Social media marketing discussion about bars, cafes, restaurants and hotels.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc. have changed the way people communicate and businesses need to adapt. Customers can connect directly with bars, cafe, restaurants and hotels on social networking sites and share they experiences. Owners and managers now have a new way to identify customer issues and reach out to the customers to resolve the issues. Businesses can monitor social networking sites for customer activity in real time at their location and make contact with the customers. Valuable feedback may be gained from these customers and they should be encouraged to post comments on Facebook, Tweet and check in on Foursquare.

When: June 23
Registration: 6pm-6:30pm
Networking: 6:30pm-7pm
Presentation with Q&A: 7pm-8pm

Register in advance to receive a copy of #TwitterWorks – The Book" ($22.95 value). The story of how social media built a restaurant, a pizza truck and thousands of relationships.

Fee: $20 in advance and receive a copy of "#TwitterWorks – The Book" ($22.95 value) - or $40 at the door. A selection of appetizers will be provided. There will be a cash bar.

This is the story of how two restaurants have used social media to reach out to customers, potential customers and to the media, resulting in increased business, media exposure and great fun.

• AJ Bombers (@AJBombers) Is a popular burger joint in Milwaukee. Owner Joe Sorge has been using social media for the past year to engage with customers and promote the AJ Bombers brand. The restaurant had been written about in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other national and local publications.

• Streetza Pizza (@Streetzapizza) Is a pizza truck which launched in May of 2009. Owner Scott Baitinger has used social media to obtain customer input which has shaped the brand, the menu and every other aspect of the business. Since launch, Streetza Pizza has been named one of the Best Food Trucks in the U.S. by GQ Magazine, has been featured in TIME, on MSNBC and in hundreds of national and local publications.

• Phil Gerbyshak (@philgerb) 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. His next book will be published later in 2010 featuring success stories, tips and traps about using social media for small businesses.