If you are trying to decide on increasing the amount of money and energy you put into social networking for your restaurant, this might help you make the decision.

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, the number of U.S. adults using social networking stands at 72%. That's up from 67% less than a year ago. When Pew first did this study in February 2005, only 8% of online adults used any of the social networks.

No one is surprised that the highest numbers are in the younger age brackets, but seniors are making gains. Consider this information:

• Six out of ten Internet users age 50-64 are social networking site users.
• Adoption rates for those 65 and older have tripled in the last four years (from 13% in the spring of 2009 to 43% in 2013).

If your customer base boasts some diversity, also consider that, according to the study, social media usage extends across a broad range of demographic groups, with especially high adoption rates among Hispanics, college graduates, and those with incomes of $75,000+. 

Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/11514/who-uses-social-networks-age-race-gender-and-income-breakdown#ixzz2dxEsLWVB

NetWaiter, a premier provider of online ordering and marketing capabilities for restaurants, now offers the latest social media and search tool from Google, Google +1, as part of the package for all NetWaiter clients.  

GooglePlus1release1-PDF.pdf (305.69 kb)

If you did a Google search for "Google +1 for restaurants", the first entry to come up is an article on FastCasual.com talking about NetWaiter imbedding this new social media tool into client NetWaiter sites. 

When a customer visits a restaurant’s NetWaiter site, they can click their Google +1 button, placing that restaurant on the customer’s Google profile as someplace they like and recommend. The Google +1 clicks can also improve their ranks in Google Search.

A June article in Mashable.com stated:  "Google’s hoping that +1’s integration in search results will make it an attractive option to publishers, which stand to gain more traffic when their visitors start '+1ing' content."  According to a Google blog post: “The next time your connections are searching, they could see your +1’s directly in their search results.”  FastCasual.com also mentions: "The biggest draw to Google+ is its potential to leverage every Google property, including Gmail, Maps, Places, Analytics, AdWords and Reader."

The increased focus on social media of all types is pervasive.  NetWaiter was the first web-based online ordering system to offer Facebook integration and we continue to see social media as an area for growth and a powerful tool to drive more business to our clients.  Google +1 is an option that can provide referrals to NetWaiter clients and NetWaiter wants to capture that benefit.  As the Google +1 network expands, it promises to have a substantial impact on everyone using Google, including customers searching for restaurants.