Hungry for customers?
Reaching restaurant diners on social media should be the goal of any good restaurant, but just how do you do it?
It’s all well and good to create great content for social, but you need to convert that into bums in seats.
We know wrapping your head around social can feel overwhelming. It’s an ever-evolving, insatiable beast with a huge appetite for more.
So, you know that you can use social media to increase the reach of your restaurant, but what exactly is it you should be doing on there, you ask?
But fear not because we’re here to help you figure it out, cut through the noise and have new customers lined up around the block with these seven super-simple pointers — no fancy analytics or expensive marketing qualifications needed.
Sharpen your knives and get ready to dig into eight tips to help your restaurant reach more customers on social media.
1. Get on TikTok
Who doesn’t love posting a delicious food snap on social media? There’s no denying how massive and influential a platform TikTok has become, and users love food content.
Deciding where to eat can be an arduous task for even the most decisive among us. From looking up reviews to browsing restaurants on Instagram, everyone wants to make sure they’re making the right decision before handing over their hard-earned cash.
Food content, home chefs, and restaurants are wildly popular on TikTok. It’s an excellent platform for getting your content out to the masses and potential diners drooling. Don’t be scared to embrace popular hashtags and even jump on board with some trends or challenges.
2. Make sure your page is updated regularly
You don’t need us to tell you how important it is for your restaurant to have a presence on social media — Australia currently has 18 million social media users. And they’re using it to figure out where they’re going for dinner!
Your restaurant’s Facebook and Instagram accounts must have all the information diners need. What are your opening hours? Are you BYO or fully licensed? Are you pet-friendly? How do I contact you?
3. Make sure your menu is on your page
Speaking of information, what is the number one thing your potential diners want to see? Your menu. No ifs or buts about it. Your menu needs to be readily available on your Facebook page.
While Instagram is more visual than Facebook, there’s less space for traditional information found on your Facebook page. There are no excuses for leaving your menu off the platform. Instagram has devised a genius way for you to share your menu in your Highlights. Create a Story featuring your menu and create a Highlight to display it permanently on your profile.
4. Embrace hashtags and location tags
Instagram has two foolproof (and free!) ways to spread the word and increase reach. The inclusion of hashtags allows restaurants to increase their organic reach significantly.
Embrace a daily hashtag such as #tacotuesday or something more locally specific like #perthbrunch, and your restaurant’s posts will appear in the feed when a user searches for them. You can also create your own hashtag and ask your followers to use it. This is an excellent way on social media for restaurants to build their brand and reach more diners.
Location is another big deal on Instagram. Posts with a tagged geo-location achieve almost 80% more engagement than posts without.
5. Make use of User-Generated Content
If you have an active follower base that loves engaging with your restaurant, make sure you show them off. Let people know how much your diners love your food by reposting some content from your followers. User-generated content is great for reach, bulks up your content library and is essentially an authentic customer review that works like ‘word of mouth’. It can build trust in your restaurant, increase engagement and help you reach new audiences.
Consider how your user-generated content can help you tell your story. This is where the hashtag we suggested you create will come in handy!
6. Run a poll on your Instagram story
The whole point of social media is to build a community. And how do you do that? By talking to your customers.
Got an idea for a new signature cocktail but want to test the waters? Are your diners over gin, or can’t get enough? Find out! Ask a question on your Instagram Story with Polls.
7. Build hype with countdowns
Did you know Instagram offers a countdown clock feature within Stories too? From launching a special seasonal pop-up to introducing a new menu, countdowns are a great way to build hype for your restaurant. If you want to keep the mystery alive, you don’t have to say what will happen when the time runs out. Who doesn’t love a bit of mystery?
8. Don’t just stay behind – get in front of the camera
People invest in people, not brands. Resist the urge to stay behind the camera and put your people front and centre.
Think behind-the-scenes tours, Q&As with your superstar staff, and how-to tutorials on making the perfect negroni. You get the idea. Relax, have fun and remember that you don’t need a degree in filmmaking to win on social.
