k Of
Social Media Vintage wisdom
that Still works today!
Who could have predicted that THIS would become the face of Social Media? Celebs John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran are all fans of Snapchat and its variety of creative augmented reality lenses.
“The Only Thing Constant is Change”
One of the key lessons we’ve learned over the past 5 years – Social Media doesn’t stay still. As soon as you figure out one network, three more pop up. You can’t rely on the user interfaces to stay the same, and you can’t predict which networks the public will love or leave.
Think way back to Fall 2012 – Twitter bought VINE, the service where you could post little six-second video clips? And for a while, Vine was the hot new network with over 200 million users. It even won awards from Time Magazine!
So What’s New? • Instagram allows posting up to 10 photos and videos
at a time via its iOS app, gallery style, which angers long-time users by ditching one of the core concepts that made it unique: the curated library of individual, carefully considered photos.
• Facebook introduces a JOBS bookmark, making
it easy for business pages to post job listings and easy for job hunters to find them!
• Instagram Stories hits 150 Million daily users,
introduces full-screen skippable ads within Stories and new analytics tools just for Stories.
• Instagram introduces Geostickers for Stories,
a feature nearly identical to SnapChat’s Geofilters.
But last fall, only four years later, Twitter announced they were shutting Vine down, and new vines can no longer be posted on the community website. In January, the app was renamed Vine Camera. Four years might seem like a very accelerated life cycle for a social media darling, but Meerkat, the live-steaming video app that made such a splash at Austin’s South by Southwest festival in 2015 was shut down in October after only 20 months on the market due to competition from Twitter and Facebook’s live video. But now we know to expect near-constant changes to all the social networks. Fortunately, all you’ve been learning about how to craft persuasive, appetizing posts – and how to connect with your customers – can be carried over to networks yet to be invented!
And it should be a relief that you don’t have to be an expert at social media. Things are changing so quickly that nobody is really “an expert” any more. Because as soon as someone claims to know it all, a dozen things will change unexpectedly and they’ll be scrambling to catch up, too!
“Know Your Audience”
The primary reason to invest time and energy into social media is to connect with your customers. You already know how to connect with them in-house and provide a great dining experience. But connecting with them online requires a different strategy.
First, make sure you’re using the same networks they are. (just ask them!) If your customers are older, they’re probably on Facebook. If they’re in their 30s, they’re on Instagram. If they’re under 25, they’re on SnapChat. And they text only – they don’t e-mail.
When you’re crafting your social media posts for your specific audience, keep this in mind:
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Once you know where they are hanging out online, through experimentation, trial and error, you’ll learn: • What kind of posts and content they respond to (discounts, photos) • What inspires them to SHARE your posts (LTOs, videos) • How often they want you to post You probably already have a good instinct for what your customers like, and what they respond to when you post.
Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics and Instagram Business Tools all provide detailed information to help you track your posts and engagement. SnapChat doesn’t have an official reporting tool yet, but there are third-party companies like Snaplytics, that can provide some usage data.
The NPD Group recently published a report called “Losing our Appetite for Restaurants” in which it surveyed restaurant users and broke them down into 4 groups.
Heavy Users go to restaurants more than 3 times per week Medium Users use restaurants at least 2 times per week Light Users use restaurants about 1 time per week Super Light Users use restaurants less than once a week Although they may not visit often, super-light and light users are extremely valuable to you. Combined, these two groups account for 47 percent of all restaurant customers in a year, and they spend more per visit than heavy users.
If half of light users in the U.S. made just one more restaurant visit each year, there would be an incremental sales increase of $1.1 billion. When asked what would entice them to visit more, lighter users’ No. 1 response was regular discounts. But they don’t want just any discount, they want a discount of their choosing. And the Number 2 enticement was loyalty and rewards programs. So when you’re planning your posts and rewards programs, don’t just think about your heavy-user regulars. You need to make sure you’re appealing broadly enough to bring those light and super light users into YOUR restaurant and then make their experience so amazing, they come back again soon!
Facebook • 1.86 Billion Users Instagram • 600 Million Users Twitter • 317 Million Users Snapchat • 150 Million Users Pinterest • 150 Million Users YouTube • 1 Billion Users, 4B views/day Yelp • 145 Million Users TripAdvisor • 340 Million + Reviews WhatsApp • 1 Billion Users Tumblr • 550 Million Users LinkedIn • 467 Million Users Google • 2 Trillion searches/year
(Over 100 Billion searches per month)
“Home is Where the Heart Is”
Did you ever think about why your website’s home page was called a HOME page? Even in the age of social media, your website is still the heart of your digital identity. It’s a 24/7 showcase for your brand personality, your culinary capabilities, and all the info your current and prospective customers need, like your menu, business hours, address, contact info, entertainment calendar and more. On your site, you can collect customer e-mail addresses, sell gift cards, take online orders or reservations, and more. The thing that makes it different from social media is that on your website, all this information is presented on YOUR terms. In YOUR format. With YOUR design. You’re not trapped in a Facebook template or limited to 140 characters. You can work with your web designer to make your site as persuasive, appetizing and informative as possible. It’s a blank slate – the one place online where you get to be you. Investing in a great website and driving customers to it has been great marketing strategy for more than a decade, and will be important for the foreseeable future.
Crucially, your website should include links to all the social networks you’re active on, allowing customers to connect with you as many ways as they want to. Traffic to and from your website also improves your Google ranking!
There are sites like WordPress and Wix and SquareSpace that allow you to build your own website using templates, but working directly with a professional, experienced designer will always bring the site closer to how you imagine it should be. They will also be more helpful with Search Engine Optimization, and optimizing for Voice Search (a huge topic over the next few years.)
“Look Before You Leap”
Whether you’re developing a new website or considering using a new social media network, go online to observe the competition first. See how the national chain restaurants maximize the impact their websites make. While you’re doing your research, grab your phone and see what the mobile-optimized versions of those sites looks like.
See what your local competition is doing on Facebook, and the kind of posts and content locals are responding to. You can’t market your business with Instagram until you know what it is, how to use it, and the unspoken rules of etiquette for the platform. The best way to learn is by setting up a personal account and doing some free reconnaissance before risking your reputation by trying to market your restaurant with tools you don’t understand. Pro-tip: Lynda.com offers a wealth of frequently updated tutorial videos on social media marketing and best business practices for using individual networks.
In 2016, mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic on the internet for the first time.
Over half of the people searching for your restaurant are doing it from their phones.
Having a mobile-friendly site isn’t good enough any more. Now, your site should be designed ‘mobile first,’ prioritizing the mobile user experience.
The crucial First Impression you make on a prospective customer could be from any facet of your digital identity, so you have to keep them all looking amazing, appetizing and completely up-to-date. The screens above show some of the possible First Impression points for the same restaurant: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google search and Zagat, with the mobile version of the website appearing on the previous page. Each site must be optimized to convey your brand personality, your culinary style, and be as persuasive as possible.
“You Only Get One Chance to Make A First Impression”
But you never know WHERE your restaurant will be making a first impression. It might be your Yelp page. Or in the Google Local Search Results. Or a boosted Facebook post. Your digital identity has so many facets to be aware of but it’s important to make sure each one is up to date, professional, appetizing and representative of your business. Your website will often be the first impression you make online. Check out carrabbas.com, rockitbarandgrill.com and www.occasionscaterers.com to see how smart use of great photos makes an immediate and appetizing first impression.
By the end of 2016, mobile traffic had overtaken desktop traffic on the web. Google is working on a new, mobile-first web index that will favor websites that are designed for mobile – and if your site isn’t, it will be penalized in Google search rankings. These changes mean that it is more important than ever to make the mobile experience as good as possible. Increasingly that means putting mobile first, rather than simply optimizing for mobile.
Claim your Yelp and TripAdvisor pages and add all your information and links. Load those sites up with great photos (in addition to the crummy customer photos that may be there.) If the review sites are your first point of contact with a prospective customer, make sure you’re doing everything you can to make a great impression.
“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”
Actually, it’s worth much more. A photo can be the deciding factor in whether a customer chooses your restaurant or another. That’s why the chains pay big bucks for professional photography and plaster it all over their menus and menu boards and everywhere they have a presence online. Photos sell food. In addition to the professional photos you should be using on your website and the review sites, you should be taking photos every day. It’s free, easy and fun, and you need that content for all the social media networks! Just don’t post dark or blurry photos. They’re not appetizing. Find the best lighting in your restaurant and shoot away. Make sure your managers know where that spot is, so everyone can get great shots at short notice.
The better your photos are, the more likely your customers are to SHARE them when you post them.
Creating share-worthy content to win free organic reach should always be a goal. And about that 1,000 words, make sure your social media posts are brief and to the point. Nobody wants to read huge blocks of text while scrolling through their Facebook feed and on Instagram, keep text even briefer, using hashtags to make your content discoverable. Save long-form text content for your website, and even there, only use it when necessary (for your history, mission/vision/values pages, etc.)
For editing photos and creating visuals to post, try PicMonkey.com, BeFunky.com and the amazing Canva.com. For mobile devices, try Pixlr and Desygner. The web version of Desygner is still in beta testing, but offers easy to use template designs, similar to Canva.
“Two Heads Are Better Than One”
With so many networks competing for your time and attention, managing a restaurant’s social media could easily be a full time job. It’s just not practical for the owner or even the manager to be responsible for dreaming up, writing, photographing, designing, posting and replying to every piece of social content.
Better to delegate those responsibilities to trusted members of your team. One person can do Facebook, another can do Instagram, while another does Twitter. This leaves the manager free to read and respond to reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor. Providing your team with a content calendar that you’ve thought out in advance is a great way to keep everyone on the same page.
If someone on your staff is great with grammar and spelling, have them proofread posts before they go out. Misspelled words and poor English can make a business seem sloppy and unprofessional.
“Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” (or, Just Do It)
Don’t adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach with your digital identity. The cost of inaction is too high. Your digital identity exists and evolves independent of you, but you need to take active control over every aspect you can, guiding your brand and public perception.
“It’s Hard to Find Good Help”
Employee turnover is a problem many restaurants are facing. Generational differences have left Millennials and Generation Z unprepared for working in the hospitality industry. They are becoming stereotyped for their limited people skills, questionable work ethic and lack of ambition as compared to Boomers and even Generation X.
Making the most of the situation, you need to choose your team carefully, train them well, and continue to train them on an ongoing basis. Social media can play a part in advertising for, vetting and hiring new staff. Are you on LinkedIn? Do you check an applicant’s Facebook or Instagram pages before the interview? Talk to our Business Resource Managers for more tips and handouts on hiring and training!
“You Snooze, You Lose”
If you want to market your business on the newest social networks, weigh these factors before jumping in early:
PROS:
• If you get in early with your brand message, you’re reaching a specific group of youthful earlyadopters – the cool kids.
• Early on, there is less competition from other businesses and users, so it’s more likely your content will be seen. • It can make your brand look smart and progressive, in-touch with technology and Generation Z.
They Snooze, They Lose...
CONS:
• Lack of formal business or analytics tools to track interaction (and determine ROI)
• Far fewer users compared to established networks
• Evolving user interface and user etiquette may make it harder to determine best practices • Uncertainty whether network will catch on or even be around in a year
Restaurants in every category appeal to their customers’ Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) to generate traffic. On the internet, on billboards, on TV and e-mails and on their storefront windows, you’ll see chains advertising their Limited Time Offers. FOMO is a great motivator for the Millennial audience, who prize experiences over owning physical items. The trick is to offer customers something new that they actually want.
“Bad News Travels Fast” (or, Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst) Especially when business is down, nobody can afford a PR crisis, and social media can spread bad news… like nobody’s business. Take Chipotle. The E. coli outbreak in Fall of 2015 devastated their business, doing what might have been irreparable damage. Last year, they reported their first-ever quarterly loss in their 23-year history, and in October, their sales were down 22% from the previous year. They broke their brand promise; their tagline was Food With Integrity.
This is an extreme situation, and it’s almost impossible to be prepared for something like this to happen at your restaurant. But it’s worth imagining a worst-case scenario and determining what your restaurant’s Public Relations emergency plan would be.
Would you know how to reset your social media passwords quickly if you had to (in the event of your account being compromised by an irate employee, for instance?)
Do you know someone with good editing skills who you could call at a moment’s notice if you needed help preparing an official statement? Do you know which lawyer you would call? Do you have friends who work for local media outlets?
“If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say, Don’t Say Anything At All”
Yelp and TripAdvisor aren’t going away any time soon, so we need to make the best of them. Even if you get a terrible, biased, unjustified review, take the high road. Don’t provoke or insult or patronize the reviewer. Be humble and apologetic and diplomatic. Prospective customers may be reading your exchange and judging you based on it, so be on your best behavior. Otherwise, you risk looking like a big bully picking on someone.
Your level-headed reaction to an irate customer can actually make your business seem more professional, and cast doubt on whether the reviewer was exaggerating their negative experience.
In the past year, the overall negativity and cynicism on social media hit new extremes thanks to the election, and the political divide is still a problem in the new year. Many people on both sides of the political fence shut down their Facebook or Twitter accounts, just to get away from the constant anger and noise and daily trolling. Those who stayed may have unfriended old friends or at least hidden the posts of their most prolifically posting acquaintences.
There is still an increased sensitivity to all media messaging, combined with a hair trigger reactionary tendency that came to light in real time as people reacted to and overreacted to the Superbowl ads in February. Studies are indicating that social media, even under normal circumstances, increases our social anxiety.
The lesson to take away – be a bright spot in your customer’s news feed! Don’t post controversial content that risks offending a portion of your customers.
Always be a good representative of the HOSPITALITY industry, making everyone feel welcome. Keep your social media feeds light and optimistic. There are many appropriate forums to discuss politics online, but your restaurant’s Facebook page probably isn’t one of them. Also be tactful when posting around sensitive or timely issues. (see below)
Cinna-burn
Facebook and Twitter have made spreading news into an instantaneous event. Social media backlash can spread just as fast and be particularly harsh. Just ask Cinnabon about their tweet shortly after Carrie Fisher’s death was announced. Many saw it as tacky and a tastless grab for social media attention rather than as a genuine tribue to the actress, and in a moment, the Twitter-verse was up in arms, raging against the company’s lack of sensitivity at a difficult time for family and friends.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Your employees are also a great way to increase your reach on social media. Encourage and incentivize them to post about your restaurant and share the content you post on your official pages. Just remember the content has to be relevant to them and their friends. This is an especially effective way to reach Millennials, who are notoriously suspicious of anything that looks like traditional advertising.
In the examples above, the bartender of a local restaurant is posting about the restaurant, and sharing official posts from the restaurant on their personal social media page.
Your employees are one of the things that differentiates you from your competition. Acknowledge and celebrate them from time to time on social media, and even on your website! It gives them a sense of pride and lets your customers know you believe in your team, a sign of good management.
Be Yourself
(or, Honesty is the Best Policy)
One of the biggest social media stories of 2016 was SnapChat’s wild success. SnapChat (or Snap, Inc., as it’s now called), is an example of Ephemeral Content – or Expiring Content. Unlike your Facebook feed, where you post something and it stays in your feed timeline forever, a Snapchat post can last for 24 hours or 10 seconds. SnapChat only has 150 Milliion users, but it’s so popular with the influential and coveted younger users that Facebook and Instagram are already borrowing this ‘expiring visual content’ idea.
Instagram Stories launched mid-2016 and almost immediately had over 100 million users. The stories last for 24 hours, and are watched by 18% of the network’s 600 Million users each day.
Consider these topics for expiring content posts:
• Recipe videos • Live entertainment • Prep work in your kitchen • New menu item reveals • Contests and Special Offers • Insight into special dishes • Unscripted interviews with staff • “Takeovers,” or when a different user chooses what content to share
The rules for what kind of content to post are different, though. Snapchat has become known as the network for s haring intimate, personal content. So instead of the polished and professional photos and videos you’d have on your website, ephemeral content is perfect for showcasing the other side of your brand’s personality: raw and candid and authentic and honest. You can even show your silly side.
Give your customers behind-the-scenes access and they’ll feel a closer connection to your restaurant and staff – to the REAL you. And this lesson, that customers like to see your human side, extends beyond SnapChat. Bring that humanity and warmth into every aspect of your digital identity.
“The most important part of ephemeral content is to be human. This is a unique opportunity to show an unpolished, lighthearted side to your brand, so don’t be afraid to share content that’s humorous or otherwise 'flawed' in some way," - Marissa Emanuele, HubSpot Social Media Marketing Manager
Big brands are paying up to $750,000 to create exclusive, very-limited-time Snapchat lenses that showcase their lighthearted side while tapping into the younger generation of customer’s Fear of Missing Out.
You Get What You Pay For (or, It Pays to Advertise)
Have you posted on Facebook this week? About 94% of your customers who’ve liked your FB page will NOT see that post! One of the top projected social media trends for 2017 is the rise of paid advertising. With organic reach so low, there’s a lot of money to be made (for Facebook and Instagram and Twitter) from business owners like you who want to reach their customers.
According to Adobe, social media ad spending will surpass $41 billion in 2017. And it’s not limited to just one channel or network. Facebook brought in more than $7 Billion last year, 80% of which came from mobile ads. Instagram made $1.53 Billion in mobile ad revenue.
Even though the golden age of free organic reach is long behind us, these ads still offer the best bang for your marketing buck, mostly due to the deep demographic information Facebook and Instagram have, allowing you to target your ads to precisely who you want to see them.
When you choose to boost a post, make sure it’s got a great visual and succinct text – increasing the likelihood of likes and shares, even beyond the audience you’re paying for. Look for new advertising opportunities, like the WAZE GPS app, to reach your customers in unexpected ways.
Total number of active Facebook Advertisers: 4 Million Average Facebook Ad Cost Per Thousand Impressions
(CPM): $7.29
% of Brands that Promote Their Facebook Posts: 75%
The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You
You want people to like and share your content, so be sure to like, share or retweet posts from local businesses and even share your customers’ content when appropriate. They’ll be flattered and feel more connected to you if they know you’re listening.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Set trackable goals for your social media presence. This gives all your efforts focus and helps determine the return on your investment of time and money. For instance:
• Get 100 new likes this month. • Get 500 video views. • Get 5 new 5-star TripAdvisor reviews each quarter. • 3 tweets a day for the next 4 weeks. • Boost FB posts of new appetizer photos to 1,500 people. Write your goals down and share them with your team, so you can all be working together to achieve your vision. And keep a list of To-Dos, such as:
• Buy a lighting kit to take better food photos. • Launch our Instagram page. • Read that Sysco booklet about ‘Your Digital Identity.’ • Have the web designer add links to your newest social media networks. • Figure out how to make a SnapChat Story.
Patience is a Virtue
No matter which network you’re on, it will take time to find and build your audience. Speed the process by using your established social networks (as well as in-store signage and e-mail marketing) to inform your customers that you’re now on Instagram or Pinterest or SnapChat.
You’re Only as Strong as Your Weakest Link
Don’t try to run five social media networks when you only have the time, energy or staff to handle one or two. Having a Twitter account for your restaurant that you never tweet from looks bad when a current or prospective customer discovers it.
It makes it seem like your business is, at best, out of touch, and at worst, closed. Better to shut down the dead ends and throw all your energy behind making Facebook and Instagram great (or Pinterest or SnapChat, or whatever is connecting most effectively with your customers.) Once you determine the weakest facet of your digital identity, you can make a plan to strengthen it or eliminate it from your marketing mix.
Your Menu is Your Most Important Marketing Tool
Make sure it’s online everywhere it can be, and that the menu and links to the menu are up-to-date on your Google Business page, every social network, review site and delivery service site.
For menu design inspiration, and to see examples of excellent menus from around the world, visit www.underconsideration.com/artofthemenu
On your website, make sure the menu appears in plain text rather than as a jpeg or graphic (so the actual menu listings are easier for Google’s bots to find and index). This improves your website’s discoverability and Google rankings. Additionally, including a downloadable PDF is a nice option. If you have multiple menus, make sure they’re all clearly labeled and organized, so it’s easy for visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for in the minimal number of clicks. Over half of the people searching for your restaurant online are doing it from a mobile device, so your menu must be optimized to offer a great mobile experience. Make sure the menu text is large and clear and easy to navigate (no jpegs or PDFs). Check out the mobile versions of Tacobell.com, Olivegarden.com, macaronigrill.com or Joescrabshack.com for examples of well-organized and easy-to-read menus. Make sure you have printed hard copies of your carry-out menu available for customers in-house, as well.
Chains know that the majority of the people searching for restaurants are doing it from their mobile devices, so they optimize their menus to be easy to browse and read. Many include appetizing, persuasive imagery to further tempt us!
Variety is the Spice of Life
The content you post on social media should be engaging. It should be fun, interesting, educational, diverse and entertaining. It shouldn’t look or sound like traditional advertising. It needs to be authentic, and true to your brand to connect with a modern audience. If you’re just posting a text list of your daily specials each day, you’re missing the SOCIAL part of Social Media.
To mix up your posts, try making short videos or animated gifs of your staff at www.giphy.com. You can share humorous memes on Facebook, but keep them to a minimum, and don’t share them on Instagram.
Video is the future of marketing, and live-streaming video is the future of social media. 14% of marketers experimented with it in 2016, according to Social Media Examiner, and 43% plan to use interactive video this year.
Twitter’s Periscope helped popularize live-streaming video. Periscope users watched 110 years of live video every day using the app. On New Year’s Eve, live streaming on Facebook reached record-breaking numbers around the globe.
In 2017, video streaming will represent almost 75% of all internet traffic, and since audiences want more video content, brands should continue experimenting with different formats to see which audiences respond best to.
Social videos have much more engagement than any other content format. Even news sources are citing Facebook Live videos when covering major events. We’ve only begun to see how live stream video will affect mainstream media. You have the tools to experiment with it now!
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Think outside the box and engage your audience with something new and different. Photos of staff pets! Drone footage of your restaurant from above! Create-a-sandwich contests! Shout-outs to other businesses and groups around your community. Scope out your competition (chains and independents) on social media and borrow their best ideas, customizing them to your own brand.
And ask your Sysco Marketing Associate for our 101 Things to Post on Social Media (Besides Today’s Specials) book!
Think Social Media is too complex and confusing? Good news! You’re smarter than you know!
In ‘The Forever Rules of Social Media,’ we take some traditional, old-school wisdom you’ve known all your life and show you how this good advice still applies to your social media marketing today! You’ll feel smarter before you can say Snapchat!
Research and Sources
http://hellogiggles.com/deleting-facebook-best-decision-anxiety http://mashable.com/2013/01/28/reasons-deactivate-facebook http://www.restaurant-hospitality.com/finance/business-outlook-2017-challenging-best http://www.nrn.com/consumer-trends/how-restaurants-can-drive-visits-lighter-users http://www.nrn.com/sales-trends/npd-restaurant-traffic-won-t-improve-2017 http://www.clairemontcommunications.com/foodify-instagram-stories/ https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-predictions-2017 http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/28/news/companies/cinnabon-carrie-fisher-apology/ http://mashable.com/2013/01/28/reasons-deactivate-facebook https://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-trends-2017/181768/ https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/snapchat-best-brands http://mashable.com/2015/11/01/e-coli-outbreak-chipotle/ http://www.foodabletv.com/blog/2016/7/26/snapchat-an-unexpected-restaurant-marketing-tool http://la.eater.com/2017/2/3/14498800/cheesecake-factory-bomb-explosion-pasadena http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/content/23215.html http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimmyrohampton/2017/01/03/5-social-media-trends-that-will-dominate-2017 http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenfriedman/2016/12/29/4-millennial-social-media-trends-to-watch-in-2017 http://www.restfinance.com/Restaurant-Finance-Across-America/January-2017/Heres-Why-Diners-are-Losing-Their-Appetite/ http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-trends/ http://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stories/ http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-gigantic-list-of-google-stats-and-facts/ http://www.wondermark.com
Wondermark copyright 2017 by David Malki !