We know there are still restaurant owners and managers out there making the same crotchety back-in-my-day comments about Twitter and “tweeting.” And while those jokes may still be funny in the right setting – a retirement community, for example. (We kid, we kid.) – the bottom line is your business simply can’t afford to ignore social media’s 140-character juggernaut.

Here are a few tips for figuring out how your establishment should be taking advantage of Twitter. Notice the word “whether” didn’t appear in that last sentence. This isn’t a choice, people.

Twitter tutorials and FAQs are available in thousands of places on the web, but here are the bullet points. Users post 140-character updates (“tweets”) about whatever they choose, usually from their cellular phones. Those tweets are instantly viewable by anyone who chooses to connect, or “follow,” the user’s account. Some news organizations, businesses and celebrities have built massive Twitter followings, providing an immediate and highly powerful form of communication.

(Don’t believe us? Ask your tween what Justin Bieber had for lunch yesterday.)

And while you must follow a person to have all of their tweets sent to you directly, Twitter’s enormous dialogue collective – 200 million tweets per day from users representing 13 percent of all online Americans – is a searchable gold mine.

Say you want to know what customers are saying about your business at any given moment. Simply go to Twitter search (twitter.com/search) and enter the name of your establishment. Try common misspellings and creative uses of punctuation. That search can be modified to target specific cities, locations and entire phrases. Even in more passive usage form Twitter can be a tool to monitor and tweak your customer experience.

The more proactive among you will want to set-up an account and start following customers. Users who write comments about you (both positive and negative) are the first place to start, but there are other tactics to employ.

Does you primary competition have a large following? Don’t be afraid to follow their followers. They’ve done some of the hard work for you and have established the level of local Twitter participation.

Is there a shopping mall or movie theater near your location? People who frequent those spots are obvious potential customers and there is no reason you can’t harness that following.

Keep in mind that in a perfect world you will be taking all of these steps. But once you’ve done your due diligence you will determine what level of involvement make practical and financial sense. If for some reason you find no Twitter presence in your community you will at least have established your area isn’t ready.

Either way, you’ll know where you stand. Information, however brief and riddled with “LOL”s, is power.

Follow Barry on Twitter right here: @thebarblogger

As more and more businesses attempt to connect with their customers using social media channels, more and more bars, restaurants and cafes are making basic errors that end up preventing any type of connection at all.

This video was prompted by a recent visit to a local cafe, but is one that I’ve been wanting to make for some time. Would love to get your feedback below too.

Can’t see this video? Click Here

The clothing chain Forever 21 have got it right with their social media references, including the URL on all their advertising for their Facebook Page, Twitter Page and Blog:

The Bodega in Columbus, Ohio is  an eatery, a bar, a carry-out, and a coffee shop all rolled into one.

It’s your corner store with a little bit of everything, a casual, neighborhood shop that is reflective of it’s location and its atmosphere. And they use Twitter. They use Twitter very well. They talk to their customers, mention when they have tapped a new keg or barrel of whiskey, share cocktail picks and keep their followers (800 of them) updated on upcoming promotions and the results of past successful events.

As a neighborhood bar, their customer base is nearby and they use Twitter take advantage of this. Below you will see a screenshot of a recent push to get people in the door:

Cost of the promotion? A couple of dollars. Involvement with the community and clever creative promoting? Priceless.

Is there something similar that you could do in your bar?