Like Twitter, Facebook is an integral part of your social media arsenal (followed closely by Instagram, we’ll write about that soon). Facebook is one of the best ways for your food truck to keep in touch with its customers.

As on any social media platform, it’s important to maintain a neutral, friendly tone on your Facebook page. On a Facebook business page, your customers have the ability to not only post to your page (although posts by those without administrative privileges on Facebook are now kept off to the side and no longer appear on your page’s wall), they can also leave your food truck ratings and reviews. It’s important to put your best foot forward and leave only the best impression on your followers.

We’ve put together some great tips on how to best use Facebook for your food truck:

Fill Your Food Truck’s Profile Out Thoroughly

Whenever you fill out a social media profile, you should be as thorough and as accurate as possible. People will often arrive on your food truck’s Facebook page because they want to find out what you serve or where you’ll be. Make it as easy as possible for them to find you. Post menu and location updates as often as you change them. Fill out the “About” section and be sure to include a link to your website.

Be a Person

It’s true you’re on Facebook to remind your customers about how awesome your food truck is. But it’s important to remind them that people are what make your food truck awesome in the first place. Remember to post pictures of your truck, your staff (with their permission, of course), and your food along with your location and menu items. If you participated in an event, be sure to take pictures and post a status about what a great time you had. The event holders are likely to share your post and expand your reach to even more potential customers.

Share A Lot of Pictures

People love pictures of food. You can’t go wrong with awesome snaps of your food taken either by your food truck’s staff or your customers. If someone shares a great photo of your food on their social media, be sure to share it (and give them credit for it) with your followers. A well-timed photo around lunch time can tip a customer in your favor while they’re trying to decide what to grab during their break.

Be Part of Your Community

You should find other local businesses, music groups, and even other food trucks to follow on Facebook. By keeping in touch with what’s going on in your community, you can share other events and awesome local projects with your Facebook page. You don’t have to devote a lot of time to this, but several times a month share something cool that’s happening in your community. You’re apt to gain more followers when the people and businesses you’ve shared “like” your post and expose it to their community.

You can also tag organizations and business in your posts. If you’re participating in an event thrown by a particular group, be sure to mention them (by typing an @ symbol followed by their business name) so they have the chance to share your post with their Facebook followers.

Don’t Be Shy

Invite your Facebook friends to like your food truck’s page and encourage them to share it with their friends. The more people who view, like, and share information from your Facebook page, the more visible your Facebook page will be. Friends are usually more than happy to be able to help you and your business out in such an easy way.

Respond to Customers in a Positive Way

People take to social media because they want to be heard, so the best thing you can do when someone takes the time to post to your page or send you message, is respond to them. Even a simple, “Thank you!” will reinforce your customers image of your food truck as an awesome place to visit.

This is especially true in the face of criticism or negativity towards your business. Be sure to apologize for whatever your customer feels was unsatisfactory about their visit to your food truck. If the complaint warrants it, you can even invite them to message you so you can offer them a discount or some way to make up for their bad experience. Being courteous and offering to help may not always make the customer feel better (though more often than not, it does), but it will definitely make your other customers feel comfortable supporting your business.   

Avoid Charged and/or Controversial Topics

Your social media is likely to be the first thing many customers see before interacting with your food truck. You want to put your best face forward. You’re likely to live in an area with a diversity of viewpoints and you don’t want to alienate a group of customers because of something unrelated to your food truck.

Summary

Using social media well does take practice, but the more you do it the better you’ll get. Don’t be discouraged by its importance. Just be yourself, make sure your customers know where you’ll be, and engage your customers when they engage with you and you’ll be on your way to leaving a positive impression on current and future customers.