I’m lucky to dwell in a metropolis that has a thriving restaurant scene (it’s most recognized for its barbecue and Tex-Mex, if that offers you any trace). And whereas I don’t take into account myself a meals connoisseur by any means, I used to be a meals journalist in a previous life, so I proceed to remain on prime of the most recent tales and traits surrounding the restaurant trade.
To do that, I observe plenty of eating places on social media. I additionally subscribe to their newsletters, attend their particular occasions, enter their giveaways, and join their rewards packages.
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And since my advertising mind by no means shuts off, I can’t assist however be interested in these restaurant advertising methods. How properly do they work? Which channels do these eating places carry out greatest on? How do established eating places preserve curiosity after the grand opening buzz wears down?
To determine the solutions to those questions, I’m digging deep into restaurant advertising concepts, methods, and real-life campaigns.
Restaurant Advertising and marketing Methods That Work
I wished to get extra perception into the world of restaurant advertising, so I spoke with Rachel Ayotte, the founder and CEO of Bread and Butter, a communications company that works with hospitality purchasers.
Why do eating places of all sizes want a advertising technique? What does an efficient marketing campaign seem like today?
“In New York Metropolis alone, there are over 25,000 eating places, which might take the typical individual 22 years to attempt,” shares Ayotte.
She provides, “With an enormous stock of choices and a comparatively brief time to succeed, individuals should know your restaurant not solely exists however can also be someplace they wish to go.”
Because of this having a restaurant advertising technique is important.
If you wish to stand out on-line and produce extra individuals into your restaurant, listed below are examples of profitable restaurant advertising methods and campaigns to take inspiration from.
Buyer-First Content material
A vital restaurant advertising technique is to focus in your clients. This is applicable not solely to the best way you market your restaurant but in addition to the menu gadgets and merchandise you create.
One inventive instance of that is Chipotle’s restricted version Serviette Holder, which is impressed by its clients.
Right here’s the backstory: It’s frequent for Chipotle clients to seize a stack of napkins to retailer of their automobiles on their means out of the restaurant.
As an alternative of reprimanding its clients for stocking up on napkins, Chipotle created a possibility for elevated model loyalty by making a branded automobile serviette holder.
As a bonus, the marketing campaign launched across the holidays, making it an ideal gifting alternative. Every serviette holder additionally got here with a present card for a free entree to encourage clients to go to a restaurant to “restock” their serviette provide.
Chipotle’s restricted version Serviette Holder was not solely a wonderful customer-inspired product, however the marketing campaign was additionally an ideal instance of social listening in motion.
By listening to their clients’ behaviors and what they’re sharing on-line in regards to the restaurant, Chipotle was capable of create a viral second out of it.
Chipotle’s aim on social is to “meet [their] followers the place they’re,” in response to Candice Beck, the restaurant’s director of social, influencers, and Web3, and this marketing campaign fully aligns with that technique.
To make use of this technique, get to know your clients on a deep stage. Immerse your self within the platforms they spend their time on, whether or not that’s Instagram or TikTok, and make notice of their pursuits, behaviors, and objectives.
Nostalgic Advertising and marketing
To at the present time, I can’t hear the phrases “child again ribs” and never consider Chili’s. That’s as a result of I, like many millennials, grew up listening to the long-lasting “I need my child again ribs” jingle on TV and the radio.
Chili’s has tapped into its Y2K previous and created a number of nostalgic advertising campaigns this 12 months to focus on its now-adult millennial viewers.
The campaigns embody a industrial that introduced again the restaurant’s well-known jingle, now sung by Boyz II Males (one other popular culture fixture of the 90s and 2000s).
Utilizing nostalgia in advertising has been a well-liked technique in recent times as many companies’ goal audiences are rising up. In the event you’re a longtime restaurant, don’t be afraid to rehash the previous.
This might imply bringing again an outdated menu merchandise, promoting merchandise with retro branding, and even sharing flashbacks from all through your restaurant’s historical past.
Nostalgic advertising works not solely as a result of it faucets into individuals’s reminiscences and feelings but in addition as a result of it serves as a reminder of how lengthy you’ve been round.
Social-Pushed Content material
In my expertise, eating places that prioritize social media of their advertising technique are inclined to generate plenty of on-line buzz.
An instance of a restaurant that creates social-driven content material is Austin-based El Arroyo. Despite the fact that El Arroyo is a Mexican restaurant, you received’t discover any footage of meals on its Instagram.
With nearly 700K followers, the restaurant is as a substitute recognized for its real-life marquee signal that shows cheeky jokes and ideas, usually submitted by followers.
The account shares an image of its signal with a brand new message on daily basis on Instagram.
El Arroyo has constructed a big following round its day by day signal, giving its viewers one thing to sit up for seeing — and sharing — on daily basis.
The restaurant additionally makes use of its signal to tie in present occasions or make main bulletins. For instance, when the hit Netflix present, Queer Eye, was filming in Austin, El Arroyo partnered with the forged to generate buzz.
If you wish to use social media to drive visitors to your restaurant, create one thing shareable. This might be a mural or an indication that individuals wish to take footage of or a novel menu merchandise that might stand out within the feed.
Signature Model
Once I consider a restaurant with a signature, distinct, and memorable model, the primary place that involves thoughts is Taquero Mucho.
The Austin-based restaurant is thought for utilizing the colour pink in all the pieces — from its decor to its margaritas — even the tortillas are pink.
Pink is splashed throughout its model imagery, making it unmissable on-line and in social media feeds. The colour pink usually evokes a sense of playfulness, optimism, and femininity, that are all phrases I’d use to explain Taquero Mucho.
Creating a robust model is a good way to make your restaurant memorable, as a signature model basically markets your restaurant for you.
Model Partnerships
“Certainly one of our favourite and only advertising concepts for eating places to maximise consciousness is a partnership with a like-minded model to faucet into their viewers,” shares Ayotte.
Ayotte says this can be a low-lift means to attract on what you have already got — an awesome restaurant and an awesome menu. You possibly can “leverage that by one other model that shares an identical ethos and has entry to clients the restaurant won’t,” she notes
An instance of a profitable partnership Ayotte’s crew developed and executed was between the dessert model, Girl M Confections, Netflix, and Pearl Studio upfront of the discharge of the extremely anticipated musical Over the Moon.
To have fun the discharge, Girl M created a mooncake lantern. As soon as the partnership was able to be introduced, Ayotte’s crew reached out to media and influencers to share the information, in addition to samples of the mooncake lanterns.
“The partnership was a powerful success,” Ayotte recollects. “It [resulted] in an enormous bump in gross sales for Girl M [and generated] over 1.7 million impressions and 19,804 complete social engagements.”
10 Restaurant Advertising and marketing Concepts for 2024
Primarily based on the methods above, together with extra perception from Rachel Ayotte and my private encounters with restaurant advertising that works, listed below are ten restaurant advertising concepts and greatest practices to do this 12 months and past.
1. Construct a easy but efficient web site.
Whether or not I’m trying to find a restaurant close to me on Google or I’ve found a brand new place by Instagram, my subsequent step is all the time to take a look at the restaurant’s web site. Having a web site on your restaurant is a necessity.
“Even when a restaurant has the most effective service and greatest meals on the earth, friends want a option to discover out data and join not directly,” states Ayotte. “In our expertise designing web sites for eating places, we emphasize the necessity for frequently up to date, user-friendly codecs that make it straightforward for friends to see the menu, hours, location, and the way to make a reservation.”
What we like: The excellent news is you don’t must have web site improvement expertise to construct an efficient web site. “Eating places don’t want a vastly advanced web site to achieve success,” says Ayotte. “An internet site may be comparatively easy if designed properly.”
2. Handle and replace your Google Enterprise Profile.
Along with their web site, one other factor I instantly check out when trying to find eating places is their Google Enterprise Profile.
Your Google Enterprise Profile is the profile that pops up on the best aspect of the display screen when somebody searches for your corporation. This snapshot of your corporation creates a primary impression to searchers who wish to see what sort of meals to count on and what the ambiance is like.
It additionally shows data they’re most definitely searching for straight away, comparable to hours, location, and critiques.
It’s necessary to maintain your profile up to date so clients have probably the most correct and up-to-date data. Eating places that actively preserve this data get 89% extra calls, web site visits, and route requests, and 79% extra critiques, in response to information from Cell.io.
Right here’s an instance of a Google Enterprise Profile for an area pizza restaurant right here in Austin referred to as Through 313:
The profile contains the restaurant’s important data comparable to location, hours, and cellphone quantity. However it additionally contains issues that may assist diners make their resolution, just like the menu, service choices, critiques, and loads of pictures.
Professional tip: You possibly can add your personal pictures to your profile if you happen to don’t need it to solely function photos from buyer critiques.
3. Observe on-line critiques.
“Individuals like to broadcast unfavourable experiences and critiques,” Ayotte states. “This may hang-out a restaurant for years.”
Whilst you can’t management what individuals write of their critiques, you’ll be able to select the way you reply. Take the time to learn and reply to each constructive and unfavourable critiques.
Right here’s one other instance from Through 313, the pizza store I discussed above. The restaurant takes the time to thoughtfully reply to each buyer overview on Google, even acknowledging their suggestions when clients share it.
Finest for: Monitoring your restaurant’s on-line critiques isn’t solely so you’ll be able to keep on prime of unfavourable critiques. You can even use buyer suggestions to enhance your restaurant service, get inspiration for brand new dishes, or acquire constructive critiques as social proof in your web site and social media posts.
4. Share UGC (user-generated content material).
For me, seeing posts created by different accounts and clients helps persuade me to attempt a restaurant. That is referred to as user-generated content material, or UGC.
UGC establishes social proof, which is the idea that clients are influenced by different clients’ experiences, habits, and proposals.
For instance, the Reel beneath was created by a meals influencer sharing their expertise on the New Orleans-based restaurant Willa Jean (which, by the best way, I can verify is a good brunch spot within the metropolis!).
The restaurant shared the video by itself web page to amplify the influencer’s constructive suggestion.
What we like: Not solely does UGC present social proof on your restaurant, but it surely additionally offers you loads of content material to share, so that you by no means run out of issues to put up.
5. Be part of a reservation platform.
If you wish to get clients within the door, it’s a must to make it straightforward for them to come back. This usually means assembly them the place they’re, which, within the case of upscale eating, is on the reservation platforms.
Reservation platforms like Resy or Tock are nice channels for eating places to extend their discoverability and get in entrance of recent clients.
On the shopper aspect, these platforms are handy. Reserving platforms usually curate eating places for purchasers, organizing them into classes comparable to “High Rated” or “Finest Brunches” so individuals can navigate their choices higher.
Resy, as an example, even has a class referred to as “E-book Tonight” that shows openings for last-minute reservations.
Professional tip: In the event you supply reservations or group eating, make it straightforward on your clients to guide a desk by including a reservation web page or plugin in your web site.
6. Have interaction clients instantly with e mail advertising.
In 2023, I had considered one of my most memorable eating experiences at Bar Marilou in New Orleans. From the library-inspired inside design to the mouth-watering bites and flavorful drinks, the expertise has caught with me for practically a 12 months.
So, after all, anytime I see the title “Bar Marilou” pop up in my inbox, I instantly open the e-mail simply to be reminded of my magical expertise.
That is the facility of e mail advertising. When achieved proper, emails can be utilized to extend buyer loyalty and function a reminder of your story, your menu, or your occasions. E-mail is a option to attain your clients instantly, whereas social media posts can get misplaced in a sea of content material.
Bar Marilou solely sends out emails as soon as a month (typically much less) to share upcoming occasions or updates. This cadence is sufficient for me since I don’t even dwell in the identical metropolis and may’t simply drop in every time I need.
Nevertheless, in case you have sufficient information in your clients, you might ship extra customized emails relying on their places, demographic, and eating historical past with you. For example, if you realize your clients’ birthdays, you’ll be able to ship them rewards to redeem on their particular days.
Finest for: If you wish to talk necessary data or share upcoming occasions along with your clients, e mail advertising could be a extra direct channel than social media.
7. Create shareable moments.
Shareable content material is essential to succeeding on social media. Once you create content material that draws and resonates with individuals, they’re extra prone to share it and enable you to enhance your restaurant’s on-line attain.
There are a couple of methods to create moments or content material that individuals wish to share. A technique is to make your dishes Instagram-worthy so clients are compelled to take footage and share them.
Right here’s one other instance from the pink restaurant, Taquero Mucho, I discussed earlier. The restaurant creates a enjoyable new drink each month and shares it on Instagram. This one aligned with the Barbie film that premiered final summer season.
One other means is to design your restaurant in a means that’s share-worthy by creating an Instagrammable spot inside or exterior of your house, like a mural.
8. Begin a loyalty or rewards program.
Everybody loves free stuff. A rewards program could be a enjoyable option to encourage clients to turn into frequent guests to earn free meals and drinks.
McDonald’s affords an awesome instance of the way to execute a rewards program. To encourage individuals to make use of its app, McDonald’s affords clients free massive fries after they make a purchase order.
The extra orders you make within the app, the extra factors you get and may use in direction of future orders.
However you don’t must have a elaborate app or be a big restaurant chain like McDonald’s to begin a loyalty program.
My native espresso store, Sorrento’s Espresso, affords a rewards program that’s arrange by its POS system, Sq..
Each time you purchase a drink, you get factors. 140 factors get you one free drink. (Which jogs my memory — appears like I’ve a free espresso or two ready for me!).
Finest for: Loyalty packages are supposed to reward frequent clients. In my expertise, the rewards packages I’ve been most definitely to take part in are locations that I already frequent.
These packages work nice with espresso outlets or lunch spots in a busy workplace space — wherever the place you’re prone to see the identical clients regularly.
9. Create branded merchandise.
Creating bodily merchandise or branded merchandise is a good way to let your clients do your advertising for you.
Just like the Chipotle marketing campaign I shared above, branded merchandise is a good advertising concept for eating places with a loyal buyer base. The important thing to creating branded merchandise is to create a product that not solely displays your model however can also be one thing your clients would get pleasure from.
For instance, El Arroyo, the restaurant with the well-known marquee signal, additionally affords a full line of merchandise that’s synonymous with its signal. The cheeky nature of the signal lends itself properly to different gift-type gadgets like doormats, coasters, and taking part in playing cards, just like the merchandise beneath.
What we like: Branded merchandise is a good way to encourage clients to advertise your model for you and enhance word-of-mouth.
10. Accomplice with comparable manufacturers.
As Ayotte talked about earlier when speaking about restaurant advertising methods, model partnerships are an efficient option to amplify your model by getting it in entrance of recent audiences.
To get probably the most out of your model partnership, associate with a model that has a special but like-minded viewers. It doesn’t even have to be one other restaurant or meals model. The aim is to be launched to a brand new viewers that might profit from or get pleasure from your product.
For example, if you happen to’re a small native restaurant that simply opened in your city’s important road, you might associate with different small companies on the block for an in-person occasion or a social media giveaway.
Professional tip: Model partnerships needs to be mutually helpful. Think about what the opposite occasion will obtain in return for partnering with you once you make your pitch.
What I Realized About Restaurant Advertising and marketing
The most important factor I’ve discovered from digging into completely different restaurant campaigns and techniques is that there’s a ton of room to be inventive with restaurant advertising.
There’s no proper or improper means. Eating places can incorporate traits of their social posts or stick with publishing high-quality photos of their dishes. They’ll attempt to get in entrance of recent audiences by partnering with comparable manufacturers, or they’ll construct loyalty with present clients by e mail advertising.
The important factor your restaurant must succeed is a web site with the next key data:
- Menu
- Hours
- Location
- Telephone quantity
- Reservations (if relevant)
The very best restaurant advertising technique is to grasp your model and your clients. From there, you’ll be able to experiment with completely different on-line and in-person channels to execute your imaginative and prescient and produce extra individuals into your restaurant for years to come back.
