In February 2021, I started my internship at Renato’s, a Dutch restaurant group from Amsterdam, in the communication and content marketing department. Here I had the chance to manage the social media channels of the company, as well as to create online and offline marketing campaigns. Since my start at Renato’s, I have had the chance to contribute to many different projects. Along the way, I have learned 5 fundamentals of content marketing on social media in the hospitality industry (and beyond):
- Don’t sell, tell. For how controversial this may sound, I have learned that the goal of communication and marketing practices should not be merely sales. At Renato’s, I have learned that, rather than selling a product, the focus should be shifted towards telling the story behind the product. Customers are like kids sometimes, they don’t listen if you imperatively tell them to do something – and this works for sales, too. Rather, tell them about the advantages of purchasing a product, or which ingredients allow Renato’s to have the best roman-styled pizza in The Netherlands. Sales will come as a consequence.
- Follow the trends. Managing social media profiles does not simply mean posting for the sake of posting. It is critically important to also spend time just scrolling down the feeds to see what is that people are mostly talking about on a daily basis – and then talk about that, too! Is there some event going on? Is Ajax playing an important match tonight? Create today’s content around this, then. If you want to stay close to people, talk about those things people are close to.
- Ask! People like to be asked questions. It’s a natural human characteristic to be inclined to answer when a question is posed. Asking questions becomes truly an easy way to interact with people, having people to interact with you, too. All-in-all, when questions are asked, engagement rates go up – which we really really like.
- Behind the scenes. Oh, the things people like to know and see. Let your audience peak behind the curtains of your business and see what they otherwise wouldn’t see. This allows them to feel a little part of the company, too. Besides, showing behind the scenes content allows to shorten the time between the finished product and the social media post. Don’t be traditional and create content even if you don’t have anything ready!
- Don’t look for perfection. The perfect content is the one showing the truth. Don’t strive for perfectionism: It will make your life harder and it won’t appeal your audience. Besides, who’s perfect anyways? Striving for a perfect social media feed will make you very selective with your content, which will make harder the process behind finding and creating content. Also, perfection doesn’t exist and people know that: Don’t make your audience to think otherwise. Rather, showing a true representation of your business will shorten the distances between you and your audience. The closer, the better.
I recommend an internship at Renato’s (Amsterdam office) for those who:
- Want to learn how to work autonomously – but also as part of a larger team
- Want to have responsibilities within the company from day 1
- Want to work in a young and energetic team (average age within the company is lower than 30)
- Want to work from the heart of De Pijp district in Amsterdam and have personal discounts at all Renato’s restaurants