Recent studies show that 55% to 60% of restaurants fail within the first three years. It’s an extremely competitive industry, so marketing is a top priority for restaurant owners and managers.
More and more, people are looking for information online when deciding where to eat out. If your restaurant doesn’t have a solid online presence, you will likely have a hard time attracting customers.
The online marketing tips for restaurants can help you to reach more potential customers from a digital marketing agency in Brooklyn.
Encourage Customers to Share Their Experiences
When it comes to digital marketing, potential customers don’t have to take your word for how great your restaurant is. They can look to the social media posts of people they already know and trust.
Encourage customers to like and follow your social media accounts and to post content of their own about your food, beverages, and customer service. You can offer incentives like coupons or contests in order to get them to share. For instance, advertise that you will give away a free gift card at the end of the month for the best Instagram photo of your food. Qualifying posts must include your chosen hashtag. This is a great way to spread your marketing far and wide, and it inspires loyalty among your current customers.
Promote Your Menu Items with Photos and Video
If pictures are worth a thousand words, videos are worth even more. In the restaurant industry, high-quality photography is incredibly important for marketing. Dining is a sensory experience, and that experience begins with the presentation of the food. When you tempt people with beautiful photos of your food, they want to experience the food themselves.
Give them a reason to come into your restaurant by showing them photos or videos of new menu items they haven’t tried yet. Post this content on your blog and social media. You can make these posts especially enticing by offering a time-sensitive discount on the advertised items.
Take Advantage of Local SEO
Restaurants serve specific neighborhoods, so it’s very important that you use local SEO to your advantage. Use location-specific keywords in your website copy, blog posts, and social media posts so you’ll show up in local searches (example: “Brooklyn sandwich shop”).
You can also use geo-targeted ads on Facebook and on other social media platforms. Your ads will only be seen by people in your geographic location. It’s also possible to further enhance your geo-targeted ads on Facebook by targeting people who like certain pages.
Engage in Employee Appreciation
Some restaurants have had great success with engaging in online employee appreciation, and this can be a great strategy, especially since the staff are so integral to a restaurant’s success.
Take photos of your staff working with your menu items and products. Then post these pictures on your social media with short descriptions of what’s going on. Your chefs, waitresses, busboys, and hostesses will feel appreciated, and you’ll exhibit that you’re an establishment that values the people you employ. It also shows that your restaurant is a fun, people-friendly place to be.
Review Your Current SEO
If you already have a website, blog, and social media, review your current content to make sure it aligns with your marketing goals and up-to-date SEO best practices. Algorithms and search engine preferences change from time to time, so it’s important that you regularly review your SEO.
If you haven’t recently had an SEO analysis, sign up here. Our free SEO analysis will help you to see what your site’s weak points are and what you can do to outshine your competitors. For more information, reach out to us at Park Slope Softworks, your Brooklyn digital marketing company.
