Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
When was the last time you were tweeted at by a restaurant? Chances are, it hasn’t been recent or that often.
If you have, maybe it was a generic response to your check-in or some promotion or coupon.
Over the past few months, however, Emory tweeters may have had some unusual interactions with Romeo’s NY Pizza (you can find them @RomeosEmory).
The Emory Village pizzeria has recently launched its Twitter with a focus on tweeting at Emory students, but without sounding too fake or forced, like several brands have been in the news for lately.
Recently-created Twitter account @BrandsSayingBae lampoons this phenomenon, sharing pictures of popular brands using Millennial colloquialisms, such as IHOP tweeting about “pancakes on fleek” or Taco Bell calling fans “bae.”
Instead, Romeo’s is seeking to market to its target audience in a meaningful way, according to Malinda Inthirath, one of the managers of the Twitter page.
“What we have found from Twitter is that building relationships is one of the most important parts of gaining loyal customers,” Inthirath wrote. “We jump into conversations, follow back, retweet and engage consistently to build relationships with students, rather than rely solely on deals or users to mention us in order to create a presence.”
By personifying the Twitter account, the Romeo’s team wants students to enjoy them as a restaurant with a personality in addition to enjoying the food.
“We’re hopeful that a combination of our relationship-first strategy and consistent updates about our food, deals, specials, etc. will lead to Emory students trying our pizza if they haven’t before, and if they have they come in more frequently.”
From recent conversations via Twitter with students about movies to pop culture references and memes about food and events, Romeo’s has placed a larger emphasis on real conversations – with a healthy peppering of pizza promotion.
“We want students to know of our presence on Twitter, but we don’t want it to be solely based on deals or ads that we place,” Inthirath wrote. “We hope that they feel a connection to the restaurant, so that eventually they develop a stronger affinity for what we think is the best New York-style pizza in the area.”
As a result of their efforts, and with advice from both internal and external team members, Romeo’s ultimately wants to build a strong and engaged community around their restaurant.
“We hope that students not only enjoy our pizza, but also feel stronger about the Romeo’s brand as a result of our social efforts.”
– By Stephen Fowler, Student Life Editor
Stephen Fowler 16C is the political reporter at Georgia Public Broadcasting, the statewide NPR affiliate in Georgia. He graduated from Emory with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and covered the central administration and Greek Life for the Wheel before serving as assistant news editor, Emory Life editor and the Executive Digital Editor from 2015-16.
