When you walk in the New York City, you may be attracted by a special “Apple Store”. However, 4Food is a fast food restaurant with substantial servings of locally grown food, socially conscious attitudes, and modern technology. The owner of 4Food combines his passions for good food and social media technologies. 4Food provides many different types of burgers and fillings, and it allows customers to figure out new combinations. Customers can put together creative burgers, name their burgers and tell their family and friends through social media tools such as twitter and facebook. Another special part is that to make an order, people can use the traditional way at a counter, but people who prefer to handle it themselves can order from a bench that has six Apple iPads tied into 4Food’s online ordering system. These uses of mobile and social technologies already mark 4Food as a different sort of restaurant.

Nowadays, most traditional restaurants rely on word of mouth about quality food to bring in new customers. But 4Food looks at social media as a new twist on an old story. Customers fill out profiles and maintain accounts with 4Food. After creating and naming a burger, they receive 25 cents in their accounts every time somebody else orders that burger. This encourages customers to market their creations by promoting them through Facebook and Twitter and other social outlets. The use of social media is fun and new, but sustaining it over time requires more than just a quick good time. That’s why 4Food offers such substantial rewards to customers. That’s a lesson all small businesses can take to heart when looking at how social media fits into their marketing plans.