Get a Website
A website is a MUST for any business. Maybe one of the most important restaurant marketing tips we can offer. Without a website, how can people verify you are a real business? Or read your reviews or even find your location? This one is non-negotiable! Some choose to rely solely on a Facebook page but there are great opportunities being missed out on if you don't also have a regular website. You want new customers to find you when they search for "best restaurant in town" or if they are just trying to find a new random place to try. Having a website listed on Google will help you get found and keep customers coming back.
As a restaurant owner, you want to make sure your menu is easily available for customers to find online as they debate where they want to eat. If yours is quick and easy to find and understand, people are much more likely to pick your restaurant over someone's invisible menu.
The first step to getting a website is picking a unique domain name, which can be purchased with Namecheap. After that, you will need to host your files somewhere so your website can be live. We recommend checking out Stablehost for your hosting needs.
Once your website is ready for content, it is time to hire a designer (such as Alexis Kadonsky) or use a software like WordPress to manage what people are seeing and how the website functions.
For more tech tips, check out our article to get your computer moving faster:
Be Seen on Social Media
Almost everyone has a Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or other social media account. When we are bored, trying to kill time, or even just trying to catch up with the world, people pop out their phones and can spend hours roaming social media. Having an account for your business on every platform can only benefit your business.
You can preplan posts and set up advertising to gain new clients on your social media account. If you make a great post, you could go viral and gain invaluable followers.
Don't forget to offer a call to action on your website and social media pages. Often, the most successful calls to action are deals and discounts. By making special deals available only for a limited time, you can be sure of getting more orders. The correct locations should be picked with Geo-Targeting. You don't need to be advertising your New York City Cafe in Japan (unless you're really trying to expand).
Post Content People Want to Read
Even before your website is up and running, you need to be ready with relevant content that you can share with your target customers. The relevant content would be articles, images, and links about the food you want your audience looking at. Provide expert tips and guidelines as well to establish yourself even more.
Once your website is ready, start sharing posts as frequently as needed for each social media. Get in touch with local food bloggers and invite them to post on your site. Making these contacts will also get your name out there.
Run a Contest
User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to gain exposure for your brand. Host a photo contest. Asking customers to share their favorite meal at your restaurant, and share the post on a dedicated content page. Get people to join in by offering prizes like free food at your restaurant, which could also win them over as return customers. Get people involved with your brand. It is a great way to achieve new customers and remind old ones of who you are.
Host an Event
Hosting food events is not only a great way to get new people involved, but it will also bring a lot of community attention to your shop. A person may have never found your burger joint until you hosted the Fry Eating Contest or an open house tasting event. Expand the food scene in your community. New clientele will start evolving and it's a good time. Have smaller monthly events and expand into larger annual events even. Not only is hosting an event one of the great restaurant marketing tips, but it is also fun!
Optimize Results
You want more people to be aware of your restaurant and you can do this by making sure that your brand is visible enough to everyone. Check out Moz's tool to see where your website is or isn't listed and add the missing ones. Don't forget Foursquare, Google Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc. The more places the listed means you have more backlinks pointing to your website and you will get found more.
Adopting quality SEO techniques is a great habit as well. Make sure your title and description tags are in place and you've focused on your keywords enough throughout your content for Google to find it relevant.
Improve the linking structure of your website and create a sitemap and submit it to top search engines to boost search optimization. You always want to have unique and fresh content on your site so Google continues to find you, as well.
Hire a Consultant
Don't look at spending money on an expert as a bad thing. Not only will you learn from them, but you don't need to waste your valuable time. Stop worrying about tasks you don't fully understand yet.
Realize that the restaurant business is complex and that the food industry is relying heavily on the evolving trends of diners. If you need to stay ahead of the competition, you need to have an insightful approach.
Approaching a consultant might not yield immediate results, but you can be sure of being on the right path! Plus they may have even more restaurant marketing tips you never thought of before!
