Build Social Media Presence for Your Restaurant

This Blog was first published on Limetray’s Restaurant Management & Marketing Blog.

To boost your restaurant business and increase awareness about your brand, social media is a prerequisite. It acts as a space for engagement and a great tool for online marketing, surging sales and revenue.

With social media presence being a great tool which is also a part of your customer’s lifestyle, there are few things to take notice of while becoming active on them. Compiled here is a guide for your restaurant’s social media channels which will help you build a strong online presence, increasing the number of your customers through engagement.

1. Facebook

Facebook is a powerful tool which requires consistent voice and regular posts.
Start by creating content to represent your brand. Choose pictures of your restaurant and dishes to showcase in your cover picture. Use the logo of your restaurant to place it as your display picture which will act as a good brand recollection exercise for your customer. Add your restaurant’s address and a description of your cuisine to inform your customer about your location and what you serve.

With this having done, you can begin by posting relevant content which matches your brand’s identity and vision. For example, you can showcase a fan of the week, share facts, initiate quizzes, and host contests. Post regularly about your daily offers and discounts to encourage people to visit you.

Facebook is a great platform for engaging with your customer and prompting them to involve with your content can be a good exercise to invite new customers. Posts asking your audience’s favourite dish, offering them discounts on their next meal whenever they share your post can boost customer engagement by leaps and bounds.

Check out these Facebook pages to fuel your ideas with creativity — Johnny Rockets, Panera Bread, Rehab Burger Therapy.

2. Instagram

While Facebook is about both visual and written content, Instagram is based all around pictures and the stories you tell through them. It is a visually stimulating platform which you should use to tell people about you.

Your audience gets influenced by what they see and showcasing pictures of your restaurant and dishes on Instagram with appropriate hashtags will help you reach out to your audience in an effective manner which will also sway them into visiting you.

Make a start by choosing a colour specific theme and a right hashtag to represent your brand. Don’t forget to engage with your audience by encouraging them to comment and share your content.

Read more about the right Instagram strategy for your restaurant.

3. Snapchat

Snapchat is a platform which lets you share instant updates with your audience. Use it to inform them about what’s happening inside your restaurant.

Download the app and sign up using your restaurant’s email id. Choose a username which best represents your restaurant and start by posting pictures. For example, you would want to consider posting videos about how the food is prepared in your restaurant which would increase your brand’s credibility. You can even share Snapchat stories to promote your restaurant to your customers.

4. Twitter

The power to say a lot in the minimum words possible is what represents Twitter. Utilise 140 character tweets to advertise your weekly offers and discounts. Engage with your audience using the right hashtag and since the platform is all about being precise and crisp, be creative with your promotions and run twitter contests.

Here are some Twitter feeds for you to check out: Chipotle, Myers+Chang, Sprinkles Cupcake

5. Review platforms

While all the above platforms are controlled by you, review platforms are controlled by what your customer feel, which leaves a major impact on your restaurant’s image. Even if you have a strong social media presence, a bad review can harm your restaurant’s rapport.

Become active on online review platforms like Yelp, Zomato and TripAdvisor to see what your customer thinks about you. Begin by appreciating and thanking the reviewer for their humble review, prompting them to visit again and handling all bad reviews constructively by making your customer know that they wouldn’t have to face a particular problem again.

You can even opt for your own online feedback platform to take your customer’s reviews even before he posts them on third-party websites.

This Blog was first published on Limetray’s Restaurant Management & Marketing Blog.