New York’s Frites ‘N’ Meats is aiming to increase foot traffic to its truck via a mobile-optimized site that lets customers view the menu and find its location.

The company partnered with Mobile Meteor for the mobile initiative. The truck moves all over Manhattan and has been using Twitter to alert hungry patrons, but now the mobile site will keep them up-to-date on the truck’s current location.

“More and more Americans are using smartphones to access the Web,” said Denis Hurley, founder/president of Mobile Meteor, New York. “One prediction is that half of all Americans will have one by the end of 2011.

“Accessing a site from a mobile device is a completely different experience from doing so from a desktop, laptop or even tablet,” he said. “Frequently, mobile Web visitors are actually physically mobile.

“Our strategy is to make the most important information available as clearly as possible to mobile Web site visitors – for a food truck, this means their location, phone number and menu.”

Mobile Meteor helps businesses develop and maintain a presence on the mobile Web.

Mobile hamburgers
The Frites ‘N’ Meats truck can be accessed by entering http://fritesnmeats.com on the mobile browser.

The mobile site not only alerts consumers about the location of the truck, but whether it will be serving food during various weather conditions.

Additionally, consumers can leave feedback on the prices, burgers and service via the site.

Consumers can view the menu

Customers can read the latest updates

“For quite some time, Frites ‘N’ Meats has been using Twitter to tell customers where they are,” Mr. Hurley said. “The problem was that once they tweeted their location, any more Twitter interaction with fans or potential customers would drive their location further down the timeline.

“While putting the map with directions on their mobile site is optimal for obvious reasons, it also frees up their Twitter account to engage more fully with customers,” he said. “They are also able to reach people who don’t use Twitter and encourage them to join the conversation.”

Food for thought
When customers tilt their phone to the side, they can view the menu.

In addition, when they flip their handset, they can view the company’s blog.

“Mobile Meteor believes that the mobile Web has a huge potential for growth,” Mr. Hurley said. “As the smartphone marketplace continues to splinter – iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Palm and Windows Mobile – we ensure that small businesses can access users of all devices.

“That said, we do have a plan to make smartphone users aware of the mobile Web through native applications,” he said.

Final Take
Here is a demo of the mobile site