Restaurant Marketing Ideas, There are more than 100,000 restaurants across the U.S., from dive bars to Michelin five-star restaurants fast food to fusion from steakhouses to sandwiches I could talk about it for days.
Also the competition between restaurants is fierce, and you require a robust restaurant marketing strategy. My friend you’re in the right spot because this complete restaurant marketing guide is designed give you all the innovative, strategic and competitive-minded ideas you require to attract the attention of your customers, keep them satisfied and keep your customers returning.
How to promote a restaurant
There isn’t a single “best way” to market the restaurant, as it’s all dependent on the type of restaurant, your audience as well as your location however, these are the fundamental steps that every restaurant must take:
1. Create your restaurant’s brand image
Your brand’s identity is more than just your colors. It represents the personality of your business and how you present your content, and the emotions you wish to create among your clients. “Happy” is not enough. Consider the most well-known eateries:
- Taco Bell: humor and wit
- Cheesecake Factory: indulgence and excess
- Panera: freshness and health
- Olive Garden: family and the feeling of
The first step is to identify your people and then further segment your audience into distinct buyer personas that reflect the interests and lifestyles that you serve. Choose a theme and a feel that matches the personas you have created, and continue to use that theme in each article you write and in every step you perform.
2. Create a website
This is not a matter of negotiation. At a minimum, you should have a home page, about us menu, contact page. However, it is recommended to have an reviews page, a blog, photo gallery as well as a FAQ page.
We’ll go over the importance of optimizing your website later however, the most important point to remember is that your site is the primary source for customers who are currently dining out and should look professional. First impressions count!
Do you have an online presence? Learn how to enhance it using the LOCALiQ Free Website Grader.
3. Establish your mission statement
This is in line with your brand’s image, and should be a written statement that explains the goal of your company. Are you trying to make healthy eating cheaper? Do you want to promote family bonds? Promote sustainability?
The mission statements should outline the services you offer, when and to whom, what you are doing to achieve it, and the method you use to do it. You can get ideas from these examples of mission statements.
4. Make sure you have your socials set up
The next step to consider to consider creating the online reputation of your business will be your social profile. The most used sites for using social media for restaurants include Facebook and Instagram However, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube as well as LinkedIn can be used by numerous companies. We have a comprehensive guide to marketing on social mediato create your profiles and get your strategy in motion.
5. Be listed on restaurant apps
Restaurant and dining apps are among the most effective free marketing tools for restaurants and getting listed by one of them means that you will be found by those with a strong desire. Dining apps let users filter extremely precisely, which is why the most important thing to do is providing as many details as you can, such as:
- Category (There are many more categories than the eight listed in the chart above from Thrillist.)
- Website
- Address and telephone
- Store hours
- Menu
- Price Range
- Photos And lots of them
- Attributes: wifi, outdoor seating, parking, special diets, etc.
In terms of which apps to be included on, the following are possible:
- Yelp (check our Complete Guide to Yelp)
- Zomato (formerly Urbanspoon)
- Open Table
- Zagat
- TripAdvisor
6. Install Google Business Profile. Google Business Profile
The establishment of your establishment’s Google Business Profile is as vital as (heck it’s probably more so in some ways than) the creation of your Yelp account. This listing lets you be featured within Google Maps, local search results, as well as the right-side Knowledge Panel in regular search results.
However, setting up an account is not sufficient. You must enhance it to make sure that you optimize your Google Business Profile if you wish it to appear within the Local 3 pack, be more prominent in Google Maps, and in fact, draw more customers to your page. It is clear that your Google listing is full of data, including
- Contact details
- Question and answer (you can create these by with your own!)
- Popular times
- Google review ( How to get more Google reviews here)
- Reviews from other sources on the internet
- Photos
- Category
- From the company (not as shown in the above image)
- Posts (also not displayed) ( Guide to Google posting here)
It is also about making sure that the information is current and accurate. Foodies love researching online. In actual fact eighty percent of people research a restaurant before they dine. It is for this reason that it is essential to make it crucial importance to ensure that all your details about your restaurant are updated and accessible,including address, phone number, hours, current menu as well as other information. The more reliable and accurate your information on the internet is more reliable, the more reliable.
7. Get a modern, practical menu online
Do not make your users scramble to locate your menu or look around to find it. Offer a clear, high-quality menu that’s up to current and precise. Not sure how? A few delivery services such as those listed below allow you the ability to post your menu online for no cost. Open Menu is another fantastic website that will help you create menus that are elegant and chic (it even provides useful social integration options, both for paid and non-paid users).
But, you’ll need to ensure that your menu available on your site, as this is often the most important thing that people want to know when they visit your website (along with location, hours and contact details).
In the absence of an excellent menu on the internet and is accessible to customers, a lot of your other strategies for marketing at restaurants are ineffective! In the present, customers requireto be able to access an internet-based menu and if they don’t, they’ll browse elsewhere. In terms of marketing strategies for restaurants tactics…
Restaurant marketing strategies
Once you’ve got the foundation you need It’s time to dig into specific methods that will assist you draw patrons to your establishment and keep returning.
1. Request reviews
The effectiveness on the internet of reviews is not doubtful and the majority of customers are always delighted to leave them. However that they do require some encouragement. This implies that soliciting reviews is a crucial component of your restaurant’s marketing plan.
Here are a few ways to accomplish this:
- Create a unique and attractive display near the mints that has an easy-to-remember URL as well as a QR code.
- Include a link and request on your site menus, coupons, punch cards, receipts and more.
- Request them in person
- Sometimes, ask on the social media posts
2. Respond to critiques
The way you react to the reviews of your customers influences the public’s perceptions of your establishment. Here are some suggestions:
- React positively to reviews that are positive to show appreciation for the feedback of your customers. to inspire them to write more.
- Thanks to customers who have left feedback both positive and negative.
- Respond quickly to negative reviews and politely and professionally. Offer to take the issue offline.
I’ve observed this working for a variety of companies, because reviewers are usually gratified by the appreciation shown, and are more generous with their criticism knowing that the restaurant’s owner is enthused by their opinions and is determined to make improvements.
3. Send an electronic newsletter
The newsletter of your restaurant can contain fresh menu options, events coming up as well as coupons, stories of customers and many more. The newsletter doesn’t have to be every week. Indeed, your customers are likely to appreciate less crowded inbox if you simply mail them a newsletter each month or as often as you like. Some quick tips:
4. Change the Facebook page of your business an online community
Businesses that have the prominent presence on social media are the ones who have the highest success, and in the highly competitive field of food that is a crime. We’ve already talked about the importance of creating a Facebook profile but it’s not about harnessing the power of Facebook to promote your restaurant. Here’s how:
- Make your page look like an advertisement: Facebook is a business directory! Complete all areas, solicit reviews and make sure it’s up-to-date.
- Post frequently: photos of customers forthcoming events, special deals and updates on hours.
- Engage your followers: Encourage discussions and respond to comments. keep track of them.
- Change your cover photo each season.
5. Programs to reward loyalty
The use of online apps to partner with encourages people to visit your restaurant by using gamification and loyalty programs for customers which give customers discounts or free purchases when they visit a certain amount of times.
Food apps with a lot of popularity that provide loyalty programs that are integrated include:
It’s also possible to go old-fashioned by handing punch cards to customers. They’re not as popular than apps but let customers know that you value them and appreciate their loyalty.
6. Local SEO
Although Google is able to determine your place of residence based on your online information, and also a user’s address is determined by their IP address does not mean that you’ll be ranked in local results for each relevant query. Also, you must do the following for your local SEO
- Be included on the top local listing websites (we’ve briefly discussed this previously).
- Integrate an embedded Google Map of your location on the Contact Us page.
- Make sure you publish content that is specific to your locale often.
- Find online reviews (the top rank factor when it comes to local SEO)
- Be sure that your data is as exact as it can be across all of your online assets. Google doesn’t like inconsistencies!
7. Put money into paid ads
Running ads that are paid for on popular platforms such as Google and Facebook can get your restaurant’s name exposed to a lot of interested eyes. If you need help in incorporating the paid advertising into your marketing strategy:
- Make use of the concept of location targeting to make sure that only people who reside in specific towns or within particular area will see your advertisements (eliminating irrelevant clicks, which could cost you big dollars).
- Use these Facebook ads guidelines for eateries to make the most of Facebook’s advertising platform.
- Take a look at the article on Google local ads to ensure you’re optimizing your Google account to get the best ROI.
- Create an smartphone PPC method.
Mobile ads are typically more affordable than desktop ads and mobile ads boast remarkable rate of conversion. What’s really cool is that Google Ads allows for all kinds of mobile-specific customisation along with targeting possibilities that allow you to make the most of your ads.
For instance, you can raise your bids during dinnertime as people are usually seeking fast food using their mobile phones. By increasing your bids in the evening hours will increase the chances of appearing for a certain search.
It means that you’ll be the first advertisement to appear for an “pizza” search when pie-hungry customers are searching for an opportunity to eat. If you’re a restaurant marketing professional Don’t be averse to eating a piece of the mobile advertising pie (we’re talking about deep dish).
8. Create your own blog
The idea of starting a blog is a fantastic method to create a connections and interact the customers. Blogs are a great way to explore the personality and voice of your restaurant.
Write about your triumphs and challenges with funny stories, recipes as well as anything else you think will interest your patrons.
A blog is a big undertaking but it does not need to be. Maintain your blog as easy or complicated that you’d like.
It’s not necessary to keep posting regularly (quality is more important than quantity) however it’s a good idea to have a restaurant blog up and running on occasions when you’ve got an announcement or a news item you wish to spread to the world. If you’re looking to take to the next level, take a look at some more tips for blogging here.
9. Marketing strategies for offline
Do not forget about the physical world when you write your restaurant’s marketing strategy! These strategies are still very successful, especially in the case of a local eatery.
- Postcards
- Menus
- Care packages
- Free samples
- Local radio, newspaper, and television
Restaurant marketing tips
Let’s take these tactics one step further by introducing some simple and inventive restaurant marketing strategies.
10. Foodie photos
If you’ve ever been on Instagram and you’ve ever seen a picture of food, you’ll realize that food poop has been around for a while.
Perhaps the best method to market your restaurant online is to use gorgeous, high-quality images that make you drool. Visual content is highly sought-after nowadays and having beautiful images on your website as well as across social media platforms is vital to attract attention.
Beware that making great food-related photos isn’t as easy as it seems, because lighting is often a crucial aspect. Hire a professional to capture some amazing photos or go DIY fashion with your phone (you could use our tips for taking photos of food items! ).
11. Offer coupons and discounts
Offering discounts and coupons for your establishment is an excellent way to keep customers to your establishment. Give a free meal to your brand new subscriber to your newsletter.
Alternately, you could offer a discount on Groupon and Living Social – if you choose to do this you’ll gain a ton of publicity, however you’ll pay some of the proceeds to the deal site and keep this in mind.
12. Review your experiences and share them with others.
The number as well as the quality influence the way you rank in search results and whether or not customers decide to click through your results however the content of those reviews is a great marketing material.
The reviews can be synced with your website, post reviews on social media and even integrate reviews about specific dishes on your menu.
13. Be an Insta-ham
Marketing on Instagram for restaurants is an obvious choice.
Display your storefront and show off your most popular recipes, and utilize this platform as a chance to explore your brand’s image. For instance, an all-natural health food store might consider taking photos of people kayaking cooking, fishing, or any other activity that you believe your customers will appreciate.
Be sure to play around by using hashtags regardless of whether you are embracing the excitement of well-known Twitter hashtags such as #ThrowbackThursday, or creating hashtags of your own, hashtags can be a great method to enjoy some time with followers.
It’s a must-have for anyone working in the food industry. discover more information on the marketing on Instagram here.
14. Food blogger outreach
If you’re a brand new restaurant that’s new, you might find it difficult to create reviews and generate excitement for your business. One way to gain reviews and attention online is by inviting food critics to your restaurant to offer the restaurant a shot or offer an appetizer or meal for free to bring them to come in.
Be polite and ask them whether they’d like to rate your restaurant and post their experiences on the internet.
You shouldn’t solicit a positive review since that isn’t honest, but it’s acceptable to solicit an objective review of their restaurant. Some bloggers might not accept your request however the more you request, the greater your chances of receiving positive feedback, and also generating more interest on the internet.
Some food bloggers have large followings and gaining their attention could be a huge impact on the restaurant. Just one article or mention by a prominent foodie could be a big boost impact on the promotion of your restaurant.
15. Display your staff
In this age of automated customer service representatives, and soon self-driving vehicles the human factor is greatly lacking. Display your staff as 5-stars performing their best work! A staff that is happy and smiling can do wonders for your image and customers want to serve happy staff members.
The act of displaying your happy employees is a great way to build your reputation Happy employees say much about the company and your customers are likely to be impressed.
16. Share positive press
Another key restaurant marketing trick When you’re mentioned in a newspaper or magazine, make sure to highlight your excellent publicity on your website as well as on your social channels. People will share the news and potential customers are enticed to come visit in person when they see reputable sources that praise your establishment.
17. Social media contests
The most important thing to remember when doing Facebook and giveaways on Instagram is to provide an attractive prize. Do not give away a dull gift card, instead offer something unique like free food, extra pizza and dinner for two or swag, free delivery for one month. and many more.
Invite people to participate by tagging and posting about your company and/or with your company’s hashtag Instagram. This is an excellent way to increase the number of followers you have and reach your local market. Find more Local social media advertising strategies here.
18. Source local ingredients
Customers love hearing that they’re eating locally, and getting local ingredients close by can help to build your fan base and improve your image in the community. If it’s within your budget, you should definitely think about this alternative!
19. Work together to provide delivery services
In this day and age of digital-driven technology accessibility is the main goal for the day. Numerous online delivery services simplify the ordering process and online-savvy customers often appreciate using these delivery services.
Think about partnering with companies like:
- Seamless
- Eat24
- Foodler
- Delivery.com
- GrubHub
Customers may come across you for the very first time by using services like these!
20. Trivia nights
Trivia nights that are held monthly or weekly are always a big hit at restaurants. Provide great prizes for the winners, and good music in between and then promote it on social media as well as your newsletters to help spread the word.
21. Business cards from the Fishbowl are a great giveaway
Customers can drop their business cards in the bowl to make a raffle. The prize can be varied from a meal for the winner, a lunch for 10 other friends, or a two-hour happy hour that includes discounted drinks, or whatever you want!
The raffles aren’t just enjoyable, but you can make use of the business cards by contacting your customers. Inform them that even if they did not be successful at this point, they could sign up to your newsletter and be informed of the next time they can take part, as well as the chance to learn about other discounts or other offers they’ll love. And voila – you’ve got yourself a plethora of important new newsletter members!
22. Start a food truck
Food trucks aren’t for the faint-hearted It’s a huge undertaking and, based on the type of truck you’re planning to purchase, it could be very expensive. However, launching with a food truck allows you to offer your food to people who may not normally come into contact with. It allows you to greatly expand your reach, gain more publicity, and also gain new followers who could be so enthralled with your food that they decide to patronize your brick and mortar store too!
23. Make national holidays more interesting by being creative.
There are numerous awareness-raising events and celebration days in every month which are friendly to restaurants. Here are a few, to name a few.
- National Food Safety Month in September
- National Pizza Day in February
- International Beer Day in August
- National Baked Scallops Day in March
- National Picnic Day in April
and this list continues. And on. And on. We’re talking, about National Corn Chip Day, National Glazed Spiral Ham Day, and Chicken Tetrazzini Day. You could make a day of it with these. Below are some marketing strategies that are based on the seasons.
Final restaurant marketing tips for restaurants
We’ll end with some important tips that will aid you in saving time, keep your reputation in good standing and make the most out of every penny and second you invest in advertising your restaurant.
24. Encourage the creation of content by users
UGC (also known as user-generated content) (lovingly known as UGC) is a fantastic opportunity to create a an intimate and personal relationship with customers. Create a photo contest asking your customers to post photos of their most memorable meal at your restaurant and then post the submissions on a separate page for content (and/or upload them to your social media platforms). You could consider awarding random contestants a free meal or some other prizes!
Hosting and promoting content created by users will show customers that you value your customers by turning visitors to devoted fans.
25. Utilize online reservation tools
One restaurant that is a fine dining suggestion is to think about enrolling for open Table. Open Table is an online reservation tool that allows customers make reservations for your restaurant on the internet! Customers love that you can make life more convenient for them. Open Table already has a collection of loyal customers that which you can draw from.
26. Time the Tweets
Twitter is a real delight for restaurants and the timing of your tweets could have a huge impact in the stomachs of hungry diners. Make sure to schedule tweets for different times of the day to focus on the lunch, breakfast, as well as dinner customers (depending on the food items you’re offering).
27. Monitor your online reputation
The most crucial points to keep in mind in the area of the field of restaurant advertising is that there exist many websites where people can comment and review your business, even in the absence of an account on the platform! In order to manage managing your managing your reputation it is possible to:
- Google regularly to spot any listings created by auto that require to be registered so that you can manage their information.
- Create Google Alerts to alert you whenever your company’s name (or any other keyword you choose to use) appears in a brand new piece of content published on the internet.
- Make sure you invest in pay-per-click tools for managing social media like Hootsuite and Buffer to keep track of mentions, posts as well as direct message.
How do you market a restaurant? [summary]
Below are some steps for how to advertise the restaurant:
- Design your restaurant’s brand identity
- Create a website
- Establish your mission statement
- Make sure you have your socials set up
- Be listed on restaurant apps
- Install Google Business Profile. Google Business Profile
- Get a modern, practical online menu
Here are the top tips and strategies for marketing in restaurants:
- Ask for feedback
- Respond to critiques
- Send an electronic newsletter
- Make the Facebook page of your business an online community
- Programs to reward loyalty
- Local SEO
- Make an investment in ads that are paid
- Create with a blog
- Marketing strategies for offline
- Foodie photos
- Coupons and discounts are available.
- Write a review and share it with your friends.
- Be an Insta-ham
- Food blogger outreach
- Let your staff shine!
- Share positive press
- Social media giveaways
- Join forces with delivery services
- Trivia nights
- Business cards from the Fishbowl are a great giveaway
- Start an food truck
- Be creative when it comes to national days
- Final restaurant marketing tips for restaurants
- Encourage the creation of content by users
- Online reservation tools
- Timing those tweets
- Online reputation monitoring
This concludes the restaurant’s marketing guidelines. We hope you will be able to put these tips for marketing in restaurants to great use!
