5 Marketing Opportunities Restaurateurs Overlook Time and Time Again
Restaurants must always stay up-to-date with the consumer. That includes investing in new restaurant marketing techniques that take advantage of social media and the internet at large. If you are struggling to figure out how to promote a restaurant, then here are some simple actions you might be overlooking.
1. Create a killer Instagram
Most people turn to Instagram to find inspiration on what’s for dinner. You will want to make sure those people are able to get a good appetizing visual on what you have to offer. Create an account and use it as a tool to showcase your creative menu, new menu items, as well as host a contest. &Pizza does a great job of creating a visually beautiful page of their pies.
2. Utilize SnapChat Geofilters
A simple and affordable way to get the word out about your restaurant is to set up a SnapChat geofilter. This allows people who get within a certain distance of your establishment to have a fun border or image in their SnapChat photos related to your business. Your brand can potentially reach thousands of relevant people in one day! You can select the day you wish the filter to be live, as well as digitally fence in a location. This is great way to highlight an event or special promotion. Use the discovery map within the app to see the filter being used and share the photos on other social accounts to help spread awareness of your filter. We are still sad we missed the recent Whataburger filter.
3. Find Events To Sponsor Around the City
You may want to keep tabs on what events are coming up and see if you could be a sponsor. You could take part in an upcoming marathon and offer free drinks or a free meal to all participants.
You can become more involved with local golf clubs, churches and little leagues. One tactic Sonic uses is their fundraiser nights to help local teams.
4. Gain Control of your Online Listings
There are numerous search and social platforms where customers can find your business information and publish reviews. Gain control of how your business is viewed on numerous sites such as Yelp and Facebook. This is where Yext comes into play. Yext puts you in control of the public facts about your restaurant brand everywhere people are searching. Update all your listings in one place to remain accurate as well respond quickly to reviews.
You can run a free scan on your business here to see how your business is listed.
5. Use Limited Time Offers Creatively
Unfortunately, LTOs are not as simple as sketching up a sign with a sharpie and calling it “limited” or “special”. You have to think about the training, timing, and pricing of LTO’s before you get started. Lucky for you, we provided an Essential LTO Rollout Checklist. A great place to start is to plan around seasonal flavors and Ingredients, such as peppermint hot chocolate in the winter. After you have an exciting LTO to launch, don’t forget to share the news across social media. Taco Cabana does a great visual job on their social accounts for promoting their one day limited offers.
Read more about how to run a successful LTO.
Running a restaurant can be tough. However, it can be made simpler with the help of Dot It. Learn more by contacting us, and get the help you need to reach more consumers.