How to use Social Media Campaigns to Boost Your Restaurant Sales
With the internet at such a prolific and omnipresent level as it is today, it has the amazing ability to connect businesses and shoppers at a level never previously imagined. It’s important, and in many ways, crucial, that businesses take advantage of the internet to attract and maintain a customer base. One of the most powerful tools that the internet offers to help attract potential customers is social media.
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and other similar social media channels are essentially millions of potential customers that will be missed out on if businesses do not take advantage of these tools to hook them in and make them loyal customers. This is especially true for restaurants. People love to try new restaurants and perhaps love to discover great ones even more. For this reason, social media for restaurants is a must in their online promotional strategies. Online marketing for restaurants through these social media tools can increase the positive “buzz” that can ultimately result in the exponential growth and success of your restaurant.
Use Social Media to Increase Your Restaurant’s Cash Flow
Marketing techniques essentially aim at driving targeted customers through the doors of your business. This can be done by creating a creative and dynamic visual brand – a process that can be facilitated greatly through the use of social media. In addition to simply getting the word out and letting people know that your restaurant exists, other strategies can prove useful in promoting your restaurant as well. These include reaching out to your customers who share positive feedback to thank them and to ask them what they like, and replying to negative comments by asking what can be improved. Such a relationship can go a long way in establishing a positive vibe for your restaurant. Making your customers feel like a part of your restaurants success will make them loyal, repeat visitors. This can be also done by giving followers glimpses of upcoming changes, or offering free tasting sessions. Other “fans or followers-only” promotions such as contests and special deals can also help connect your restaurant with potential customers by establishing the ever-important initial rapport between owner and customer, or in this case, chef and connoisseur. Social media for restaurants allows for a more interactive experience with a restaurant’s customer base, and can ultimately propel a restaurant into becoming a popular and in-demand hot-spot.
As humans, we ask our friends for some recommended restaurants or simply search on Google for some good places to eat and look up online reviews. Along with promoting your brand on social media channels, these review websites should not be ignored. Some of these websites include TripAdvisor, Urban Spoon, Zagat and your own Google reviews and Facebook reviews.
Food Lovers Can Grow Your Restaurant Brand on Social Media
Finding the best places to eat has never been easier for people, so restaurants have to take advantage of this fact by promoting their online presence to attract the food-lovers that will in turn rave about your food, which will ultimately optimize the restaurant’s success. Make sure you have a mobile strategy in place to attract hungry out of town visitors. They are most likely new to town and search on their mobile phones to find a closet restaurant or their favorite Mexican food, whatever the choice is you have an opportunity to invite them to your restaurant using mobile advertising strategy.
If you are not on social media there is no better time to sign up than now, follow these steps keeping in mind that you are using social media marketing to communicate, engage new food enthusiasts and retain existing clients.
A Solid Social Media Strategy is Key to Your Success
Build a social media strategy plan for the entire year, plan the strategy observing your busy months vs holidays and low season. Look at what other marketing efforts you put in the past and the outcome. Identify your target audience, are they students? Or families with kids or corporate clients? Your target audience are highly fragmented on various social channels. Find a best medium to communicate your message without overwhelming them. Remember you are trying to be a friend. Do Not Sell.
Setup for your social media accounts today, if you need help with Facebook setup, Twitter setup, Facebook paid advertising or a B2B corporate Social Media strategy on LinkedIn please give us a call.