Social Media Marketing for Restaurants: A Complete Guide

 

 

Social media marketing for restaurants has become incredibly important in the past 5 years.

The restaurants that aren’t using this powerful medium never do quite as well as their competitors that are.

You’re probably more than aware of how massive social media platforms have become and how powerful they are for getting people into venues.

Web apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even YouTube have cemented themselves as a part of our daily lives.

For many people out there, these social media apps are where they get their news and entertainment from. It’s not an exaggeration to say that millions of people are using these apps at any given moment.

However, many restaurant owners don’t think that social media is important for their business. Instead, they look to more traditional methods of marketing like email marketing and handing out coupons.

But if you look at any social media platform today, you’ll find thousands of restaurants on there that are trying to cultivate a following for themselves.

 

 

The truth of the matter is that having a strong online presence will make your restaurant a recognizable brand. It gives you a chance to show your customers exactly what they’re missing out on.

Now you might have noticed that one of the main issues with social media marketing is the sheer number of businesses that have created profiles online.

Unfortunately, a lot of these profiles don’t get much attention at all, and over time, the restaurant owners tend to leave these platforms alone because it’s just not worth the time and effort.

But all social media platforms are just a metaphorical gold mine that’s waiting to be discovered. So how do you ‘tap’ into this gold vein? In order to do that, you need to ask yourself one question:

 

How do I make my restaurant stand out amongst the rest?

 

The key to excellent social media marketing for restaurants is to ensure that your platform is more fun, exciting, and rewarding to follow than your competitors.

The best way to do this is to show your customers your restaurant’s unique flavor.

Some restaurants are cozier and tend to focus on making their customers feel at home while others aim for a fine dining experience to allow their dinners to enjoy a fancy night out.

We’re sure that your restaurant has its own unique atmosphere too. To get people interested in your restaurant you need to make sure that your online platforms exhibit this atmosphere.

 

Give them a taste of what your restaurant’s all about.

We’ve listed 7 tips to help you improve your social media marketing strategies. You can jump to the sections below by clicking on the links:

 

1. Start by sprucing up your social media accounts and making them as attractive as possible
2. You need to create social media accounts that promote interaction
3. Make a highlight reel of some of your restaurant’s biggest events
4. Create a new restaurant theme every month and get your followers involved in deciding what the next theme will be
5. Giveaways and discount coupons are a great way to get people to follow your profile
6. Try to use as many videos and pictures as you can to showcase your exquisite menu
7. Bloc is a social media platform with huge payoffs that requires minimal effort

 

1. Start by sprucing up your social media accounts and making them as attractive as possible

 

Before you start coming up with ideas for your social media marketing strategy, you need to ensure that your online profiles are pleasing to the eye.

When people are scrolling through their feed, they will have a ton of content to go through. This means that they won’t notice your posts unless you make them eye-catching.

A good way you can do this is by including a mix of different content to appeal to as many people as possible.

 

 

Try to include pictures of your events, any parties that your restaurant might have hosted, and post food and decor images.

You could also post pictures of any offers and holiday specials that you’re hosting. After a while, you’ll start to figure out which content gets the most attention, and you could shift your focus to those posts.

But when you do this make sure that your feed in general looks good and it’s on brand.

 

2. You need to create social media accounts that promote interaction

 

We’re sure that you’re aware of the fact that you need to make your content SEO friendly if you want it to be recommended on Google.

However, the algorithm of most social media platforms is quite complex.

Although putting in keywords is a must, these platforms will recommend posts based on whether or not your audience interacts with your account.

This interaction can include making a comment, liking your post, or sharing it with their friends.

So how do you increase interaction?

 

 

There are a variety of useful tools on these platforms that can help you do this.

For example, Twitter allows you to post polls on your feed. This gives you a great way to get your customers involved while also getting a feel of what their preferences are.

You could also host a competition to let the audience decide what dish to add to your menu.

You can also ask questions in your captions to spark converstion. If someone replies, answer them with another question and keep the conversation going to maximise engagement.

Let the audience vote using the poll and at the end, you could announce the winning dish and offer a free discount coupon to the top of the contest.

The possibilities are endless so take a look at your resources and see what you can do.

 

3. Make a highlight reel of some of your restaurant’s biggest events

 

Restaurants are lively places for people to enjoy themselves and enjoy some delicious food.

In order to market your restaurant online, you need to show your followers what you have to offer them, and a highlight reel is a great way to do this.

Think back on the history of your restaurant and try to pinpoint some of the main events.

 

 

This could be anything like the restaurant’s grand opening or a special event that you hosted.

This reel could be a short video that gives your followers a summary of the events or just a beautiful collage of photos.

You could even get your followers involved by asking them to share some of their favorite memories at your restaurant. Just make it a point to post images that focus on your food and on the lively atmosphere of your restaurant.

 

4. Create a new restaurant theme every month and get your followers involved in deciding what the next theme will be

 

A new theme is always an excellent method that you can use to change things up.

You could change your decor, put a few unique food items in your menu that are based on the event and add a few theme-specific events to your line up.

When you’re choosing a theme keep in mind that you need to pick something that your audience will enjoy.

Making this choice is much easier during the holiday season because you can base your theme on the season however the tricky bit is coming up with themes outside of that time.

 

 

One recommendation is that you could try to look for any celebrations that are unique to your town or city and build a theme.

You could even look at a few special days that are celebrated in other places and introduce a bit of their food into your menu.

Remember to keep your core audience in mind when choosing a theme and have a brainstorming session with your staff to come up with ideas.

Additionally, allow your followers to choose which theme they would like for the next month as this goes a long way in promoting interaction.

 

5. Giveaways and discount coupons are a great way to get people to follow your profile

 

Earlier we mentioned that in order to have a good number of followers your account needs to be ‘rewarding’.

A great way to incentivize your customers to come to your account is to use discount coupons and giveaways.

This ‘reward’ is primarily a way to attract customers and encourage them to go to your restaurant.

But bear in mind that you need to be certain that your discounts will allow you to make a profit.

Simply giving your customers the occasional discount will not ensure a steady supply of customers, instead, you must show them why your restaurant is worth going to.

 

 

For example, you could host a contest that would give the winners front seats to a special event in your restaurant.

Another alternative is to ask your followers to sign up for a raffle competition. To enter the competition all they need to do is like the post and leave a comment about their favorite meal on your menu or about anything else.

You can choose as many winners as you’d like. Partnering with another company that sells products like beverages will allow you to expand the range of goodies that you can offer your followers.

Come up with creative ways to use discounts and giveaways so that you’re introducing your customers to your restaurants while also giving them an incentive to come.

 

6. Try to use as many videos and pictures as you can to showcase your exquisite menu

 

The heart of a restaurant is its food.

There’s no better place to show off your food (other than your restaurant itself) than the different social media marketing platforms available for restaurants.

The great thing about social media marketing for restaurants is that you’re allowed to give your followers a glimpse into the kitchen.

Videos and pictures are an excellent way to do this. This will also give a ton of content to post so that your social media account stays up to date. Just be certain that all of the content you post online is of high quality.

 

 

When you’re creating videos try to make different types of videos for all your social media platforms.

Instagram generally has shorter videos that give the users small glimpses of content whereas a platform as YouTube is a video platform and thus you could post longer videos on there.

Additionally, you want to make sure that your feed is filled with plenty of mouth-watering pictures of your menu because at the end of the day your food should be the main focus of your account.

 

7. Bloc is a social media platform with huge payoffs that requires minimal effort

 

If you’re frustrated with trying to come up with social marketing strategies and content for your restaurant, then Bloc may be of interest. If you’re looking for a way to get customers into your restaurant as soon as possible without the workload of social media platforms like Instagram then Bloc is a ‘create and let ride’ platform.

Simply create an ad on Bloc and allow Bloc’s users to find your restaurant and check-in via the app.

 

 

Bloc’s USP is that it pays its users to check-in to restaurants if they actually go, so it’s a pay-per-result platform.

We give our users incentives in the form of stars when they go to a restaurant that we partner with.

This means that once you use our services, you’re guaranteed to get customers. We also recommend restaurants to our customers with respect to their location, so you’ll be able to build a customer base that includes a ton of local residents.

 

Summing up

 

We hope that this article on social media marketing for restaurants has helped you to spruce up your social media platforms.

Remember that you need to be persistent to keep your platforms alive. Be sure to post as often as you can to get the algorithm on your side. Working with these platforms does take a bit of trial and error so be patient.

Social media marketing for restaurants is quite tricky because you’re trying to market your food and your atmosphere. Plus, each restaurant has its own special feel that you need to experience in order to truly know if you like the restaurant.

 

 

Bring some of your restaurant’s charm to your social media followers, and you’re sure to get customers coming in.

Like this article but want more information? Not to worry, we have a blog filled to the brim with informative articles for restauranteurs looking for ways to improve their marketing strategies.

Additionally, consider checking out Bloc for a surefire way to attract customers. Just give our free trial a go to see whether or not this app is the perfect fit for you.