Social media, the single biggest tech innovation of the last decade, has changed the way restaurants are marketed. In the world of reviews and food delivery being a click away, the modicum of marketing has to take on a completely new persona.
The first step towards creating a social media brand presence is developing a plan. You can’t simply just sign up and start posting content. This will mess up your reach and ruin your marketing efforts.
Here are some quick social media strategy tips:
- Firstly, choose the right platforms. There are various platforms out there with different groups of people. Choose the ones that hold your target market.
- Don’t just post about yourself. Create a social media schedule around topics on which you can post in order to market your restaurant brand.
- Use paid marketing. Using it on the right platforms can really pay-off and get a restaurant huge amounts of traffic.
- Hashtags and location pins are important. Find the hashtags that cater to your industry and you will be reaching a whole new range of potential customers. Additionally, location pins help the restaurant be discovered by diners who are exploring those particular locations.
- Run promotions. Be it an introductory offer or an end of the year discount, the current generation is heavily decisive in their consumerist choices based on promotions.
Platform-based strategies
While the above-mentioned tips work for all social media platforms, there are certain methodologies to be followed when it comes to individual platforms.
A huge amount of the urban population decides where to eat from via Facebook. So if you use it right, your business will surely face a massive boom. Studies show that video content has the best possible reach on FB.
The holy grail for millennials. If your restaurant serves fancy and well-styled dishes then you should heavily concentrate on this platform. Food images are some of the most shared posts on this platform, so it is the perfect ground to market your restaurant. Instagram stories also have a huge amount of organic reach. Going live from your kitchen, sharing behind the scenes will also help garner a lot of attention.
This is where the idea of the hashtag was originally generated, so by using hashtags related to the restaurant industry you will be able to quickly generate a massive number of followers. It is an amazing platform to engage with diners as well as other brands, and showcase a witty side of a restaurant.
But what has really changed?
These tips above can change the presence of your online persona, but how does it reflect on your real-life business? Oftentimes the online world can be flashier than it actually is. And this is where a lot of restaurants lose out on their customer base.
Don’t use that extravagant filter or add custom animation to make your food look better than what it is. Good food will always win over people and if you serve it with love and care customers will always return to you.
But at the same time, you will need to match the demands of the current generation when it comes to marketing. Run offers, give discounts and provide other benefits and you will surely face success through your social media marketing.
