#TwitterWorks: Restaurant 2.0 Edition: How social media built a restaurant, a pizza truck and thousands of relationships - Tapa blanda

The thought of putting part of the message in the hands of their customers can be a frightening proposition for some businesses. But, when you have something you completely believe in, there is no reason not to shine a spotlight on your products, services, and your business.Using social media can result in gaining massive exposure through empowering customers. People today are much more likely to trust an authentic tweet, Facebook(r) update, Foursquare(tm) tip or Yelp review than they are an ad from the business itself.This book tells the story of how two different businesses in Milwaukee, Wisconsin have used social media to grow their brand awareness, customer retention and ultimately their businesses. This book will not just introduce you to social media. Rather it explains in a light-hearted way what has worked, what has back-fired, and at the end of the day how much more fun and profitable their businesses have become because of social media.

Phil Gerbyshak - Phil is the founder of the Make It Great! Institute and a self-proclaimed relationship geek; someone who knows all the tools, but also knows that people are what really matter in business, and in life. Phil has been working in the social media space for over 5 years, and Phil's work building relationships using blogs was spotlighted in the 2006 book What Nobody Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere. Phil enjoys helping others learn the simple strategies and tactics that make life great and published his first book 10 Ways to Make It Great!, also in 2006. Joe Sorge - Recently, Joe's work with various social media tools, like Twitter and Foursquare, has earned him national recognition by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The NY Times, Nations Restaurant News, The Travel Channel's - Food Wars, Hospitality 101, Hubspot, TechCrunch, Mashable, Forrester Research, The Business Journal, SoHo Biz Tube, and Entrepreneur Magazine, as well as in blogs, case studies and websites around the world. Scott Baitinger - In 2009, Scott united his passion for great food with his passion for savvy marketing and launched Streetza Pizza. The Milwaukee-based pizza truck has been written about in over 600 articles, referencing their innovative menu, concept and use of social media tools. GQ Magazine named Streetza Pizza one of the 10 best food trucks in the U.S. Time Magazine featured Streetza's perfect pie in the March 28, 2010 issue, and Hospitality 101 called it a "concept we love." Scott has spoken about the truck, and how all of its success can be attributed to social media, at the American Marketing Association, Milwaukee Interactive Marketing Association and SOHO seminars. He will be presenting at the Pizza Executive Summit and at the National Restaurant Association Show. Streetza is currently in negotiations with a private-equity company interested in launching an additional fleet of 100 trucks throughout the Midwest.