Social media lessons from food truck owners

At the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive, a panel of food truck owners and experts came together to discuss the intersection of social media and food trucks. The panel left the audience with some great insights on how food truck operators use social tools and how other kinds of brands might relate to their efforts.

Here are several ways food trucks use social media to reach, connect with, and engage their audience.

1. Transparency: This is important for most brands. You want people to trust you, and in this day and age, they have to pretty much see your every move in order to do so; especially if you’re serving them a meal from a moving vehicle.

The owner and founder of the Southern California Seabirds food truck, Stephanie Morgan, explained that she uses social media platforms to show photos of her staff, the truck, and the sources of the food itself. She regularly checks in and tweets from the local farm where she buys most of her produce. Letting people see where their food comes from and, in the Seabirds case, conveying the story behind it are essential to building her business.