It's getting more and more challenging for individual restaurants to get distinguished in the restaurant industry due to increased competition. So how can you ensure that your restaurant is at the top of mind with your audience's list of possibilities when they have hundreds of places to select from?
Social media marketing for restaurants is a simple solution. Are you aware that 45% of American diners reported becoming first-time visitors due to finding a restaurant's social media post? It is true, though. According to the poll, 74% of participants trusted such businesses more and were likely to patronize or buy from them. However, social media is not only that.
The secret is authenticity. You've probably seen guides on how to open a restaurant on social media. By using social media marketing, you may expand your online presence and reach and bring in more walk-in customers and online orders to your restaurant.
Why Do Restaurants Need Social Media?
But why is social media so important to a restaurant’s clientele? As a restaurant manager or restaurant owner, combining organic publications with PPC ads on social media platforms is crucial for boosting a restaurant’s online visibility and taking it to new heights. Nearly 99% of millennial and Gen Z clients rely on social media for evaluations and are relatively knowledgeable about the value of reviews in this business. Keep reading to learn about the many concepts for unique restaurant promotion ideas without further hesitation.
Elevate your restaurant's social presence today!
Social Media Restaurant Marketing Strategies
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Collaborate With A Food Blogger
The most important social media marketers in the restaurant sector are food bloggers.
Most social media influencers or bloggers don't just write regarding your restaurant like one newspaper commercial; instead, they discuss their experiences, what they loved, and how they connected with it. As a result, consumers can relate to and form an impression of your restaurant even before they visit you.
You can't just randomly choose someone or offer the position to the first person who accepts. Relevance, target audience, social media platforms, page views and reach, location, and shared interests are the top factors you need to evaluate.
When you invite an influencer to your restaurant, be prepared to greet them at the entrance and take them for a tour of your restaurant, showing them your favorite areas. Remember to keep your commitments; doing so demonstrates professionalism and will make you pleased when the content that they ultimately publish about your restaurant on their social media platforms.
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List Forthcoming Or Current Events
Make sure to leverage Facebook's events section for your restaurant; many people use it to schedule their evenings and weekends. For example, do you host DJ Nights or Karaoke Nights? Start posting about these fun events that people would love to attend and offer discounted entrees or appetizers and drinks to incentivize users to come and enjoy a fun evening with great food. This ensures people who come to attend the events are also spending.
Live-streaming activities like sporting events can also be used to discuss new promotions. This is a fantastic method to see inside your bar's backroom. Plan a live Q&A session with your chef or invite a mixologist to demonstrate how to make a cocktail at home.
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Emphasize Festive Meals That Are Distinctive
On national holidays, many restaurants provide deals to a specific group of patrons. Have you considered, though, giving special promos on lesser-known holidays?
Perhaps on January 13, which is Rubber Ducky Day, you publish a photo of your restaurant's duck pond (imagine a carnival game) on social media with a deal written on each rubber duck's underside (10% off, 25% off, free drink, free dessert, etc.). By offering them the chance to choose a duck after their meal, your restaurant can entice consumers to visit.
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Start A Club For Birthdays
Incorporate restaurant social media post promotions, including offering a discount for everyone celebrating a birthday on the first of each month.
Create a caption, "Is there anyone having a birthday this month?" to entice viewers to engage with the post. Then, let them know about this deal by tagging them below. Then, share the link when your website has a registration form!
You may also offer a free birthday meal to birthday customers who dine in with a group of 5 or more. In addition, you may customize the campaign to get groups or parties to come in for their birthdays.
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Collaborate With Nearby Organizations
It's crucial to remember that lighting another candle doesn't cause a candle to lose anything. Now, I'm not suggesting you start posting your adjacent restaurant's weekly specials on your Facebook page. Perhaps if you're a coffee shop you can donate a portion of your tips to the neighborhood fire station. They could, therefore, be motivated to mention you on their social media the next time you're doing something for the neighborhood.
You may also offer free meal coupons to companies doing fundraisers or specific events. For example, restaurants that offer discount cards at marathons or colleges and universities can get significant publicity and create buzz for their brand.
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Delivery Via A Third-Party App
Based on the National Restaurant Association's 2019 State of the Industry Survey, 50% of millennials and almost 4 out of 10 individuals say they buy more now than two years earlier due to online restaurant delivery services.
Does your restaurant offer online ordering and delivery services? Eight in ten fine and modest dining owners and two-thirds of family dining services claim to employ a third-party provider despite having access to choices like GrubHub, DoorDash, and PostMates. When your eatery is one of these, advertise this service on social networks.
Numerous of these applications probably already have a range of marketing content for you to use on your social media networks.
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Facebook Contests
Social media contests and giveaways are excellent for increasing traffic to your online platforms, increasing brand recognition, and growing your customer base. Conducting a giveaway contest properly should provide an incredible return on investment by encouraging your followers to dine at your establishment.
You may start with a concept, such as submitting the most mouthwatering snapshot of the meal you had at a restaurant or being mentioned in as many images as possible. You may choose a deadline for the winner announcement, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.
As a prize for the contest winner, you may provide a complimentary dinner, a coupon, or anything else alluring. You may offer giveaways that require participants to enter by liking your page, tagging their friends on the post, and sharing the post. However, we recommend you do it on one of your ongoing offers or specials to get the word out about your promotions.
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Encourage Reviews And Comments
Reviews have a significant influence on the restaurant industry. A bad review may deter a consumer from coming back to your restaurant. Unfortunately, small restaurant proprietors sometimes refrain from responding to online reviews or comments. Responding to reviews on Yelp, Facebook, and Google is essential, though.
Both favorable and unfavorable reviews deserve an equal response. When someone leaves a negative review, reply quickly and courteously, offer an apology, and show your concern for the difficulty and their unpleasant experience.
Even better, you may give the reviewer a discount voucher or a gift card in the hope that they would return and you can provide them with a great experience. The fundamental objective is to demonstrate to every consumer that you respect their feedback and that if something goes wrong you are willing to make it right.
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User Generated Content
Looking around, you'll see lovely photos that customers have posted on social media of your food, ambiance, or any other special moment. Simply ask for permission in a remark before sharing, retweeting, or reposting their work on your page. Or you may reuse it in a post and credit the post's author.
You may search Instagram for this kind of user-generated content, utilize hashtags (they're pretty helpful), search Facebook or Twitter using the name of your business, or check for tags on other social media accounts. Asking is the easiest way to practice the concept of resharing user-generated material. Even the magic of running a social media contest might work.
Conclusion
A restaurant's social media strategy involves more than just generating great food pictures. A content calendar should inspire, educate, entertain, and help you connect with your target audience. First, make a content schedule to keep track of your social media strategy. "One minute of strategy saves ten minutes of action," Brian Tracy famously stated.
We keep a calendar in Google Sheets at Best POS to schedule your posts. You should feel free to choose a template or strategy that truly works for you and your business, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Have fun posting!
Are you curious to learn more about restaurant-related subjects? If you have particular inquiries regarding restaurant marketing strategies, see our blog series on restaurants or get in touch with our restaurant marketing experts at Best POS.
Let's discuss how we can tailor our restaurant-focused digital marketing services to fulfill your specific goals and desires.
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