The United States is home to thousands of world class eateries and dive bars that all have their own unique offerings. Competition amongst restaurants is fierce, so your marketing plan needs to be bulletproof, yet willing to pivot with the trends. Luckily, THM is your friend in the field, providing restaurants with creative, strategic, and competitive inspiration you need to attract, gratify, and keep customers coming back.
Here are some ideas for your restaurants marketing efforts:
1. Keep up with the latest trends
We get it – there are a lot of trends on social media, and they come and go so fast! But it is incredibly important to stay up to date with trends. By continuing to stay on trend, you prevent your rivals from gaining a competitive edge. Check out what’s trending on TikTok and Instagram and see how you can adapt your content to participate. Around 75% people made a purchase because they saw it on social media and another study states that 45% of US diners tried a restaurant for the first time after seeing social media posts – don’t sleep on the trends, make them work for you!
2. Video Marketing
Video marketing is no longer a fun option for your content, it is a necessity. As platforms like Instagram move away from still images and optimize video format it is more important than ever to start implementing videos into your content line up. Instead of posting a photo of your weekly special, consider taking a video of it! Or, maybe a behind the scenes look at the kitchen preparing fan favorite dishes. With video production, the possibilities are endless.
3. Update Your Website
Your website is one of the most valuable restaurant marketing channels because it provides customers with all the information they need to lead them to your restaurants tables. Customers interested in visiting your restaurant will often go to your website first to get a feel for the business and to view information about the food on offer. If your website is high in quality, you should be able to encourage many of these visitors to take the next step and book a table or even order a takeaway. A good website is like a firm handshake these days, make sure it reflects your business and level of professionalism! Plus, it is a great way to host all of your social media pages so your customers can follow your social media activity.
4. Create a Google My Business Account
Stemming off of the importance of a great website, visibility on Google, the world’s most popular online search engine, is a great way to increase business. By securing your My Business page, you can have a presence on Google Maps and boost your visibility on local search results and you can also provide valuable information, such as your restaurant opening times, your menu, and photographs of your restaurant, and search engine users will also be able to access customer reviews.
5. Create a Brand Identity
The content you produce to promote your brand is how you establish and reinforce your identity. Your content is the gatekeeper between you and your potential customers so it is crucial to set the right tone and delivery so you invoke the right feeling from your audience. That’s why you need a strong brand identity to ensure each piece of content is consistently expressing value to the people you want to become your paying customers. You must identify your restaurant’s values, vision, mission, as well as the capabilities of your offerings. Now you need to decide what types of content will best communicate those messages to your audience while laying the foundation of your brand identity – this adds authenticity to the restaurant. Remember: professionalism is reflected through clear branding, engaging copy, and relevant hashtags. This sounds like a lot, but THM is here to help you take this task off your plate so you can focus on serving yours. Keep your audience hungry for more!
