Social media marketing should be a major piece of every restaurant’s broader digital marketing strategy. While the world of social media may be constantly shifting to the next big trend or exciting new platform, there are still some reliable principles that endure when it comes to restaurant social media marketing.
For example, it’s still important to take excellent photos, interact with customers who comment on your posts, and keep things interesting. Ultimately, your social media presence should be a reflection of your restaurant’s identity and a showcase for your brand. We've collected some actionable advice from industry experts on how to get the best results out of your restaurant social media marketing efforts.
Improve Your Restaurant's Social Media Marketing Strategy
To help guide your restaurant marketing strategies for social media, we spoke with two content marketing experts—Eric Brandt, the founder and CEO of San Diego-based marketing firm 5th Gear Marketing, and Kyle Golding, CEO of The Golding Group, a firm with offices in Oklahoma City and Philadelphia.
Here are their 5 best tips for mastering restaurant social media marketing:
1. Highlight the qualities that make your restaurant unique
What sets your restaurant apart from the competition? Do you offer authentic Italian cuisine? Are your ingredients all locally sourced? Is your restaurant a popular nightlife destination? Make sure you convey these qualities clearly, constantly, and across all of your social media channels.
“The number one key for the food industry is front of mind," explained Golding.
Post consistently, and pay close attention to the identity that you are cultivating both online and in-person. Restaurant social media marketing offers a chance to spotlight the things that make your establishment different. Give visitors a compelling reason to spend their next meal with you.
2. Be everywhere at once without being repetitive
Facebook is great for its advanced advertising tools, and Instagram is ideal for displaying visually compelling content. TikTok is a great way to share your team’s creativity, whereas LinkedIn offers a forum for connecting with professionals and attracting talent. So which social media platforms should you incorporate into your restaurant marketing strategies?
All of them! You want your restaurant to be visible on as many platforms as possible.
“But you also need to have a strategy for each of those platforms and not have the same post for each,” added Golding.
Of course, the task of posting across social media platforms can be demanding on your staff. Fortunately, there are various social media management and scheduling tools like Sprout Social and Hootsuite that can help ease this burden.
3. Make your real-world competitors into your online allies
This tip may sound strange, especially if you are used to viewing restaurant ownership as an inherently competitive business. But Brandt suggested shifting to an “abundance mindset," acknowledging that there is a large enough share of the market to go around. From this perspective, you may find that alliances are far more valuable than rivalries.
You can foster these alliances by engaging other restaurants in your marketplace through shared social media channels.
“If you are a tapas restaurant and there’s another tapas restaurant down the street, they are not your competition, they are your partner,” Brandt told us. He also recommends engaging with similar restaurants through their social media channels as much as possible. Put yourself in front of their audience, create brand recognition with a shared client base, and perhaps even cultivate cross-brand promotional events.
4. Respond to the good, the bad, and the ugly
It’s easy to reach out and thank customers for their glowing reviews. But it's just as important to address the less-than-stellar reviews. Brandt advises you reply to all reviews—both good and bad. Let your customers know that you’re listening, that you’re receptive to their feedback, and that you’d like to personally invite them back for another meal.
Naturally, you can’t make everybody happy. That’s part of the business too. But by responding in a calm, professional and friendly way, you may be able to turn a negative review into a positive experience. Even if you can’t win back every disgruntled customer, outside observers will appreciate your friendly and professional demeanor.
An effective restaurant social media strategy is built on responsiveness. Be prepared to engage your customers—even those who have negative things to say.
5. Learn how to use Facebook correctly
As noted earlier, Facebook offers some of the most sophisticated tools for targeting your audience and advertising your business. This is why it remains among the most popular platforms for restaurant social media marketing. However, explained Brandt, “There is a steep learning curve.”
Using Facebook’s marketing tools optimally requires knowledge, practice, and a few clever hacks.
“You can create a lookalike audience through Facebook and advertise to those people," said Brandt. "It’s a difficult methodology, but it is very effective once you learn how to use it.”
As Brandt notes, however, your team will be required to invest a meaningful amount of time into learning how to use these tools.
Enlisting Help From Experts When You Need It
Should you begin to feel overwhelmed by managing the social media marketing for your restaurant, it might be time to consider enlisting some help. Whether you need the support of an experienced restaurant vet to expertly advise you through the process, or are looking to invest in a third-party provider in order to jumpstart your restaurant social media marketing strategy, Back of House is here to help.
