Digital Menu: Social Media Campaign Yields Extra Helpings of Fans, Data, & ROI

It comes as no surprise that a strategic online marketing campaign for restaurant dining, an inherently social experience, would utilize social media to meet its goals. What astounded Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, however, was the splash their “$25 Rewards Giftcard” campaign made in Atlanta and sheer scale of its success — an achievement recognized by the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association with its 2011 Most Effective Campaign Award.

Designed and implemented by Sherpa! Web Studios, the campaign spiced up Buckhead Life’s seasonal loyalty program with unique incentives for dining at any of their 14 restaurants. Scheduled emails invited customers to receive a $25 Blue Card, redeemable at any of the group’s venues during one month, by liking the group’s newly created Facebook fan page and updating their mailing information. Customers who used the Blue Card received another value-add card to spend at any of its restaurants the following month.

To further sweeten the pot, the Buckhead Life's Facebook fan page simultaneously hosted a $1,000 Ultimate Dining Card Giveaway, whose winner was collectively selected by the community of dedicated fans. They were further engaged by chef demo videos, celebrity sightings, and other delicious relevant content.

"We appreciated having a partner that was able to push the envelope as much as Sherpa did," said marketing expert Jennifer Franklin, who coordinated the project on behalf of Buckhead Life with Sherpa! "We were planning to execute the mailing and gift card element of the program regardless, but adding the layers of social media and an online connection with our guests made the program so much richer."

Planned within a challenging one-month timeframe and a tight budget, the campaign exceeded all expectations:

• Revenue from improved card redemption delivered a ROI 41 times over the campaign cost
• Facebook page added 10,000 fans in 15 days and served nearly six million highly-targeted impressions, blowing away expectations for the social media presence to be used in future campaigns at a lower cost
• Email and customer database expanded to three times more than the campaign’s goal with updated postal addresses, birthdays, anniversaries, and preferred restaurants for refined segmentation
• Click-through rates increased four times to better than the industry average
• Significant uplift in corporate website traffic

Today, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group continues to lead Atlanta restaurant groups with one of the largest Facebook fanbase of any Atlanta restaurant group and a new standard for cross-channel, integrated marketing. Bon appétit indeed!

About Sherpa! Web Studios
Headquartered in Atlanta and with a global presence in Uruguay, Sherpa Web! Studios is a digital marketing agency with peer-ranked excellence in web design, search and social marketing, and digital technology solutions. Its award-winning blend of proven digital marketing strategies and cost-effective technical capabilities offers a holistic, results-oriented approach to digital marketing. In 2008 Sherpa! was awarded “Most Effective Search Marketing” by their industry peers, and was most recently awarded “Most Effective Local Marketing” in 2011. For more information, follow the firm at twitter.com/sherpastatus.