As a restaurant owner, you don’t have the time to stand on the sidewalk wearing a sign screaming at people in their cars to come eat at your restaurant.
A quick and easy way to increase awareness of your restaurant is by utilizing social media. Social media is a collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based input, interaction, content-sharing, and collaboration. In other words, social media is an online community where you and your customers can engage and share content related to your restaurant. It’s also a great place to post photos of your foods and signature cocktails of the day.
Social media has quickly become essential for restaurant marketing. If you aren’t active on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or even Tiktok, you’re missing out on opportunities to promote your business and gain new customers. It’s a quick and easy way to spread the word about your restaurant.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic forced restauranteurs and customers to pivot to more contactless ways of engaging, having a social media presence is vital to the success of a restaurant. According to BeamBox, nearly half of diners say they’ve tried a restaurant for the first time because of a social media post. Imagine how many more guests you could get to come through your doors or place a to-go or delivery order just by posting a few photos of your menu or videos of your chef cooking?
Let’s break down three ways you can use social media to promote your restaurant and attract new customers:
1. Love at First Site! Create an Instagram Account
They say we eat with our eyes first. Let’s face it, we may open a menu and read the words, but we also want to know what the meal looks like. Have your chef prepare the plates listed on your menu and take photos of each of them. Have a skilled bartender on staff? Take a video of them creating a cocktail or host an Instagram Live where your bartender shares a new in-house recipe.
Instagram can be used to reach new brand ambassadors. Have a loyal customer who constantly dines in and shares pictures of their meals? Invite them to be a brand ambassador of your restaurant and re-share their content. Re-posting customer photos is key to your restaurant marketing strategy because is shows you care what’s being said about your business, it builds a customer community, and increases engagement about your brand.
2. Join the Conversation! Be active on Twitter
Did you know that food and drink brands are mentioned the most on Twitter? Twitter is a great online community to engage with customers who have dined (or haven’t dined) at your restaurant. When a customer is raving about the great food they had, give them a shoutout and retweet (share) their content. Twitter is also a great place to acknowledge a negative comment about your restaurant, and take the constructive feedback to your team.
Twitter gives you the opportunity to jump into conversations about your restaurant, or food in general. You can identify someone who shared they are craving a juicy hamburger or a sweet treat. You can reply to their tweet and invite them into your restaurant. Encourage them to come in and try the items on your menu.
3. Video Content is King! Utilize YouTube to Share What Your Chef is Cooking Up
Take videos of what’s going on in your restaurant. Highlight an employee of the month or share a tour of the inside of your restaurant and the patio during the summer. Did your chef cook up something new? This is a great place to share the story of your brand and give the guest an inside look into your business.
People are naturally nosey – hence why reality tv is so popular. Bank off that concept by creating a YouTube series sharing the day in the life of your chef or interview guests. We love sharing content about ourselves. By creating a series of customer interviews, your guests will be encouraged to share content they are the star of with their network of followers – which in return increases your brand awareness and could lead to others wanting to pay your restaurant a visit.
Social media can be a great resource to increase brand awareness and make new customer connections. By posting one photo a day, replying to a customers tweet, or sharing an exclusive video of your chef cooking, you can reach new guests, grow customer loyalty, increase brand awareness and bring in more revenue.
Hit that like button on Twitter, the heart button on Instagram, and re-post that tagged photo. Your guests will appreciate it and feel more connected with your brand. And don’t forget to add your social media accounts to your menu or add a QR code linking to them on your tables so customers know where they can find you!
