Using Social Media to Drive Online Food Orders
The world of social media is actively taking part in conversations that focus on sharing thoughts and ideas, making plans for reunions or family gatherings and learning more about the people and companies in their life. As a restaurant, you need to be an active participant in these conversations.
You need to take part in sharing what your restaurant has to offer and making customers aware of how easy it is to order food with you. Social media gives you the ideal platform to do just that. Here are a few ways that you can use social media to increase the number of online food orders that your restaurant receives.
Think Like the Customer
The manner in which your restaurant operates may appear simple to you. That is because it is a large part of your life. Your online ordering system may seem simple to use yet to your customers, it is quite confusing. Create social media posts that center on the benefits of online ordering.
Share images showing step-by-step instructions on how to use your online ordering system. You can also post a question to your audience asking what they find to be the most difficult aspect of your online ordering system. Then create social media activities that address those concerns. It works to alleviate the concerns your customers have and instill a sense of loyalty that you took the time to help resolve their issue.
Turn to Facebook
A significant percentage of your customers are an active part of the Facebook community. It presents you with the ideal platform on how to reach these customers and highlight what your restaurant has to offer. There are a number of ways to accomplish this task on Facebook. Start by adding an enticing cover image that showcases a popular dish that is a favorite among customers. Change the cover image periodically to reflect a menu change, new menu items or a special event taking place in your restaurant.
You can add a tab to your Facebook page that links directly to your online menu. The tab will appear at the top of your Facebook page, next to the ‘about’ tab that provides additional details on your restaurant. Create a video showing how to use your online ordering system and post it to your page. It gives customers an opportunity to see first-hand how the system works before they try to use it for the first time. Add an incentive to the video by offering a discount coupon to use when placing an order through your online ordering system.
Feature Images on Instagram
Instagram is a popular social media channel for sharing images that appeal to a wide audience. It is the perfect opportunity for you to increase online orders for your restaurant. Start by adding your online ordering link to your profile page. You can mention that link in your profile each time you add new pictures of various menu items on your Instagram page.
Create a relevant hashtag for your online ordering system and include it in any image description that focuses on your menu. Feature pictures of other customers placing orders through your online ordering system to show how easy it is to operate. Give customers a discount when they refer to an Instagram image that focuses on a particular menu item or the online ordering system.
Be Twitter Active
Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media platforms that steadily sees an increase in user engagement. It creates an excellent opportunity for your restaurant to engage with customers and encourage them to place online food orders. You can use the link for your online menu as the website address on your Twitter profile page. Send a tweet to your followers providing a link to your online menu as well. It lets your customers know that online ordering is an option with your restaurant.
Feature a menu item by including a photo of that item in a tweet that also contains your online menu link. Use relevant hashtags that will work to expand the audience reach for a tweet that highlights the presence of online ordering for your restaurant. You can take advantage of time by sending out relevant tweets close to breakfast, lunch or dinner times when your customers may be online looking for options for each of these meals. For further engagement opportunities, you can add hashtags such as #lunch or #dinner to these tweets as well.
Social media presents you with an excellent opportunity to spread the word about having an online ordering system available to your customers. It gives you the chance to explain how this system works and provide customers with discounts and coupons for using the system at the same time. You can engage in conversations with your customers to see how they like the service and if they have given the system a try. Stay active in the conversations on social media and customers will feel comfortable with you and the services you provide.