Niko SushiCompany Audit Group ProjectSocial Media in Society

Company OverviewNiko Sushi is a mid-upper scale sushi bar and grill, owned by Sou Taing, with two locations in the Windsor area. We took about a month to investigate and monitor their social media marketing campaign. The following presentation is a summary of their marketing activity and our suggestions for how they can make better use of various social media platforms to market their goods and services to existing and potential new customers.

Amanda

Company OverviewTwo Locations:

3100 Howard Ave. Windsor, ON

10 Amy Croft Drive, Tecumseh, ON

Amanda**Image source: www.nikosushi.ca

Key Search termsKey search terms that returned usable results were; Niko Sushi Windsor Niko Sushi Devonshire Mall Niko Sushi Sauce (I’ve had it… it’s incredible and doesn’t

surprise me that people are combing the internet looking for their recipe!)

Niko Sushi Windsor Niko Sushi Menu Niko Sushi Amy Croft Drive Sou Taing Niko Sushi Windsor sushi bar Niko Sushi reviews

Amanda

Are they Online? Here’s what we found!

** Source: www.nikosushi.ca

Amanda

Company Website, www.nikosushi.ca Niko Sushi’s website comes up readily in

most key search term results. The company website is nice looking, with a rotating gallery of well shot photos, and a link to their restaurant and mall menus. However, beyond that, it is lacking in interaction and information.  There is little information on the company, it’s history and accomplishments, it’s founder, Sou Taing, customer recommendations & reviews or links to outside pages. Also, there are a few spelling mistakes and formatting inconsistencies that make the site appear unprofessional.

To improve their website we would make the following recommendations;

Correct all of the spelling and grammar mistake and formatting inconsistencies.

A tab should be added to the site for each of the locations describing the

establishment, history, menu, head chef and owner. Buttons should be added at the top of

the site for their Facebook page, twitter feed, and all other media platforms so that from any page, one can access multiple social media marketing tools. (Current Facebook and YouTube buttons on their website do not link anywhere.)

A monthly featured dish and employee page should be added

Clips from positive customer reviews should be featured on the main page along with links to review sites, such as UrbanSpoon, TripAdvisor, FoodPages and Yelp.

The addition of an area on their website for customer to leave reviews would also be beneficial, provided they are reviewed before posted publically.

Amanda

Niko Sushi and Blogging Niko Sushi did not have any blogs

created on IceRocket  or Technorati but searching through Google Blog Search,

we found a single independent blog that comments on menu, food quality and posts photos. (Tousignant, 2014)

** Source: http://bigdudefood.blogspot.ca/2014/01/f oodpornfriday-table-full-of-niko-sushi.htmlRecommendations….

In order for Niko Sushi to be competitive in the blogging world they should:o Create an account with Blogger.com, IceRocket, Technorati,

Worldpress, Tumblr or any other major blogging site. o Attach Tag words to your account such as Niko, Sushi, Food and

Japanese Cuisineo Create a blog through all Niko accounts describing locations, menus

and providing customer reviewso Ensure readers can comment and make suggestionso Ensure that all posts are public, no sign in or account requiredo Post photos and topics on blog accounts regularly Orig: Pamela

Edit: Amanda

Niko Sushi on Facebook Our research on Facebook found that Niko Sushi is present, however

they are not representing the restaurants very well. In fact, their business page seems completely inactive according to Facebook posts. They joined Sept. 18, 2012 and have never made a single post.

We found the restaurant pages on Facebook uninteresting, boring, and lacking in pictures of the restaurants, food, customers, staff or recent posts for their followers.  

Niko Sushi Windsor does not have a page of it’s own but has had 85 people “check-in” at their location with Facebook.  The check-in point has a 4.6/5 star rating here, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niko-Sushi/127811357259439

Niko Sushi Tecumseh Ontario has a profile page with a picture but it is a boring page with no posts or pictures aside from the front of their building. Niko Sushi Tecumseh Ontario has a 103 likes, 261 visits and is rated 4.5/5 stars here, https://www.facebook.com/pages/NIKO-Sushi/241445862643861

Orig: EzekielEdit: Amanda

Not much happening here, folks! Facebook is a powerhouse for social media marketing, so let’s look at a couple of pages from similar businesses that are doing it right! Amanda

**Source: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NIKO-Sushi/241445862643861

Tecumseh Location page….

Check

this out!

We would like to make a few

suggestions to Niko Sushi, based on these two very

successful Facebook pages of comparable

businesses.

** Source: https://www.facebook.com/sushikingasia

** Source: https://www.facebook.com/niusushi Amanda

478k and 148k likes???

Recommendations...... We all know that Facebook is a very

big social media site and we feel that Niko Sushi should keep their pages ACTIVE and use them to promote their food, allow customers to see new recipes & menu items and run promotions on their Facebook page.

They should utilize the communication tools on Facebook to make connections with their followers and to keep their product in consumers news feeds and minds.

Like NIU Sushi Bar & Grill, who has 148k likes, they should have any awards plastered all over their news feed and wall, links to their twitter and Instagram accounts and any blogs or review sites.

They should have their menu and hours current on each of these Facebook pages, this would keep their market busy.

Orig: EzekielEdit: Amanda

**image source: http://www.htnorth.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/facebook-logo-transparent.png

Niko Sushi on

Our research concluded that Niko sushi does not have a Myspace account or make use of this platform for social media marketing.

.Recommendations… My space is all about social entertainment; Music, Arts, Culture, Lifestyle and we feel that music plays an important role in restaurant ambiance. Niko sushi should make an active profile in myspace to play custom in house play lists that provide unique atmosphere in their restaurant, much like Starbucks does. (Dumon, 2013)

Niko sushi should begin to use MySpace to attract customers, since the advantage of MySpace is that they can target their audience by age, gender, location hobbies etc. (Funk, 2011).

A large majority of MySpace users are teenagers, a young crowd of potentially long-run, loyal consumers. To attract them Niko sushi should use eye catching pictures and videos to keep their brand front and center for this group.

** Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGq9jenC57Ve99-6R45gLZg0HkNLuHISCeShcEZ1tsoeAdfNVG

Orig: SamirEdit: Amanda

Oui ou Non?

Our searches of Pinterest for our brand returned no results, aside from “Big Dude Likes Food” blog post photo, so our response would have to be a firm “Non!” they are not currently marketing with

Pinterest. We would like to RECOMMEND to Niko that they take advantage

of this popular social media marketing tool and frequently upload photos of their store front, chefs at work, prepared dishes and teasers for their followers. The more follows and pins they can get, the more their brand and food will be in front of consumers’ eyes.

Since many Pinterest users are closely tied into their Facebook accounts, gaining foothold on Pinterest will also cause Niko to show up on more Facebook feeds.

** Source: http://blog.newsunshinehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/pinterest.png

Amanda

We also suggest that they make their page on Facebook, Pinterest and MySpace rich with information and advertising, like other restaurants. Making a foot print on Yelp and other review sites will help them market themselves as well.

This example includes hours, price range, reviews, pictures of their food, location and contact information.

**Source: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/under-the-table-restaurant-toronto Amanda

Social Bookmarking My research has found that

Niko Sushi is not present on Reddit, Delicious, and Digg.

There are a couple postings about Niko Sushi on Reddit; however, the posting is about a California  restaurant called Niko Niko Sushi http://bit.ly/1oh266R

I also was unable to find other local food places promoting their company on websites like Reddit, Digg, and Delicious.

Niko Sushi can get exposure from these outlets by food reviews, and articles about the company

Niko Sushi can embed a Reddit share icon on their website (Currently there is only Facebook and YouTube) http://www.reddit.com/butto

ns/ Allow customers to write

reviews on the restaurant on their website, and allow them to share across all social media platforms

Original contribution: Amar ** No editing

LinkedIn Presence….What is ** ? LinkedIn is business oriented

networking site used to make professional contacts and is available in 20 languages including Japanese and Korean which can be helpful for Niko sushi.

LinkedIn has 259 million users, among them 9 million Canadians, so its a good idea for Niko Sushi to utilize this to increase awareness among people through LinkedIn

Where’s Niko Sushi?

We did not find a profile for either Niko sushi location or for the owner, Sou Taing, on LinkedIn. To improve the customer base, make people aware of their business and to attract good employees, again, we would like to make a few suggestions.

Orig: SamirEdit: Amanda** Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn

Recommendations...... Niko Sushi, as a business, and Sou, as a business owner, should

both have active profiles on LinkedIn, complete with video tours, photos of the locations and food as well as customer reviews. (Alba, 2011) They should also allow others to endorse them, which would further boost their reputation. (Serdula, 2012)

The business profile could be used to attract qualified chefs, managers and servers as well as posting any upcoming openings so Niko doesn’t run into an understaffing situation. (Kharif, 2012)

The owners’ profile would allow her to connect with others in the restaurant industry to keep up on regulatory changes, industry fads and current trends.

Again, any public social media profile should be an advertisement for the business, so awards, honours, certificates and volunteer work should be included to boost the company’s social responsibility profile. (Serdula, 2011)

Orig: SamirEdit: Amanda

Potentially, we would like to see something similar to this…

**Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/samir-patel/16/5b0/92b

For Sou Taing, Business Owner

For Niko Sushi,Bar & Grill

**Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/niko-sushi001/a0/798/886

Orig: SamirEdit: Amanda

Twitter &Wikipedia

I think Niko Sushi should create a Wikipedia page and have information about the type of sushi they provide at their restaurant with the ingredients & nutrition information

Provide definition of each name of sushi

Post pictures of the sushi they make Provide a detail history about Niko

Sushi like when they began this restaurant and the number of branches they have now and etc.

Provide a detailed menu with prices

I would recommend in addition that Niko has an active twitter feed, shared across all platforms, that can be used to tweet wait times, or empty chairs, specials and features. - Amanda

Twitter is an online social networking

service that enables users to send and read

messages called “tweets”

Tweets are about 140 character limit

Niko Sushi has two twitter accounts called

@sushi_niko & @nikonikosushi

Niko Sushi doesn’t have any links to wikipedia

Original contribution: Sunita ** No editing, addition by Amanda

Correction: Niko Niko Sushi is a restaurant in New Jersey. Niko Sushi in Windsor does not have a twitter account.

- Amanda

Online Video Support for Niko Sushi

While Researching Niko Sushi Online I Found: There were no promotional videos for Niko Sushi There were some critic videos (poor quality on mobile

device - not professional) Niko Sushi did not have a Flickr account or followers. Some photos on Flicker but personal photos of friends

out for dinner (not promotional as I think they were linked to the word sushi and that's why they came on screen)     

Original contribution: Pamela ** No editing

To provide more internet video Advertisement Niko Sushi could: Create a Google Account for Niko Sushi

Create a Promotional Video Advertising and Highlighting Niko Sushi’s Business

In the Google Account Using the YouTube App, Upload the Video Attach Key Tag Words to the Video that Will Direct Searchers to the

Video when the Tag Words are Searched Allow Customer Comments and Feedback as a Customer Service Tool Attach to Google+, Twitter & Facebook Mark the Video as PUBLIC so it can be Accessed be Viewed by

Everyone Publish the Video Post the Video Link Attachment  to the Niko Sushi Website

Create a Flickr Account Post Photographs of Niko Sushi’s Menu and Meals and Stores Allow Customers to Follow and Post Photos of Niko Sushi Enable a Flicker Blog with the Account for Customer Feedback and

Comment   Original contribution: Pamela ** No editing

In summary….

While Niko Sushi serves quality food, has an outstanding reputation and clean, efficient locations (and a sauce that’s to die for!) they leave much to be desired in the online world of Social Media Marketing. We found it easy to make recommendations across all of the social media approaches available because they seem to use them extremely sparingly at the present time. Aside from a single blog post by an independent source, an inactive Facebook page, a Facebook check-in location, and website, Niko is seemingly thriving on word of mouth and reputation alone.Our recommendations are simple, common sense and a good place to start for the company. A moderately tech savvy manager would be able to manage most of these suggestions from a smart phone once the profiles and sites are established. With today’s integrated, interlinking technology, linking your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ account and YouTube to anything and everything is seamless and would allow for greater infiltration into the dining market in Windsor, Ontario. Investing a little time and effort has the potential to pay off big for this little company. Amanda

Bibliography Alba, J. (2011). I'm on LinkedIn, Now What??? : A Guide to Getting the Most Out of

LinkedIn. Cupertino,   Calif Dumon, M. (2013, September 23). Examiner.com. Retrieved August 7, 2014, from 5 Big

Companies that still use MySpace: http://www.examiner.com/article/5-big- companies-that-still-use-myspace

Funk, T. (2011). Social Media Playbook for Business : Reaching Your Online    Community with Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and More. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.

Kharif, O. (2012, Dec 17). Job recruiters turn to LinkedIn, social media startups. Business Week 1, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1245113003?accountid=39476

Schachter, H. (2012, Jul 16). LinkedIn: The under-the-radar recruiting tool. The Globe and Mail Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1024928037?accountid=39476

Serdula, D. (2011, November 15). LinkedIn Makeover. Retrieved August 7, 2014, from How a Recruiter Evaluates Your LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/2011/11/15/how-a-recruiter-evaluates-your-linkedin-profile/

Serdula, D. (2012, September 24). LinkedIn Makeover. Retrieved August 7, 2014, from LinkedIn Profile Writing and Executive Branding: http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/2012/09/24/new-features-linkedin-endorsements/

Tousignant, M. (2014, January 3). Blogspot. Retrieved August 7, 2014, from Big Dude Loves Food: http://bigdudefood.blogspot.ca/search/label/foodporn?updated- max=2014-02-07T09:07:00-05:00&max-results=20&start=20&by-date=false

Amanda