2020 is here and the restaurant marketing game will surely be a lot different now.
There are new platforms getting traction — tiktok, insta are right up there when it comes to community growth. FB, albeit its decreasing popularity, still continues to be the frontrunner as far as website visits are concerned.
In this article, we will take you through the various steps you can take to structure your restaurant marketing strategy in 2020.
This piece was originally written on LimeTray’s blog site.
Let’s get started.
1. Social Media Promotions
Social Media is the voice of your brand. It is an engagement machine where you can build great content — to increase.
Did you know that as of 2017, an average global internet user spends about 135 minutes per day on social media. (Source: Statista)
Well, most restaurants have a social media brand. But are they creating enough visual content to attract customer eyeballs? Here are a few things that may need your attention.
- Call to Actions — For example — have an order now button that redirects people to your online ordering platform.
- Video Marketing — Videos are viewed 5 times more than static content. Every day, around 8 billion videos get viewed on FB alone.
- Creatives and Templates — Be sure to use visually stunning social media creatives to entice your audience into action. You could make use of attractive social media templates to make your brand stand out.
So what can you show through these videos? Here are some ideas to get started:
- Behind the scenes and recipe videos of your famous dishes.
- Videos of how your restaurant looks on special occasions.
- Quick mocktail and DIY videos.
Note: Do keep an eye on all the best practices as you go about making a new video. We’re sharing some right here:
- Use memorable images — Lure your customers in with delicious dishes at the restaurant — remember mouth-watering food items help initiate that impulse to buy. Couple it up with a discount message to increase your conversion likelihood.
- Try live video — Live video streaming is a great way to let people know all that’s cooking (literally) at your restaurant.
Social media strategy — An average internet user is present on at least 7 different social accounts. For a restaurant, here are the top 3 social sites you should leverage to increase your brand reach.
- Instagram — Useful for pushing images and videos
- Facebook — Needs no introduction: 78% of businesses use Facebook ads as a tool to increase business.
- Twitter — Live tweeting, engaging with your customers.
- TikTok — Short videos, super-popular and has grown tremendously in the last few years.
2. Restaurant Loyalty Programs
A major chunk of your business comes via your existing customers. Your restaurant marketing strategy should engage customers so that they keep coming back to your restaurant.
A restaurant loyalty program rewards your customers if they make repeat visits to your restaurant. An omnichannel strategy will make it more attractive to the customers.
So what are some ways to take your loyalty program strategy to the next level? Here are 2 ideas that you can try:
- Offer referral incentives — Provide benefits to customers who refer your brand to their friends. Make them your affiliates. Incentivise them so that they can tell everyone about the great experience at your restaurant.
- Provide extra points for social sharing — Social sharing is great as it amplifies your brand’s presence on the web. When customers provide you a review, encourage them to share it on their timelines so that their connections see it too. You can promote sharing by providing freebies like ‘Get 40 points for sharing your review on platforms’ Positive reviews act as a great indicator for people to check out a restaurant.
For more ideas on how to promote your loyalty program check this article.
#Tip: Before promoting your loyalty program, answer this question — Why should a person sign up for the program? You’re on the right track if an answer strikes right away.
- Turn Your Restaurant’s Customers Into Brand Ambassadors
- Make informed marketing decisions to reward and retain your customers with your own loyalty program.
3. CRM (SMS and Email Marketing)
We like to call these two as the vital pillars of your customer relationship management strategy.
Once you have access to customer information — SMS and email campaigns on your marketing automation tool are a great way to engage your audience.
Here are a few ideas to get it right:
- Time of campaign — an hour or two before meals is an excellent time to share order now messages
- Personalisation — try to bucket your customers into a few categories (high order customers values, 20-year somethings) to increase message relevance.
Onto some tips for your campaign messaging to get more conversions:
- Topical offers — Send messages and offers in relation to special occasions, events, festivals coming up.
- Catch them early- Title and first 10 words should be crafted in an attractive way to get the most out of a campaign.
4. Online Listings
To be found online, your business should be listed on Google and other popular sites. The traffic on these sites goes as high as millions a day. Ask any digital marketing professional, a listing is perhaps the first step to be discovered online.
Many sites allow you to get reviews, ratings, testimonials, pictures on their platforms. These add to positive signals that your restaurant needs. Here are some high authority websites to get listed on:
- Google My Business
- LinkedIn Company Directory
- Bing
- Yelp
- HubSpot
- Yellow Pages
- Yahoo! Local
- Apple Maps
For the complete list of marketing ideas, check out this link https://limetray.com/blog/16-restaurant-marketing-ideas/
