When I decided to open my own salon and spa, I had so many friends excited to try my services that I didn't think I needed to invest in marketing. Those friends did come in frequently, but their business turned out to just not be enough to keep my bills paid. I then remembered that before I began as a hairdresser, I drove many miles to see my favorite hair-stylist that I loved. That made me realize that I needed to advertise not just locally, but throughout the entire region. I drove an hour to my favorite hair-stylist, so why wouldn't my customers? I held a great "new customer discount", and soon those new customers from neighboring cities became regular customers once they realized how much they loved my technique. I created this blog to help other struggling business owners. I hope you can learn from my experiences!
If your restaurant has a website and social media page, you may be wondering what else you can do to help build your reputation and increase business. Creating an effective marketing plan for your restaurant requires more than an online presence; you need tactics to increase your visibility among other restaurants.
Engage In Collaborations
Owning a restaurant is an excellent opportunity to formulate collaborations with social media personalities and bloggers. Your major focus should be finding people who have a niche in food or travel to help promote your business, but you may use other strategies depending on your locality. For example, if your restaurant is located in a tourist destination, you should focus more on collaborations with travelers. Some localities are well-known for major companies, colleges, or military installations. In this instance, you want to consider ways you can collaborate with major employers in the area.
Send a quick email to prominent names in these niches or companies and ask if they are willing to give an honest review of your restaurant in exchange for a free meal. Many food and travel bloggers also do videos during their dining experience, which gives their audience the opportunity to experience the restaurant in real-time and see a candid reaction. If you are successful at finding collaborations, make sure you use your website and social media pages to broadcast that a specific blogger or company is visiting your restaurant and leave a link to their pages.
Include Short Videos
Find ways to integrate more videos into your marketing strategy since video is more telling than either pictures or written information. You may want to use your major social media pages and website to showcase a video that includes a tour of your restaurant or activity on special nights. Include a behind-the-scenes tour of cooking and food preparation.
A popular marketing tool is making short videos on Snapchat. The quick and informal nature of this app is ideal for telling your audience information on a daily basis. You may want to give them quick updates on specials or inform them one night is especially busy with a long wait time. The use of quick videos is a way to remain engaged with your audience without investing significant time in video setup or production.
Try A Cooking Tutorial
Cooking shows are notoriously popular with people who love to eat or cook. Pick an item or two off your menu and create a video showing how to prepare the food at home. You do not need to tell the secrets behind your special menu items or give the exact recipe of items on your menu. For example, if your restaurant serves a popular burger, show your audience how to make a similar burger, but leave out signature ingredients and seasonings that make yours unique.
In addition to creating a tutorial, you should have a written recipe and high-quality picture of the final product. By placing this information on your website and making it "shareable" through social media platforms, your audience can share the recipes with others. The written recipe should also be available in PDF format for easy printing.
Use Third-Party Services
Depending on the services your restaurant offers, it may be important to have your restaurant listed on third-party service. Since many people are using their mobile devices to find new restaurants, view menus, and order food, being accessible on mobile devices can improve your visibility. If your restaurant is dine-in only, make sure your menu is readily available on third-party menu websites and apps.
When you have additional services, such as delivery, pick-up, or reservations, your restaurant should be listed on third-party restaurant delivery apps so you are not missing out on business. More restaurants are using inventive ways of making ordering easier, which also increases your visibility. For example, some allow text or tweet ordering. This is ideal for repeat customers who have already established an account with your restaurant and often order the same items.
Taking your restaurant marketing to the next level requires working more on connections and finding unique ways of making your restaurant stand out. With a little experimentation, you can find the right marketing strategy that will give you most visibility. For more information about marketing your restaurant, contact a company like Voted Best of America.
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