Your restaurant is going to be successful only if you have people at the tables, but how can you get more people in the doors?
Restaurant marketing is highly specific because you need to find people in your geographic area who enjoy dining out. Here are some tips for marketing for restaurants that can help create a buzz about your place in your local community.
Restaurant-goers are suckers for a coupon. Ask for their email address in return for exclusive discounts, and they will gladly give it up. Work with a restaurant marketing company to craft an effective email marketing campaign, and turn occasional guests into repeat customers through the power of coupons.
Web design that showcases your food, and is easy to navigate both on computer and mobile device, is essential to market a restaurant. Work with a restaurant marketing firm to create a website that your customers can understand and navigate easily. To be effective, your website should include:
Use search engine optimization (SEO) to get your restaurant to rank high in the search results. Be creative with keywords to ensure people can find you when they have a craving for the type of food you serve.
Sites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor are critical for your restaurant because these are the types of sites people visit when they’re trying to decide where to eat. Make sure your restaurant is listed, and track what people are saying about you. If you get any negative reviews, address them in a professional manner, but most importantly make sure your information is correctly listed so people can know what food you serve and where to find you.
You can use paid Internet marketing strategies, but make sure you are paying only for strategies that work. Pay per click (PPC) marketing lets you post ads through search engines and on other websites, and pay only when someone clicks your ad. PPC campaigns use targeted keywords to ensure the traffic you’re generating comes from people searching for your type of restaurant. Partner with a restaurant marketing agency to make choosing effective keywords and avoiding competition simple.
A proven partner trusted by the biggest names in the industry:
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are all powerful marketing tools for restaurants because people will likely post pictures from your restaurant. If you’re on those platforms, too, they can tag you, improving your branding efforts and visibility. Also, Facebook’s pages give you another platform for reviews and location information, and Facebook business pages always rank high in search engines. Talk to a restaurant marketing agency about helping you establish these pages for your restaurant.
The restaurant industry is one wherein offline marketing is still critical. Consider using:
