Six Restaurant Marketing Ideas to Supercharge Your Social Media

Perhaps the biggest problem with social media is that there is just so much of it. With so many platforms to keep up with, how do you know you’re maximizing your results?

Here are six restaurant marketing ideas to supercharge your social media. How many do you do?

1. Connect with Other Businesses and Organizations

Why on earth would you link to another restaurant? Well that restaurant likely has an established following that may not have heard of you. By doing something as simple as collaborating with them on a local specialty, your reach on social media now includes their audience.

It can also be for any other engagement you have in the community. Do you support the local little league? Mention them in your social media for added credibility and exposure. It’s a restaurant marketing idea that’s a win-win for all involved.

2. Engage with Your Customers

It can be easy to get stuck in the routine of just running a good restaurant and forgetting about how your customers perceive you as a restaurant. In terms of restaurant marketing, social media is a brilliant way to have a conversation with your customer – we promise you they will not be short of opinions.

You may see your restaurant as just a normal business, but remember, to a diner, there is always a glimmer of intrigue about what happens behind the scenes.

Talk to them as you would a friend. Introduce yourself and make an honest attempt to talk to your customers with an open mind. You’ll find out about all sorts of things – old dishes they miss, wishing you were open earlier on a certain night, even good experiences with your staff.

All of this helps you improve your customer experience, while putting a very human element to your brand. What will follow is happier returning customers who have been shown to spend 300 percent more by RJ Metrics.

3. Manage Your Reputation

According to GoDine, 62 percent of diners said that online reviews were the number one thing they considered when deciding on a restaurant. And while we can all admit that checking Yelp everyday may not be the most joyous task, as a restaurant marketing idea, there is a lot of value to be had.

Spend 10 minutes everyday checking and responding to reviews. Even the trivial ones. Be polite and open minded about their experience and use it as a genuine strategy to improve your operations. Consultancy Glance reports 70 percent of unhappy customers whose problems are resolved are willing to shop with a business again.

4. Keep Your Restaurant Top of Mind

In marketing, keeping your brand ‘top of mind’ means knowing that if your customer was to think of ‘restaurants’, you’d be on their short list. Social media gives this restaurant marketing idea a platform for you to gently ‘nudge’ your customers once or twice a week to remind them who you are.

Something as simple as an Instagram pic of a new meal, or a Facebook post about a nice interaction you had with a customer – it should not be a hard sell at all. It all adds up to you being one of the first places your target market thinks about when it comes to dining. Bottom line – top of mind awareness means more customers through your door.

5. Generate More Reviews

We’ve already mentioned how important reviews are, but you may not know that the number of reviews you have is equally important. The more reviews you have, the higher Google will rank you in searches for restaurants. It also boosts your credibility to the person reading the reviews, as it makes it obvious how many people dine with you.

From restaurant marketing experts Placepull: “People love to have their opinions heard and validated. And in 2019 with everyone plugged into the internet, they have a voice that can reach literally thousands of other people. Really make an effort to appeal to their ego in that you genuinely value their input. Make them feel like an expert and they will absolutely give you a review."

It's all about making your customers feel like they aren’t just customers, but part of your family.

So perhaps once a month, jump on Facebook and ask your community to put a review on Yelp. Remember to tell them that you are doing it in a genuine effort to give them a better experience. Before you know it, your presence on Google and review sites will be boosted significantly.

6. Tell Your Customers What’s Going On

That may sound like a rather vague restaurant marketing idea, but it’s all about making your customers feel like they aren’t just customers, but part of your family.

If you have a new dish, that’s your new baby to show the world. If you get a new staff member, proudly introduce them to your customers.

You may see your restaurant as just a normal business, but remember, to a diner, there is always a glimmer of intrigue about what happens behind the scenes. Peel back the curtain just a little bit and they’ll feel much more connected to you as a brand. Social Media Today tells us that brands that connect on an emotional level receive 200 percent more word of mouth marketing from their customers.

Those are six straight forward restaurant marketing ideas you can use to engage with your customers on social media on a regular basis. They are all designed for a specific purpose, so if there is one restaurant marketing idea above you think would improve something you’re neglecting, spend 10 minutes on it right now. You’ll quickly see the benefits and become much more in tune with the wants and needs of your customers.