8 Tips for a Successful Social Media Campaign for Restaurants 2018

Years ago finding a good restaurant to dine in was hard, we had to rely on the good old yellow pages or TV advertisements and very rarely relied on recommendations from word of mouth.
Fast forward to 2018, and we live in wonderful world of technology at our fingertips.  Not only do we have access to a plethora of review sites we also have the infamous world of social media.
Social Media is used in almost every business, and if it’s not it should be.  The restaurant industry has slowly evolved and is now extremely active on social media which is great news for potential customers.  Sadly whether you are on social media and actively engaged or not, the world around you will still be tweeting and posting their thoughts and views on you so it can quickly become apparent why it is so important that you are also there representing your food establishment.
We know how difficult it is to manage a restaurant let alone manage a healthy active social media presence.  This is why our Restaurant social media industry experts have thoughtfully put together this great list of tips to get your restaurant social media strategy looking as delicious as the food you serve.

1. Be Consistent
   

   As obvious and simple as this sounds you will be surprised at how many people in the food and beverage social media niche do not stick to this rule.
   Don’t get us wrong, it’s not the end of the world and this is not a strict must, however being consistent across all platforms such as the desktop version, restaurant app and social media platforms right through to mobile optimisation says a lot about your company and how you do business.
   Firstly, social media consistency creates a great customer experience.  No one wants to be confused when checking any of your platforms.  Being consistent with your logo and even beautiful food imagery will create a reliable message which people will love and trust.
   Being inconsistent can lead to real confusion and your brand being unrecognisable, which is obviously not what you want for your restaurant’s social brand.  You want your customers to be able to recognise your brand without even having to look at your logo or contact details.

2. Respond to All Online Reviews
   

   Whether you are a well established restaurant or a tiny food truck that has just started out it is very important that you respond to your online reviews.  We cannot stress this enough, there are too many restaurants who do not even consider responding to reviews, especially if they are negative.
   We all like to hear positive reviews no matter what line of business you are in but especially so in the restaurant industry.  Unfortunately we all get negative reviews from time to time, and it’s times like this that you should definitely be responding.  Personalising your response is a must, not only does it show that you read the review but also shows that you actually care and are interested in what the reviewer has said.
   This advice goes for both positive and negative reviews, remember your reviewers are human so they would appreciate a personalised human response rather than a generic response that you send out to every review.
   Don’t forget that negative reviews are not the be all and end all, it’s a great way to learn about your mistakes and gives you an opportunity to address them and work it to your business’ favour.  Ensuring your brand stays on top whilst taking on board valued customer responses.
   Potential customers will be far more put off by a bad response from your restaurant on social media as opposed to a bad review from a stranger.

3. Encourage & Share Customer Content 

   Everyone these days seems to be taking pictures of their food before they eat it.  It’s almost become the case that it’s a must and isn’t going to be going away anytime soon.
   This is great news for your restaurant social media management.  Encouraging your customers to take food selfies and re-featuring them on your social media platforms increases the brand to consumer engagement and more importantly spreads the word about your restaurant.
   One of the best examples of a restaurant adopting this idea in our opinion is Nando’s.  They introduced the famous ‘finger selfie’ campaign which involved customers posting a picture of a finger selfie using a Nando’s napkin.  In addition to this Nando’s were offering a £20 gift card for the best finger selfie as an incentive to get customers involved.  This enhanced customers dining experience and made it a fun and interactive way to get involved.  This is restaurant social media management done right and should be an example to others in the food and beverage niche.Think of it this way, it’s a great way to get free marketing, while you sit back and let your followers do the work for you.

4. Offer Exclusive Coupons & Discount Codes to your Social Followers
   

   Offering exclusive deals to customers in return for an online review or share can go a long way.  Everyone loves to bag a great deal or freebie and we all know how quickly news like this travels.  Not only does it increase the restaurants visibility it also increases customer engagement with the brand.  Giving a away a free side dish or 10% off the bill is eye-catching to customers and costs very little to you in comparison to the long-term return you gain from it.  It’s no shock that people are more likely to try a new restaurant with a promotional offer than without, so not only are you rewarding your existing fan base you are enticing newcomers through the front door and on to your bottom line.Again this is another great way to obtain free marketing, as with responding to reviews online it is also a good idea to show some appreciation to those that are mentioning your restaurant.

5. Showcase Your Employees
   

   Your staff and employees are part of the reason customers have a great dining experience.  Obviously the food is what entices them but the overall experience is a contributing factor as to why customers will return.
   Without your employees you just have an empty building and a faceless brand, not a restaurant.  Sharing pictures with your employees hard at work connects with people on a deeper more personal level.
   Pictures can say a thousand words, and although your employees are hard at work it can be nice to see that you can also have fun at work, people will relate to this and more than likely push them to making a well deserved visit to your restaurant.  This applies right from the front of house to depths of the kitchen where Chef’s are working hard to make that extra special meal.
   A behind the scenes glimpse of your restaurant could connect personally with many customers who will in turn warm to you and your restaurant’s brand.

6. Engage Followers by Asking Questions

   You should have noticed by now that there is a trend here, improving your social media management campaign mainly by engaging your target demographic.  The more you engage your customers the more likely they are to return and recommend you to their friends and family.  From a consumer prospective its nice to know that they can relate to you on a personal level, so any type of interaction which involves their view or honest feedback is enticing for anyone.A common misconception is restaurants feel they have to always tell their followers whats going on in and around their restaurant.  Yes, social media is a great way to let people know what the special of the day is or what event is coming up; but your social media platform is so much more than that, it’s about the social interaction around your followers and getting to know your following.
   Almost all social media platforms give the opportunity to do a question poll, so use it to your advantage! A simple question like, “What’s your favourite item from our menu?” or “What additional item would you like added to our menu?” serves great purpose getting customers involved.  Not only does it tell your following you are interested in what their views are, but it also gives you a invaluable insight into what your following like & dislike giving you the opportunity to make changes if necessary.

7. Use Trending Topics to Your Advantage
   

   Keeping up with trending topics can be a headache itself, topics change often enough and can sometimes only last a day or so.  That’s not to say you cannot use it to your advantage, you just need to jump on the band wagon as early as possible.
   This strategy has name believe or not and it’s called “newsjacking”, it’s a great way to stay up to date with the latest trends and for you to give exposure to your brand as you will not only be targeting your followers but also people who are following that specific trend.
   An example of that would be ‘The Beast From the East” (#BeastFromTheEast) the last few weeks this has been trending all over social media, and is a great opportunity to put your spin on things.  It’s a simple strategy, yet very effective for some of our clients.

8. Social Media Contests
   

   Finally – hosting social media contests is another great social media marketing tool to engage with your restaurant customers.
   As with the coupons – everyone loves a free meal, it would be very hard to turn down.  It’s a simple strategy; create any type of contest on social media with the end result of freebie i.e. A free meal for two.  Watch how quickly the word will spread all the while giving you extra exposure and new followers.
   There are a thousand ways you can approach this, from fun and simple trivia based questions, to photo contests and even riddles – basically whatever you think will captivate and entice your followers to participate in.  Remember you don’t want to make this task difficult, you want to make it fun and easy enough as possible or people will lose interest very quickly and fail to participate.
   Be sure to be clear about the closing date and when the winner will be announced and make sure the contest is for a short period of time, people don’t want to enter a contest where the winner is announced in 6 weeks.  They will lose interest very quickly and the chances of them spreading the word is highly unlikely.Keep in mind the focus of these contests is to create a rapport with your followers and a social interaction that engages both you and your followers.
   It’s a win-win situation, you have nothing to lose so why not do it?

We hope that this information has been insightful and you’ve learned a few extra tricks to manage a successful social media campaign in the restaurant industry.  If you simply do not have time and would like extra help managing your social media content our friendly experts in the restaurant social media management niche industry would be happy to help.
Contact us today and join our other happy customers in the restaurant industry.