In 2020, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, there was one restaurant or bar for every 175 inhabitants in Spain. That’s about 277.539 hospitality establishments in total. With such competition, it can be very difficult to stand out and attract new diners. Luckily, today we have many digital tools with which we can promote our restaurant, whether locally, nationally or even beyond our borders.
To promote a restaurant we have our own tools such as a website or third party tools such as Google Business Profile or Instagram, with which to design a joint strategy.
To help those venues looking for how to promote themselves on the Internet, below we share several marketing ideas for restaurants:
-Develop an identity: The brand identity must go beyond colors and logo, it must also represent the personality of the business. The identity will set the tone of our content and the emotions we want to inspire in the customer. For example, brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken or Domino’s Pizza have adopted a fun personality and a humorous tone in most of their communications. To know what is the best tone for our restaurant, first of all, we must understand our customers and their interests.
-Create a website: A common mistake many restaurants make is to think that having a complete Business Profile is enough. However, a website is much better, as we can use it to display our menus, have a space to introduce ourselves and even create a list of common questions and a reservation system.
-Online menu: Another way to attract attention is to create a special space for the menu and menu on our website. It should be easy to find and have a good resolution.
-Create social networks: As essential as the website, if we want to create presence and attract more customers, we must be present in social networks. Again, we have to understand our audience and know their tastes, to know in which social networks we should be and in which not.
-Google Business Profile: This free Google tool offers a lot of visibility, especially in local searches, as it shows our business on the Google page, in the knowledge panels, but also on Google Maps. In this sense, it is necessary to optimize the profile and update it whenever necessary.
-Restaurant applications: Another important point is to appear in the main restaurant apps and listings such as TripAdvisor, Yelp or El Tenedor. These are tools that will offer us great visibility and can make more customers discover us.
-Request reviews: In Google Business Profile as in any app, reviews are important, as users will take into account the comments of other customers when choosing a restaurant. One way to get more reviews is to ask customers for them, you can do it by leaving a card with the bill, with a QR, with a sign next to the cash register or by asking your customers directly.
-Create a newsletter: A good way to take advantage of our website is to create a mailing list and a newsletter that we can send to our customers to keep them informed about all the news of the store, as well as new menus or any offer or event.
-Local SEO: Betting on content creation and local SEO can make our restaurant appear at the top of Google, but also to climb positions in the knowledge panel and appear first on Google Maps.
-Paid ads: Google Ads and Facebook Ads are two excellent options to promote a restaurant. Using the audience configuration tools we can create an advertising campaign targeted to users near our location, even if we have more than one in different locations.
-Photo sharing: Instagram is a great Internet marketing tool and one of the best ways to promote a restaurant. In addition, foodie and food-related content works very well on the network. Instagram also allows us to contact expert food influencers to invite them to the restaurant and elaborate a collaboration.
-Contests: Finally, we can’t forget about contests. We can raffle dinners or experiences for users who follow us on social networks and follow a dynamic that we have created specifically for it. We can take advantage of national or local holidays, as well as partner with local product brands to create a different and attractive experience that invites social network users to participate.
