Dave MeierIt has always been an ongoing challenge for the restaurant owner to find ways to make their establishment stand out from the rivals, but the Internet has helped to create a more even ground. Moreover, research shows that online marketing is crucial for success, so if you haven’t started promoting in earnest already, then these five online marketing strategies will help to grow your restaurant and take it to the next level.
1. Social Media
Social media can give even the smallest of restaurants the widest of reaches when used properly. Sites like Facebook and Twitter provide a great platform for connecting to potential new customers and sharing your latest news and special offers, while sites like Instagram or Pinterest enable you to post tempting pictures of the food you serve.
The best way to use social media is to establish your expertise in your subject; this will help to build a steady following and help build confidence in your brand. When using pictures for your marketing, think about the wider community, the ambience, the nightlife, etc. and feature these in your imaging to really sell your venue to the right market.
2. Keep Updating
One key area where restaurant owners go wrong is they don’t continue to update their website and this can mean the search engines don’t visit it often enough. Keep your website fresh with new blog content, special offers or events and competitions, and consistently work on your local SEO to help get found in the local results.
Use your website as a method for establishing a mailing list and send out regular newsletters to customers along with special offers to keep them interested, but always offer them the option of unsubscribing if they wish.
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Reservations
With the rushed lifestyles people lead these days, there will always be the need to book a table in a hurry. Make sure that you have an online reservation system set up, and sign up to some of the third party reservation systems to gain extra customers. Third party reservation sites allow people to book seats at their convenience, and they can also be a valuable part in growing your brand as they often have an active community of food lovers that can help spread the word.
In addition, ensuring your restaurant is featured on a third party platform will increase your chances of getting noticed, especially among people who are new or are visiting an area, and who might not be sure of the best places to go.
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Get Your Site Listed
Getting listed on the directories and search engines is essential if you are going to drive traffic to your website. The most important ones are Google and Yahoo! so concentrate on these two first. Next, create a Google+ account so your restaurant will show in the local listings; this will also enable visitors to find the address, contact details and any reviews.
You will also want to register with the major directories like Yelp! to allow your business to be found easier by potential customers; they can then also view what people are saying about your establishment.
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Connect With Food Lovers
It’s also a good idea to connect with food lovers in your local area. You should be able to do this easily through their blogs or websites, and most of them will be happy to write a review of your restaurant giving an honest opinion about your menu and establishment, and crucially what could be made better.
You’ll need to find bloggers with a larger following and with plenty number of comments and views; this shows that there is a great deal of interaction and it’s more likely to gain you better publicity.
Conclusion
The Internet has made marketing much easier, but with so many different options, it can be difficult to decide on the best approach. By using a combination of the above approaches, you can soon learn which methods work for you.
However, to make the whole process much easier, you can also work with a team of professionals to help establish your website and get your marketing plan underway.