Facebook and Twitter Told Me….there’s Food Down the Street!

If you live in the Twin Cities and haven’t experienced the new craze of dining at a food truck, well then you are truly missing out. Over the last year or so, there have been numerous food trucks popping up all over Minneapolis and St. Paul. When I caught a glimpse of my first food truck, I realized I had just discovered my new favorite restaurant on wheels, Fork In The Road.

I have always been aware of food trucks existing in places like L.A. and New York over the past couple years, but after learning about their presence in the Twin Cities I was beyond ecstatic. I soon looked this truck up online and discovered that they had both Twitter and Facebook accounts. After researching more about food trucks within the Twin Cities, I eventually realized that while not all of them manage their own website, they almost exclusively use both Facebook and Twitter to reach their customers. Their approach to actively using social media not only seems to return a lot of consumer involvement but also seems to be the perfect fit for a business always on the go.

Along with many other trucks, Fork In The Road parks at a new location every week day. Normally these locations remain the same on a weekly basis but it can sometimes be spontaneous.  Therefore, Fork In the Road utilizes both their Facebook and Twitter to let their hungry followers know where they are parked every day. On Twitter and Facebook, many followers of food trucks enjoy seeing the day’s menu posted online as well. Sometimes food trucks will post their menu for the day which is really helpful to those who like to know their options ahead of time.

Kari Offerdahl and Amy Frechette started Fork In The Road  in July 2010. Their first purchase ever through eBay was their charming little truck, which they had to pick up and drive back from Vegas. Ever since then these two have been driving around the Twin Cities, serving up appetizing food curbside. They were aware of the popularity of food trucks outside of Minnesota and knew that social media as the best platform to promote their business as well. Kari is the designated “Tweeter” and prefers Twitter much over Facebook. It is much more accessible to those in the workplace where security walls usually block Facebook. The ever-increasing trend of smart phones has allowed for better and more immediate access to social media sites no matter your location.

I anticipate that increasing involvement in social media will also increase the popularity of food trucks within the Twin Cities. If you are a fellow foodie and food truck lover like myself, I encourage you to get online and get social about food trucks. My favorite way of doing this is to post a picture of my food on Twitter of Facebook: