Having a strong online presence is crucial for restaurants to attract and retain customers. With 90% of consumers researching restaurants online before dining and 72% using social media for their search, digital marketing has become essential for success in the restaurant business.
If you own a restaurant and you haven’t invested in digital marketing, you’re missing out on serious revenue. By implementing a digital marketing strategy, you can help more people discover your restaurant and generate a steady flow of loyal patrons who keep coming back for more.
If getting more customers sounds good, here’s everything you need to know about marketing your restaurant online.
While you don’t need a fancy or complicated brand image, you do need a stable, consistent brand voice and visual aesthetic to differentiate your restaurant in a crowded market. For instance, a rustic Italian restaurant might use warm colors and traditional fonts to evoke feelings of authenticity, while a restaurant focusing on kids’ entertainment would use bold colors and a cartoonish font.
When it comes to visuals, your logo and tagline should be memorable and instantly recognizable. For instance, McDonald’s golden arches and their “I’m lovin’ it” slogan are recognized worldwide by just about everyone. Take this into account when coming up with your brand image. It doesn’t have to be inherently meaningful – it just has to be recognizable.
Another important part of your brand identity is your origin story, which may include what motivated you to start your restaurant. For example, many restaurants are created when the owner has a passion for creating a certain type of food or wants to create a specific dining experience for people. Making this information known can create an emotional connection with your customers. For example, a family-owned traditional diner might highlight the use of generational recipes and a commitment to giving back to the local community.
No matter how or where you market your restaurant online – whether you use paid ads, social media posts, or other channels – people will visit your website, and that means it needs to be as user-friendly as possible. For the best results, restaurant websites need the following elements:
· A current menu. This should include photos, descriptions, and prices for everything offered, including meals, appetizers, drinks, and side dishes. This menu should exist locally on your website and should not be a link to a menu on an external website.
Even though you might use a third-party online menu and ordering website, your website visitors should be able to access your menu without being taken off your website. A lot of third-party menu sites are difficult to navigate and require signing up to see prices. Since many visitors will be checking your menu before heading out to dine in, difficult third-party menus can be a deterrent.
· Contact and location information. Your phone number and address should be visible on every page. Some visitors will be specifically looking for this information.
· Online ordering. Restaurants that offer online ordering get more sales. Instead of calling, many people prefer to order online and pick up their meal to take home.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is how you’ll get seen in search results when people search for restaurants or the types of food that you serve. Here are the 3 most important elements of SEO for restaurants.
The first thing you’ll want to do is create a Google Business Profile and optimize it as much as possible. Include high-quality, professional photos to capture attention and make sure to include as much information as possible, including your hours, contact information, and website URL.
Don’t forget to verify the accuracy of Google’s map marker. Even when the address is correct, markers are commonly misplaced. An incorrect placement can cause you to lose out if people can’t find you. For instance, if the marker is located in an empty alley, but your restaurant is on the other side of a business complex, people might not have the patience to drive around to find you.
Next, you’ll need to zero in on targeting local keywords to get your website seen by locals. For instance, if you’re running a French restaurant, you’ll want to optimize your website for keywords like, “French dining,” “French restaurant,” “Authentic French food,” and similar phrases. When users search for these phrases, search engines will give them results for local restaurants based on their zip code. Your goal should be to rank for the phrases people are most likely to type into the search bar.
Make sure your restaurant is listed on platforms like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and other local directories to reinforce your credibility and improve local search rankings.
With the exception of paid ads, marketing on social media is more like lead generation and relationship building. The more interesting content you publish, the more likely people are to engage with your brand online. Getting activity on your posts will serve as social proof that your restaurant is popular. You’ll also gain more visibility as people share your posts and see their friends commenting.
Although there are plenty of social media platforms out there, it’s important to choose the right ones so you don’t waste your time. According to the data, Instagram and Facebook are particularly effective for restaurants. Out of the 42% of people who use social media to find new restaurants, a whopping 59% of them use Facebook the most. This means you can’t afford to skip having a presence on Facebook – it’s the best way to reach your potential patrons.
If you don’t already have a Facebook page for your business, create one right away and start posting to engage your customers. People love seeing photos of food and drinks on a restaurant’s social media account, so post your best photos to entice people to visit.
As people engage with your content, remember to respond with short, friendly comments in return. People notice when a brand engages with their audience on social media, and positive interactions will strengthen your brand image.
Email marketing can be highly effective for restaurants when done correctly. Here’s a general idea of how it’s done:
· Build a subscriber list. You’ll start collecting emails through website sign-up forms, in-store promotions, and events. This is the foundation of every email marketing campaign.
· Send personalized emails. You’ll send periodic emails to your subscriber list with content tailored to their preferences to encourage them to visit. For example, while your whole list might get a BOGO coupon, you can also send people special discounts on their birthday.
· Use automation. Automation is the key to making email marketing work. By scheduling a set number of emails to be delivered over time to each new subscriber, it takes less work to get results.
Once you set up your email sequence, every new subscriber will be automatically added to the list and will receive all of the emails in your sequence over time. Additionally, you can set up automated emails to be delivered on birthdays and holidays based on the information users submit.
In the restaurant industry, the average email open rate is 40.03%, which means for every 1,000 subscribers you have, around 400 people will open your emails. That’s significant and higher than the general average across all industries. If you can get 400 people to look at an irresistible coupon deal, you have a good chance of getting many of them to come in for a meal at some point in the near future.
In addition to email marketing, SMS marketing – or text message marketing – is highly effective. SMS communications are delivered instantly, get high engagement rates, and are cost-effective. According to statistics, 75% of guests prefer receiving restaurant promotions through text rather than email, and if you craft the wording just right, you’ll get plenty of people in the door.
Paid advertising, specifically pay-per-click (PPC) ads, are essential for restaurants. Running targeted ads on Google, Facebook, Bing, and Instagram has serious potential to bring you new and repeat customers. PPC ads will increase your restaurant’s visibility to potential customers searching for dining options in the area. The best part is that you can also run retargeting ads that only get displayed to people who have previously interacted with your brand by clicking on an ad or visiting your website. This gives you warm leads that are easier to convert.
Managing your paid ads budget is easy when you set daily limits and learn how to optimize your bidding strategy. You can calculate your ROI by tracking your performance metrics and optimizing your campaigns for better returns.
Online reviews play a big role in digital marketing for restaurants and if you haven’t prioritized this yet, now is the time. Not only do you need to start generating a higher quantity of reviews, but it’s equally important to respond to reviews, especially when they’re negative.
Encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google and Yelm can boost your reputation and encourage new patrons to try your restaurant. Addressing negative reviews from unhappy customers will demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction and can clear up misunderstandings. For example, say you receive a negative review from a customer who says their salad was bitter, but they ordered a traditional Italian salad made with arugula and lemon. You can clarify that the dish is supposed to be bitter while offering a free salad of their choice on their next visit.
If you have damaging bad reviews on Google, it’s worth trying to get them removed. A few bad reviews aren’t always a big deal, but depending on what the review says, they can drive people to your competition even when you have a lot of positive reviews.
The best place to run deals and discounts is online. To get more patrons, you’ll want to run limited-time promotions, like happy hours or holiday specials, to attract new customers and incentivize repeat visits.
Hosting local events to create community engagement is something worth considering. Not only will you bring people together for a fun time, but you’ll increase your brand awareness, especially if you provide food at the event.
One of the best promotions you can offer is a loyalty program where customers earn points for every dollar they spend that can be redeemed for discounts and free meals. A good loyalty program will get people in for more frequent visits.
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of digital marketing works for restaurants, the importance of tracking your performance can’t be overstated. You’ll need a strategy to track all of your marketing efforts so you know exactly what strategies and channels are bringing you the best results. Social media insights, Google Analytics, and similar tools will provide this data so you can refine your marketing strategies and improve your results.
Running a successful restaurant takes more than just delicious food and great service – you also need a digital presence that works hard to represent your brand and bring in more patrons. From showing up in local search results to engaging customers on social media, your restaurant’s online strategy can be the difference between a perpetually packed dining room and slow nights. With a strong digital marketing strategy, you’ll attract new customers, build loyalty, and drive repeat visits.
All this sounds good, but you might not have the time or energy to figure it out on your own. It takes a lot to search SEO tactics, monitor ad performance, design email campaigns, and respond to reviews. Doing all that feels like a full-time job. The truth is, digital marketing is complex and time-consuming, and doing it wrong can waste time and money.
That’s where we come in.
At Marketer.co, we provide restaurants with digital marketing services to take the extra work off your plate. We’ll handle everything you might need, including local SEO, social media, website optimization, paid advertising, and even reputation management. When you work with us, you can focus on what you do best: running your restaurant. Whether you’re looking to boost takeout orders, introduce online ordering, or fill tables on slow nights, we’ll help you get there with a custom digital marketing strategy tailored to meet your goals.
If you’re ready to turn clicks into customers, contact us today for a free digital marketing consultation. We’d love to help you grow your restaurant.
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