How to make social media work for your restaurant
Restaurant owners, no matter how hard you try, there will always be hungry people in town who have never visited your restaurant. This is why it's crucial to find ways to increase your customer base, and social media marketing can go a long way in achieving this. Here are some useful tips that will help you make the most out of social media and generate more customers.
1. Use the right social media channels
Although most people use Facebook and Twitter, you can consider using other social media outlets like Instagram, Pinterest, and even Google+. Nowadays, almost every restaurant is on Facebook and Twitter to market themselves; they make use of hashtags such as #sundayfunday or #TGIF or simply tweet promotional offers.
2. Post regularly but not too often
It's best to post at least three times a day to keep people interested in your restaurant, but it doesn't mean you should overwhelm them with too many posts. You can use social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Agorapulse to schedule your posts ahead of time.
3. Use your website to direct customers
Your website should be optimized to increase customer visits and sales, so you should create a link that directs customers to social media sites like Facebook where they can become fans or follow you on Twitter or Instagram. You can even include hashtags for easier searchability.
4. Provide unique content
Customers want to see more than food photos when they follow a restaurant on social media, so provide unique content that will engage them and compel them to become fans or even share your posts with their friends. If you can't think of anything else, consider sharing useful tips for customers such as serving sizes, recipes, etiquette, and even restaurant secrets.
5. Promote special events
Use social media to promote special events such as happy hours, themed dinners, wine tastings, and more. You can even make it a contest or a game where you ask questions about your restaurant with the person who gives the most interesting answer winning a free meal or a private dinner.
6. Use online review sites
While it's important to have an online reputation, it's best to ask your customers for their opinion on special events or promotions you're offering, and then provide them with a link that directs them to the review site of their choice, like Google, Yelp, or TripAdvisor. This will help boost your restaurant's online presence and increase awareness of your brand. This way, more people will become aware of what you offer and will visit your restaurant in the future.
7. Respond to negative reviews
No matter how many positive reviews you get, there's always a chance that someone may post something negative about your restaurant or services, so make sure to respond to all of them. Provide an explanation or feedback, apologize if necessary, and thank the customer for their valuable input. If you can't solve the problem at least publicly, try to contact them privately.
Just like any other marketing strategy, social media is not a one-size-fits-all solution so you may have to experiment with certain channels to see which one works best for your restaurant. There's no reason why you can't become successful at social media marketing, so start working on it now and increase customer traffic through social media.
If you’re a restaurant owner and don't have time to manage your social media, we can help. DigiGrowth Marketing offers professional social media management services that will keep your brand fresh in the minds of potential customers by posting content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social platform where they spend their time online. Contact us at info@digigrowthmarketing or visit our website at digigrowthmarketing.com to learn more about how our team has helped dozens of restaurants grow their business through digital marketing!
