March 11-13, 2025 | Myrtle Beach, SC — Price increases by $150 after December 13. Register Now
BREAKOUT SESSION / WEDNESDAY / MARCH 13, 2019 / 12:45 PM
Making Marketing Magic: Using Social Media to Grow Your Catering Sales
Offering a solid catering service used to be one way for a restaurant brand to stand out from its competitors. Not anymore. It’s now just another “must-have” on the journey to profitability as more restaurants use it as a vehicle to increase sales. With all the new players emerging, everyone is desperate to find new ways to increase brand awareness and customer engagement. And when it comes to catering, there is no better way to reach customers than through the platforms that they already use – Twiiter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
But how do you know when and what platforms to post your messages? Do you have the correct tools to scalably manage those social media accounts? Should you boost posts; what does “boosting a post” even mean?
Those are just a few questions that this session will answer. Experts will also explore multi-location reporting, group posting of content, peak traffic scheduling and reputation management.
PANELISTS
Zaid Ayoub | Founder & CEO | SAJJ Mediterranean
Zaid Ayoub is the founder and CEO of the Bay Area-headquartered Falafel Inc., the parent company of the rapidly expanding fast-casual chain SAJJ Mediterranean. Under Zaid’s strategic leadership, Falafel Inc. has grown SAJJ Mediterranean from a single brick-and-mortar location into a growing network of two food trucks and nine stores offering in-store dining, app rewards, catering, and event services. Before founding Falafel Inc., Zaid started DCI, a semiconductor test equipment company which, under his leadership, acquired Liberty Research Company and opened international offices before being sold. Ayoub is also an angel investor for start-ups in the technology and food and beverage industries.
Stacey Kane | CMO | Mahana Poke & Firenza Pizza
Stacey Kane has more than 22 years of experience working with multi-unit restaurant chains. Stacey is part of the launch team of Mahana Poke, an innovative fast casual experience that will open its first location later this year. In 2016, Stacey joined Firenza Pizza a leader in the premium fast casual pizza segment. Prior to that she served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the 35 unit comfort casual chain, East Coast Wings + Grill for almost 2 years. In 2007, Stacey started at California Tortilla, where she was known for her incredible creativity as the VP of marketing.
Sebastiaan Van De Rijt | Owner | Bamboo Asia
Sebastiaan Van De Rijt is a Dutch food entrepreneur and CEO and founder of California fast casual eatery chain Bamboo Asia. He started his food journey working as a young restaurant manager in Brussels, and during his global travels became enthralled by the scrumptious food marketplaces in countries like China and Vietnam. Along with 3 diverse co-founders, Sebastiaan launched the first Bamboo Asia locale in 2011, and followed this with 2 additional Bay Area locations. The restaurant won Fast Casual’s “Brands to Watch 2019” and is set to launch additional locations in 2019. Sebastiaan has been featured on Sous Vide magazine, Restaurant Hospitality, San Francisco Business Times, and more.
Brittany Warren | Director of Content Marketing | Networld Media Group
Brittany Warren has spent the last 13 years executing a full-spectrum of marketing, sales and communication activities for both small and large businesses in a range of industries, from financial services to advertising to B2B media publishing. Currently, Brittany is responsible for developing the custom content for Networld Media Group’s 9 B2B media publishing websites, including white papers, case studies, research reports, webinars, and video projects. She also oversees the strategy development and implementation of each sites’ social media channels, specifically Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
MODERATOR
Chris Grundell | VP of Sales | SOCi
As VP of Sales, Chris Grundell is responsible for leading SOCi’s sales efforts with a focus on the multi-location Franchise and Restaurant channels. Dedicated to helping multi-location organizations scale their businesses through localized Social Media and Reputation Management, Chris brings 10-plus years of Social Media and Digital marketing experience. Prior to joining SOCi, Chris most recently held senior leadership positions at Under Armour and Hearst Corporation.
session sponsor
