Social Media for Restaurants: How to Make the Most of Them

Nowadays, everyone is a food blogger. With millions of photos tagged #food and #drinks, it is becoming so hard to cut through the noise. There is so much content out there that you may even start thinking about giving up completely and stop focusing on social media.

But, before you do that, let us remind you that almost 90% of people are influenced by the online reviews and comments and that 75% of people bought a product because they saw it on social media! So instead of giving up on social media you should start using it in a way it suits your needs, without thinking too much about what everyone else is doing.

Fill out your profiles

When you have several social media profiles (and when all of them differ in the way they look), it is not a rare case that restaurants forget to fill out the necessary info. So the first thing you need to do is to write down your location, business hours and whether you accept reservations through social media. Also (if that is possible), you can add your menu and allow reviews. By completing this step you will be sure that your potential customers have the right info about your restaurant.

Create relevant posts

It takes time to execute this step properly and a bit of practice because you will have to get to know your audience on social media. At the beginning you can combine promotional posts with engagement posts to see which ones your audience prefers. For example, you can post something about discounts in your restaurants from time to time, but use engagement posts between these posts. Engagement posts can vary from asking a question, posting content from your customers to encouraging your customers to share their opinions on some topic you opt for. So take your time to see what your audience loves and don’t go overboard with promotional posts.

Respond to customers

If your customers take the time to write you a review or to respond to a question you asked in your social media post, you should respond to them. If a review is a negative one, by responding to these customers you will have a chance to build a better relationship and to change their opinion. If a review is a good one, a simple thank you or a coupon for free drinks will go a long way. As long as you don’t ignore your customers who want to communicate with you, you will build lasting relationships with them.

Offer coupons and discounts

By offering coupons and discounts that are created exclusively for your social media fans, you can easily build a bigger fan base because people love discounts. Another important part related to special offers created for social media worth mentioning is that these kind of posts are frequently shared with friends and family, which will help you reach a whole new group of people that haven’t heard of your restaurant.

Create social media competitions

Similar to the previously mentioned offers, social media competitions can attract a bunch of new fans, but they offer an additional advantage as well – you will get a lot of user-generated content. Later on, you can use that content to share it on your social media pages, which will only encourage even more engagement from your customers. Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it?

Mastering social media and types of posts your fans will love takes a bit of time. There will also be a lot of trial and error, but you should never give up on using social media. However, if you are struggling and you want to take your business to the next level, our social media experts will help you gladly.

From getting the word out to gaining more customers and sharing their experiences, our social media team knows how to powerfully display your brand to gain customers and increase revenue and net profits. Get in touch today.