KCFreePress.com

Set the tables, light the candles, write the day's specials on the chalkboard then... pick up your smartphone and Tweet about it? For many of Kansas City's restaurateurs who are embracing social media as a way to connect with diners, that's exactly how an evening begins.

In 2007, Twitter processed an estimated 5,000 tweets per day according to the Twitter blog, and participation ballooned to a staggering 2.5 million Tweets per day by the end of 2009. A simple Twitter search for "Kansas City" turns up hundreds of new results every hour; the presence and strength of an active KC Twitter community is undeniable.

Local Kansas City businesses — particularly restaurants — have taken note, and have been harnessing social media's power to informally reach out to diners like never before. The online initiatives of local restaurateurs were spotlighted during the first-ever, 10-day Kansas City Restaurant Week (@RestaurantWeek) in January, an event that was largely promoted via Twitter.

Those establishments participating in Restaurant Week that had been actively using Twitter were almost instantaneously granted a heap of new followers overnight. Restaurants that had yet to create accounts reacted quickly to create their own Twitter presences — Lew’s Bar and Grill (@lewsgrillandbar) in Waldo and Cascones (@Cascones), for example. Both accounts were born only days before Restaurant Week's launch and have been actively maintained since.

But are those consistent 140-character updates worth it for KC's restaurateurs?

Definitely.

The proof in the pudding comes from Julian (@JulianKC) in Brookside. Since opening Julian's account on June 13 of last year (the first broadcast: "Perhaps I need to tweet something before I can be found by a Twitter search"), Julian owner and executive chef, Celina Tio, has not only embraced the medium, but has hit the ground running, boasting 394 followers nine months later.

Tio's account is a model for the modern business using Twitter to drive traffic — informal and effective promotion from within. She began Tweeting during construction of Julian early last summer, requesting input from her followers on everything from wall color to dining room layout. Since Celina opened the doors to Julian, she's been putting down her cooking utensils to engage in active dialogues with her customers — both in her restaurant and on Twitter. That's right: she Tweets from the kitchen.

But simply maintaining a Twitter account to draw attention to a business is more of a commitment than it may seem on the surface. The voice behind the Twitter handle is now speaking to an audience, and keeping those people interested can prove to be a challenge. Yes, communication is limited to 140 characters at a time, but the message can either have an impact or be a "scroll through."

Tio's tweeting strategy is simple: "Keep it relevant, keep it frequent." Allowing a brand to become stale on the Internet does not send the message that its leadership team is too busy and successful to engage with customers — it sends the message that they don't care. You signed up for the ride and you should stay on board, especially when a tightly-knit Twitter community like that of KC "foodies" is listening. Simple declarations of big things going on are no longer sufficient; followers are ready to listen, and the businesses that are willing tell them more are going to succeed. Tio Tweets daily specials, news, and even how many two-tops she has available for a last-minute dinner on a Friday night. For her, Twitter is a conversation, not a smoke signal.

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