In today’s highly competitive environment, restaurant marketing requires accurate, reliable, and comprehensive customer data. Online and offline marketing campaigns can even use collected data about your actual customers.
As technology develops and consumer preferences change, successful marketing strategies must be tested and adjusted. Marketing strategies are constantly evolving. This evolution challenges marketers to create smart new campaigns that attract customers.
What is restaurant marketing?
Promoting a restaurant is the act of showing your restaurant or catering service concept and providing your service to the public to win their business.
This is an important part of building a restaurant brand. Subdivided, marketing is the strategy behind your interaction with your customer base.
There is no single way to do this, but a series of actions across multiple channels to fully reach your audience.
Why should I market my restaurant?
The American restaurant industry does not have much room for maneuver. Restaurant marketing has changed from pleasure to necessity because business owners from the East Coast to the West Coast are trying to differentiate themselves from the field.
Although it’s best to think of it as a tool for business development, your restaurant marketing is about connecting with your customers, no matter where they are, and fostering strong relationships.
As a restaurant owner, you know very well the transformative power of hospitality; restaurant marketing allows you to show sincere hospitality to guests when they are not inside the restaurant’s walls.
The most obvious benefit of restaurant marketing is that it increases revenue by increasing your business inflow and online traffic. Other benefits of restaurant marketing include:
- Support customer retention and increase customer lifetime value.
- Attract new employees.
- Promote your restaurant’s mission, vision, and purpose.
- So raise the popularity of the brand.
- Introduce you to new audiences and markets.
- Help you build connections within the local restaurant community.
- It opens up new business partnerships and collaborations for you
- Create new opportunities for distributors and suppliers.
Effective restaurant marketing strategy
With the advent of digital technology, the pattern of the restaurant business has undergone a fundamental change. Restaurant owners no longer rely on traditional word of mouth to promote their restaurants.
Most restaurants I walked into recently seemed to be using digital media and mobile technology. Although some of these restaurants are doing well, most of them are working hard to implement their restaurant marketing strategies.
Go Social
We are in the age of food pornography, social media platforms are flooded with food pictures, allowing the most frugal people to spend a few bucks more.
If you want the order to go through, you need to use social media platforms to promote your restaurant online. I admit that there are many social media platforms.
So this is my suggestion; when it comes to food, Instagram is the king, Facebook is the queen, and the rest are puns.
The key to social networking and profitability is to publish top-notch food pictures and videos. If you don’t know where to start, consider hiring a social media expert to provide you with valuable information.
How to Use Social Media Marketing for Restaurant
Social media is an essential part of running any business today. Even if you don’t have a page on any popular social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.
You can bet your customers are posting, tweeting, and Instagram posting about you. The more you interact with your customers.
The more loyal they will become and the more information they will spread. A sound social media marketing plan can bring you a large percentage of your business.
From improvement to driving sales, customer involvement is essential when marketing restaurants.
There are many ways to attract fans through social media. Here are some tips to increase your Facebook following
- Videos of less than one minute can produce significant results. The best time for Facebook to participate is about 1:30, and Facebook users watch 100 million hours of video every day. Your video can be anything, from promotional content to food and beverages to behind-the-scenes footage of restaurants.
Photos and videos are good for social media, especially Instagram. You should use them on your network, but try these techniques for additional benefits:
- Use photos and videos to attract customers to share on your Wi-Fi homepage. This is the first thing they see, so it’s worth your time to log in.
- Use the “Like”, “Share”, “Pin” and “Tweet” buttons to make your homepage social.
- Disseminate information by requiring customers to register on social networking sites when logging into your Wi-Fi.
- Attract customers by sharing offers, customized for each social networking site so that their friends can also share.
- Retain customers and acquire new customers by requesting reviews.
All of these features are native to the Bloom Intelligence Platform, and they help build positive connections between your customers and social network members.
Twitter is another great restaurant marketing platform. It allows you to post images and text, so you can share quick messages with any image you want to share.
Twitter allows you to interact with your guests through quick and simple messages. If you don’t have much time and want to start, Twitter is a good choice. More strategies are as follows!
Get a Website
You can maximize website traffic and acquire new customers by paying attention to website rankings. The process of improving a website’s ranking is called search engine optimization (SEO).
Your customers with original, educational, entertaining, and engaging content are essential. Include keyword phrases that your customers will search for, such as Italian restaurants in Atlanta.
Make sure that the key phrase flows naturally and smoothly in the sentence and does not sound forced. Write naturally and you will be fine.
It is also important that other websites link to your website. Find local directories and other websites to link to your website.
A smart way to think about SEO link building is that if you post entertaining, educational, and engaging content, others will naturally link to you.
Google My Business
Google My Business is a free and easy tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online status on Google, including search and maps.
It allows you to manage your information, which will be displayed when someone searches for your brand or your Google Maps location (see picture).
In addition, companies that use Google My Business to verify their information are twice as likely to be considered reputable by consumers. All you need to do is create a free Google account (if you don’t already have one), log in and declare your business.
You can enter all your business information at once. You can even create events and posts that will appear in search results.
If you are marketing a restaurant, this is an integral part of your marketing strategy. This strategy is also very suitable for attracting new customers.
Newsletters and Email Marketing
If you do not create a customer list with contact information, you may waste money. Place a form on your website that allows customers and prospects to sign up for the newsletter.
Then send them an email newsletter. Always be consistent with relevant and engaging content. Some restaurant owners will include coupons or special offers in their newsletters to attract readers.
Newsletters are an effective form of email marketing, and consistency is essential. If you choose to send emails monthly, please make sure they are sent on the same day each month.
Try to get as many email marketing subscribers as possible. Therefore, please consider adding rewards to all new subscribers, such as free desserts.
Also, if possible, make sure to display the registration form prominently on every page of the website.
Bring The Contests On
Holding a competition is a great way to promote your restaurant. I would recommend online/offline competitions.
This just means starting a game in your physical restaurant and customers can share it online. Imagine a customer with a huge social network constantly uploading content related to your restaurant. Hosting a competition will make your restaurant well known.
Find Out To Local Food Bloggers And Influencers
One of the best marketing strategies today is to use the networks of other companies. As a restaurant owner.
You can use their network by connecting with local food bloggers and influencers and letting them share content related to your restaurant.
You can provide them with incentives such as free meals to promote your brand on your network.
Get Listed On Food Apps
Due to widespread consumer demand, various food applications have emerged over the years. Consumers no longer need to go through boring catalogs or surf the Internet for a long time to find a suitable place to eat.
All they have to do these days is to install a food app and point them to the nearest restaurant. Use this wave of mobile technology to ensure your restaurant is on the list by collaborating with food apps.
Incorporating yourself into these food applications ensures that you do not lose potential customers.
Social Paying
According to Seth Godwin, “The idea that spreads wins.” Many people who enter a restaurant do so because a friend or someone recommends that restaurant.
You can take advantage of the power of word of mouth by using social payments. What exactly is the social payment? This just allows customers to pay for their food by sharing their food on their social media pages.
Imagine that ten customers each have a hundred fans, sharing their delicious dishes with your network! I guarantee that there will be a few customers who would like to try these delicacies.
