How to Promote Restaurant on Social Media – Let’s Go!
With more people using social media platforms than ever before, it’s a great place for restaurants to promote their businesses. The key is to use the right platforms for your business, form a strategy and execute it well. If you want to learn how to do this, read on! Here are 11 tips that can help you get started promoting your restaurant on social media:
READ: How To Manage Your Social Media Marketing Week
1. Take advantage of social media contests.
Social media contests are a great way to engage your customers, get more followers, and increase the reach of your posts.
A few tips for running successful social media contests:
- Make sure they’re fun! Don’t make it feel like a chore to enter or share with friends. Try giving away something small, like gift cards or free drinks/snacks. You can also offer larger rewards like meals or tickets to shows if you want people to share their experiences on social media..
- Use hashtags in the contest description so that anyone who’s interested in participating can find it easily online and join in the fun.
2. Create a Facebook group to gather loyal customers.
Facebook has a large user base and is an excellent way for you to interact with potential customers. You can create a Facebook group for your restaurant, where loyal customers can discuss the menu, join in conversations about food and restaurants, and provide feedback on customer service or other issues.
You can also use Facebook groups as an effective marketing tool by advertising on pages that have similar interests to yours. For example, if you own a bakery in Chicago specializing in cupcakes, it would make sense for you to advertise on pages like “Cupcake Lovers of Chicago” or “Chicago Foodie Network” rather than general interest pages like “Cooking Skills 101” or “Chicago Loves Soccer.”
3. Put some work into your Instagram bio.
As the old adage goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. If you want your social media page to be taken seriously by potential customers, then it’s important that your profile is well-designed and easy-to-navigate.
To start off on the right foot, make sure that your Instagram bio includes all of the same elements as other parts of your site:
- A link to your website so people can easily find more information about you and your business (and hopefully get in touch!)
- A call to action that encourages followers to interact with you (like asking them what their favorite dish is at your restaurant)
- Use hashtags relevant to both food and restaurants
4. Use influencer marketing for promoting your food.
Influencer marketing is an effective way to build your brand, reach new audiences and, ultimately, gain more customers. Influencers can be found in many places on social media – but you need to be careful about who you partner with. If they’re not doing things for the right reasons or are only interested in promoting themselves (and not focusing on your business), then it’s better to go without them.
- They have large followings and audiences of people who trust them because they do good things for others in their community.
- They know what works because they’ve tried it out themselves first before sharing their experiences with a wider audience via YouTube videos or blog posts.
- A lot of people will turn toward word-of-mouth recommendations when researching where they want to eat next time they visit town instead of reading reviews.
- Your restaurant won’t get any exposure unless someone notices it first and shares it with their friends!
5. Don’t forget about YouTube.
Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world? That means it’s a great place to promote your restaurant. You can share videos of your unique culture, values and vision for your business with customers all over the world.
Not sure where to start? How about sharing some of your best recipes and tips on how to cook them in an easy way that anyone can follow? Or show customers what makes your food so good by featuring it in different ways—from cooking shows and recipe demonstrations, to interviews with local customers who love eating at your restaurant.
6. Create a loyalty program for your restaurant.
Loyalty programs are a great way to reward your customers, track their behavior and get repeat visits. Loyalty programs also help build community around your restaurant by making it feel more like home. In addition to the benefits of creating a loyalty program, they’re also inexpensive to run and easy to set up! Here’s how:
- Choose what kind of rewards you want to offer your patrons
- Offer points that can be redeemed for discounts on food or drinks
- Offer meals at reduced rates (buy one meal, get one free)
- Provide clear instructions on how customers will earn points and what they can redeem them for
- Make it easy for people enroll in your program by placing posters in visible areas (such as near bathrooms). Also put an email form on your website so people can sign up from there too!
7. Use social media for customer service.
Social media is a great way to deal with customer service issues. Your customer service team can use social media to communicate with customers and solve their problems, rather than waiting for them to call or write an email.
It’s also a great way to deal with negative reviews that might drive away potential customers. For example, if someone leaves a bad review about your restaurant because they didn’t like the food or felt ignored by the waitstaff, you can respond directly on social media by apologizing for their experience and offering them coupons for future visits.
If you’re noticing any recurring issues when it comes to customer service, social media allows you to address these problems before they become widespread and cause damage to your business’ reputation in the community—or prevent them from happening altogether!
READ: Google Reviews: Everything You Need To Know To Grow Your Brand
8. Don’t be afraid to post often on social media.
You should post as frequently as you can. A minimum of once a day, but it’s better to post more often. Your followers and potential customers will not be annoyed by the frequency of your posts if they see interesting or valuable content.
The content of your social media posts should be worth seeing and reading: good pictures, videos, text posts, GIFs etc., not just marketing messages and discount offers!
Post at the right time of day (for example early in the morning for breakfast places). The time when people are most active online differs from country to country so always check this first before posting anything.
Use hashtags in every post (if possible). Hashtags help people find your restaurant on social media networks such as Instagram or Twitter so use them whenever possible! The best hashtags will be related directly back towards what you’re posting about that day/weekend/month etcetera…
9. Include tasty visuals of your dishes in the posts and stories.
You can use visuals as a powerful way to get people interested in your restaurant. It is not only about the food but also about the ambience and environment too. Make sure that the photos are high quality and represent what you have on your menu.
You should include photos of food that is representative of your menu, this will help potential customers understand what they might expect when eating at your restaurant. You should also include a photo of the restaurant itself (interior or exterior), this helps people see how it looks before they visit so they know what to expect when they arrive.
Varying up posts with videos can add an extra element of engagement with followers and increase interest in your business overall by using different formats!
10. Determine what platform is best for you and stick with it.
You need to determine what platform is best for your business. You should choose one platform and stick with it, rather than trying to manage multiple social media accounts at once. This will save you time, and make it easier for customers to find you on social media.
Do some research on which platforms are used the most by your target audience, then choose the one that works best for your business model. For example, if most of your customers are millennial hipsters who love taking selfies in front of the mirror while listening to music while they shower (this is a real thing), then Instagram might be a better choice than Facebook or Twitter.
11. Share your unique culture and values on social media.
Be sure to share your unique culture and values on social media. This can be done through posts that highlight your restaurant’s distinct qualities, such as:
- What makes you different from other restaurants? (e.g., the best burrito in town)
- How do you stand out from other restaurants? (e.g., by using the freshest ingredients)
- What is it about your restaurant that makes it special? (e.g., great customer service)
Restaurants can use social media as a powerful tool to attract customers, but they must use it strategically
Social media is an effective tool for restaurants to attract customers and generate revenue. But, in order to effectively use social media, you need to maintain a consistent posting schedule and focus on quality content that builds trust with your audience.
You also need to be authentic — if you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing or promoting, it will show through in your posts and comments.
And lastly, patience is key — social media advertising isn’t something that will bring immediate results; however, if done properly it can be very rewarding over time.
Conclusion
With all the options to promote your restaurant on social media, you might be overwhelmed. But by following these simple tips, you can successfully market your brand online and engage with customers in a way that strengthens your business.
We make businesses popular! Want to discuss how we can help you reach customers and promote your restaurant through social media? Call us today! 833-277-8273
