Are you leveraging a professional restaurant social media marketing campaign? If not, you could be missing out on a lot of sales.
Virtually any kind of business can benefit from a strong social media marketing campaign (also known as Social Media Management, or SMM). More and more, customers are turning to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and LinkedIn when they need recommendations for products and services.
For restaurants, though, social outlets are especially crucial to getting the word out. That’s because going out for lunch or dinner is a different kind of experience than picking up your dry cleaning or seeing the doctor. Those differences make it easier for restaurants to promote themselves on social networking sites.
To understand why this is, and how you can make the most of social media marketing for your restaurant, here’s what you have to know…
You Need Business Profiles to Market Your Restaurant
You probably already have several social media accounts opened under your own name, but those aren’t the ones you should use to promote your restaurant.
Not only can you reach a much wider audience by setting up a dedicated business pages, but you’ll also come across as being more professional. Besides, business pages can gather fans and share reviews, which are important to your marketing. If you’re using your personal spaces to advertise your business it might be costing you money.
Consistency is the Key to Social Promotion
It isn’t enough to simply have accounts for your restaurant on different social media sites. To actually turn those pages into money you have to be consistent about posting new material.
A lot of restaurant owners and managers are too busy to keep up with their social activity. That’s where an experienced and affordable creative team can step in, adding new content that is relevant, interesting, and consistent with the restaurant’s branding.
Restaurants Can Sell With Pictures
TV chefs like to say that we take the first bite of a dish with our eyes. That certainly seems to be true, judging from the way social media users will post, like, and share pictures of a great meal.
Restaurants can take advantage of this dynamic by putting pictures of special dishes online, along with photos of relaxed dining rooms, clean kitchens, and happy chefs. If you aren’t using your social accounts to sell with pictures, then you probably aren’t as busy as you could be.
Restaurant Marketing is All About Reviews
Word-of-mouth advertising is still all-important to restaurants, but most feedback gets spread online in the digital age. Some reviews will end up on Yelp or TripAdvisor, but many will be shared through, Google Business, Facebook and other social platforms.
You can do a lot to encourage positive reviews and build your online reputation just by making your restaurant easy to find on a customer’s favorite social media site. Then, you can watch as more and more people decide to stop in or make a reservation based on what they’ve seen their friends and colleagues post about your business.
Want Help Attracting Restaurant Customers on Social Media?
At SmartNet Solutions, we have a special restaurant social media marketing program developed specifically for local eateries that includes business page setup, customized branding for social accounts, and regular content updates. In other words, we can give you everything you need to engage guests online and get them flocking to your tables.
To get started, all you have to do is contact us today. In just a few minutes we will show you how easy and affordable it is to promote your restaurant on Instagram, Facebook, and other popular social sites your customers use when they decide where to eat.