Top Tips For Promoting a Restaurant on Social Media

‍

Introduction

In today's digital age, promoting your restaurant on social media is an essential marketing strategy. With social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you can reach a vast audience, engage with your customers, and drive more foot traffic to your establishment. However, it can be challenging to stand out among the thousands of other restaurants on social media.

With the right approach and techniques, you can boost your restaurant's online presence and attract more customers. In this article, we'll share some top tips for promoting your restaurant on social media and help you find success.

‍

Get Customers Posting About You

When it comes to food and dining, Instagram is a very popular social media platform in which customers can engage with restaurants. This includes photos of people eating in the restaurant, its interior design, and its food. There are many ways to encourage customers to post social media content about your restaurant. Let's delve deeper into how to get these customers consistently posting.

Promotions are a good way to get shared posts or likes easily. An example of this is a "£1 Burger" promotion or a "Bring-A-Friend" promotion, where customers get something for free. It's good publicity since it can reach thousands of people with a domino effect caused by social media engagement.

Having amazing food at reasonable prices can also get people raving and posting about your restaurant online. However, something that most Instagram or social media influencers like are a restaurant's interiors. If it is aesthetically pleasing, they will post content about your restaurant with a tagged location.

‍

Keep Your Followers Engaged With Quality Content

Maintaining an active presence on social media is crucial to keep your followers engaged. If you remain inactive for too long, you may lose engagement with your followers, resulting in fewer likes and shares for your restaurant's social media page. Therefore, it is recommended that you post content at least three times a week to prevent this from happening.

The type of content you post is also essential, and you need to know what appeals to your followers. This could be anything from memes related to your restaurant, aesthetically pleasing photos of your restaurant's food or interiors, to videos showcasing your kitchen, chefs and their backgrounds. However, be cautious not to reveal any secret techniques.

Short videos, usually less than a minute, are currently more preferred over long ones. The key is to keep it brief as most people have a very short attention span, and they can easily scroll past your content if they lose interest.

‍

Be Reachable and Provide Basic Information

A restaurant with good customer service will be raved about on social media. The last thing you would want to have on your social media page is a lack of contact information, especially if your restaurant offers reservations. Make sure to include the following on your social media page:

• Restaurant Logo and Graphics - for easy recognition
• Include detailed hours of operation - especially for holidays
• The exact location of your restaurant
• Contact information - phone and email
• Website (if applicable)

Besides those listed above, responding to inquiries in social media chats is also very important. Facebook offers automated responses for the most common questions asked.

‍

Turn Loyal Customers into Ambassadors

Social media is a two-way street. Having someone with a good following on a social media platform (such as Instagram) serve as your 'ambassador' will only mean good things for your restaurant. This ambassador shall get free or discounted food or drinks for their next visit.

When doing this, however, be sure to start with the locals. It won't make sense to be promoted on social media by someone on the other side of the world. However, if you start with a local Instagram influencer, the word gradually spreads out, and your potential customers' radius gets bigger and bigger. 

‍

Posting Photos is the Best Way to Get Online Engagement

Canva, an online graphic design tool, has researched that Facebook posts with images receive 2.3 times more engagement than those without. But, of course, who would want to read a wall of text anyway, especially in today's age?

Showcasing your food in great shots can prove a superior way of producing content for your social media page. Investing in a local photographer or a good camera can be a good investment as food is primarily visual. Visually-appealing food images can get someone craving and flock to your restaurant. 

A good reminder is that you should be truthful with photos of your food. Don’t be like the usual fast-food chains with their expectations vs. reality results. Do not copy or use photos from other restaurants as well.

‍

Gather Feedback/Reviews and Monitor Them

Today, people love sharing everything: their experiences, what they eat, their mood, where they're going, etc. 

You've got to capitalise on that but, at the same time, avoid bothering your customers when you are asking for reviews or feedback. A restaurant needs to gather feedback but ask at the right moment. When you do, you’ll surely be rewarded.

Social media marketing shows that 93% of consumers admit that online reviews impact their decisions, and 84% of consumers trust online reviews as personal recommendations. This is a big customer base, so you need to start monitoring reviews once you get them.

Replying to good or bad reviews is important. But, be sure not to pull an Amy's Baking Company and attack your customers who leave bad reviews! Instead, take criticism constructively and try to improve on their feedback because the customer is always right. 

‍

Create quality visual content

Creating quality visual content for your restaurant can help your business grow in several ways.

First, it can help attract new customers by showcasing your restaurant's food and ambiance in an appealing way. High-quality visuals can make your food look more appetizing and your restaurant more inviting, which can encourage people to visit. We’re sure you’ve seen pictures of tasty food online and been instantly drawn to the restaurant/vendor serving it? Well, this time, it could be your customers looking at your food.

Second, quality visual content can help build brand recognition and loyalty. By consistently posting high-quality images and videos on social media, you can establish a recognizable and consistent brand identity that resonates with your target audience.

Lastly, quality visual content can help set your restaurant apart from competitors. In a crowded market, visually stunning content can make your restaurant stand out and attract customers looking for a unique and memorable dining experience.

One idea to create quality visual content for your restaurant is to hire a professional food photographer. This person can help capture high-quality images of your restaurant's food, drinks, and ambiance, which can be used on your website, social media accounts, and marketing materials.

‍

Final Thoughts

Promoting your restaurant on social media is just as important as the food you serve, do not overlook it! Put time and effort into your restaurant's Facebook, YouTube, Tiktok, and Instagram profiles.  By following these tips, you can get customers posting about your restaurant, keep your followers engaged with quality content, provide basic information to be reachable, turn loyal customers into ambassadors, post photos to get online engagement, and gather feedback and monitor reviews. Utilising these strategies can help you build a strong social media presence and attract more customers to your restaurant. Remember to always prioritise good customer service and take feedback constructively to continuously improve your restaurant.

‍

‍

‍