CEO Martin Bates added: “We are delighted to be supporting this initiative to support chefs throughout the industry to embrace social media. It is a vital tool to aid their professional and personal enrichment and we look forward to seeing #socialchef trending as a hashtag across the industry.”
Agenda for the one-day sessions:What is social media?
• Types of social media/overview on what works best
• Hashtags
• How to incorporate it into your daily life
Why use social media?
Pitfalls of social media and how to handle it
Lunch provided by Mars Foodservice
Afternoon sessionPutting it all into practice
• Practical solutions and tips
• Tips on how to take food pictures on phones
• Cook up – how to create dishes and a theme to get noticed, hosted by Mars development chef Roy Shortland
• Live posts on twitter, pinterest, instagram and creating a vine
• Competition for the best use of social media to win an iPod mini
Dates are yet to be confirmed but to register interest, please email your details to marsfs@proactivecommunications.co.uk and include full name, job title, business name, address, email and telephone number.