Those days are long gone when people used to find a good restaurant while already out for dinner. It is an era of the pre-planned menu. Your customers are searching for restaurants & food joints online. Today, most people go on google and search “Restaurants near me.” They even place food orders and pre-book dine-in tables too. The online food delivery apps have contributed a lot to this shift in consumer behaviour. If you are not online yet, you are losing lots of perks of being visible to your target market. The reach via online marketing for restaurants is very high, and the cost is less. Another benefit, you can directly connect to your current & prospective customers. Move on and step into the digital world soon.
Make your digital presence as vibrant as your food platter!
Trust us, being into the food industry, has its advantages. You don’t need to sound like a serious corporate brand. An attractive ambience, tasty food, fantastic offers, and of course, an excellent digital marketing strategy for restaurants can do the trick. It’s never too late for a restaurant to start digital marketing. Most likely, your potential customer is already looking for restaurants like you. All you need to do is – be found, give them reasons to choose your restaurant over others, and treat them with delicious meals to receive repeat orders. The smartest move for your restaurant should be a mix of omnichannel digital marketing strategies to drive business and establish yourself as a brand. The ultimate goal of every restaurant is to get maximum brand loyalty customers. Your customers cannot smell your food from their place but they can definitely find you online. So, look for ways to elevate your restaurant’s digital marketing. Here is a list of practical digital marketing strategies that can be used to boost brand value and scale your restaurant business.
Let’s discuss all the digital marketing strategies to use for a restaurant’s success.
Top 9 Digital Marketing Strategies to boost your Restaurant Business
1) Connect on Social Media
Yes, social media is the top priority for the restaurants, food & QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) industry overall. Around 22% of the worldwide population is on Facebook. A huge part of your target audience is super active on Instagram. This figure and facts themselves say that you have an enormous scope to mark your presence on social media. Of course, all social media users are not your potential customers, but the fact is your prospective customers are on social media. To engage people with your restaurant, you must offer amazing deals, yummylicious food platters, show them a sneak peek of the new food cuisine in your kitchen, distribute giveaways, discounts, relate food with memes, share your real staff images and more. You can do a lot on social media for your restaurant. Pay attention to the post timings. It should be shared at the right place, at the right time, with the right people.
Pro Tip: 48.9 % of consumers find new restaurants through social networks. So that’s the direct indicator to be super active on Instagram, Facebook – these are favourite destinations to get found in the searches of your potential customers.
2. Add Interactive Video Content
To be very honest, people are not into reading long articles & blogs much now. It is a fast-forwarded era where your customers may choose to watch an interactive video rather than reading. So that’s the cue the world has been taking a turn towards video marketing. You also have the advantage of being in the food industry. Work on videos where you can display your fantastic menu, delicacies, chat with the chef, ambience coverage, showcase your restaurant’s special dish, video testimonials and more. There’s a lot you can experiment with in your interactive videos. Share them on social media for the best engagement.
Pro Tip: People spend around 80 minutes a day watching online videos in 2020 which will continue to grow in the future. 45% of consumers want videos related to what they are interested in. So that’s the direct indicator to make smart video content that will catch the eyeballs of your potential customers.
3) Get found Locally!
Yes, your customers are searching, “Restaurants near me.” more frequently than ever. List your restaurant in Google My Business and work on Local SEO. It is one of the essential digital marketing strategies for restaurants. When you have a presence in the Google listing, and local SEO is strong, it becomes effortless for your customer to reach you. The chances of getting frequent orders increase because of the high visibility of your restaurant. Through Google My Business lists, customers can directly call you, they can follow the map and reach your restaurant, and the best part, you can display your menu. This is the most searched element in any restaurant. People look for a menu and cuisine option that your restaurant offers using these listings. A seasoned SEO Agency in Pune can help you optimize your Google My Business listing and implement other key Local SEO strategies to generate brand awareness and leads locally.
Pro Tip: “Restaurants near me” is one of the most popular “near me” search queries. It receives around 6.2 million organic searches per month. Well, this statistics is a great motivation to check your market avenues in the local market with effective Local SEO strategies.
4) Appealing & Tempting Website
Correct, as tempting as your food platter. You need to put life into your restaurant’s website with amazing website design, appealing images, and easy navigation. These three factors are significant for a restaurant/hotel website. A vibe of classy ambience, multi-cuisine food, and friendly attendants should be reflected in your website’s theme. Give an option of online table booking on the website. This will be an add-on to your point of sales. Your customers are more likely to share the booking details with companions. A smart step for referral linking as well. Update your menu page frequently, have a gallery to display your ambience and foods. Keep the website updated, and SEO optimized for good organic traffic.
Pro Tip: “Restaurants near me” is one of the most popular “near me” search queries. It receives around 6.2 million organic searches per month. Well, this statistics is a great motivation to check your market avenues in the local market with effective Local SEO strategies.
5) Online Reviews Marketing
They say, ‘Word of mouth publicity is the best publicity.’ Well, this holds a lot of value in the online world now. There are many review sites where people can check about your restaurant before actually placing an order. Your customers can leave feedback in the form of comments or star ratings. The offline offerings have a direct impact on your business online. Hence, a quality service accompanied by prompt issue-resolving and online reputation management is vital for restaurants. Be available on such review sites to acknowledge the appreciation and criticism of both. Be a brand that is reliable, vibrant, and serves quality-rich delicious foods. Use review power for your restaurant.
Pro Tip: The Online review stats for restaurants suggests that -More than 33% of diners don’t choose a restaurant with less than a 4+ star rating on online review sites like Yelp, Google, and etc.
6) Place Targeted Ads
Whenever you advertise for your restaurant, try to keep it targeted. The amazing discounts & free offers are like magnets to attract foodies to your restaurant. Give them a reason to choose you over others in the ad message. Highlight your offers in the ad image and descriptions accompanied by a great call to action such as Book Your Table Now, Order Now, Grab the meal deal, Enjoy 1+1, Happy Hours are Live or more. Also, try to target your customers with a 360-degree advertising approach when aiming for big profits. Use integrated marketing communication to reach your customers extensively. Having an omnichannel approach in delivering ads is a smart move as per research all individuals switch screens and devices and we must be present on all platforms. Paid Marketing (PPC – Pay Per Click) is a smart way to entice people with offers and discounts o attract new customers whether local or on a larger geographic span. Make sure you specify your target audience correctly and keep a check on ad spend.
Pro Tip: Have you observed a change in notification patterns of food delivery apps? Well, they are becoming more weather oriented. Around 90% of the ads are based on the current weather and deals. It is a very popular trend and you must take the cherry on the cake by doing it first in your location. Don’t forget to give amazing deals along!
7) Try Influencer Marketing
When a celebrity recommends your brand to their audience, the outcomes are overwhelming. They have the power to influence their buying decisions. People will actually check your website and consider making an order or visit your restaurant. The followers/fans of celebrities do blindly trust them. Influencer Marketing is a big yes for the restaurant & food industry overall. The influencer need not be a celebrity only. It can be anyone in your niche with good connections, interactions and relations with their followers. Connect to the food bloggers, influencers with moderate or mass followers and start your restaurant promotions. Go for it!
Pro Tip: Influencer marketing influences almost 75% of user purchase decisions. Being into the food industry, Instagram is a fantastic platform to attract your target audience. Go for eye-catching food platters and tie-up with Instagram influencers based on your target market. Honestly, you can reap good benefits via associating your brand with the right influencers.
8) Add User-Generated Content
This is one of the best ways to get fresh content & engage your customers in a fun activity. Encourage your dine-in customers to click images of the food, ambience, staff and share them on social media with mentions & hashtags of our restaurant. Well, it can be done for home delivery customers too. Try to motivate them with some future perks like if you win the best click contest, you will get freebies, one dine-in dinner free, a Birthday lunch from us, etc. These perks often encourage people to participate in activities with great interests. Craft a smart strategy to use user-generated content. Displaying the best clicks on your social media handle is one such example. It is easy and adds credibility to your restaurant too.
Pro Tip: Interestingly, the user-generated content is more popular than regular social media posts. It receives 28% more engagement than other types of posts. People tend to trust recommendations more than advertisements and hence, for restaurants, it is very important to encourage customers to share their opinions and images on social media. In fact, it gives a long term credibility factor to your restaurant’s brand.
9) Email Marketing
There is nothing professional yet personal like Emails. Stay connected to your customers via greeting messages, offer them good deals, and more. Well, you must analyze the LTV of the customer and customize offers for them. Share your Kitchen BTS, give a chance to chat with your Head chef, send them a newsletter, inform them about your latest activity, etc. A feeling of belongingness should be promoted in customers for long term relationships and business.
Pro Tip: Email Marketing is successful for restaurants and the food industry. It has around 21.17% higher email open rate than other industries. Customers generally look for upcoming events and related discounts in the mail. So, it is a big NO to skip email marketing when you aim to grow your restaurant. Inbox your customers and pamper them with great offers.
In the end
Effective digital marketing for restaurants is the key to success. As the competition is high, try to get the eyeballs with innovative ideas of cuisines, platings, activate your social media handles, engage the audience, distribute freebies, offer incredible discounts. Also, keep your SEO in check. Work on organic traffic and ORM more profoundly to retain the acquired customers. The digital marketing space is very dynamic and always updating, so keeping up with the latest trends is difficult. It is crucial to mark your digital presence and get found by the right set of audience, pick the best digital marketing company in Pune that can skyrocket your restaurant business. You can hire a digital marketing company to plan your digital journey. We at Aarna systems provide complete digital marketing solutions for all business categories. Get in touch with us for a detailed consultation from our Digital Marketing experts on your restaurant’s digital marketing.
