Is Your Restaurant Social?
While restaurants are by their nature social places, many of them aren’t maximizing that online. Social media is a 24/7 advertisement opportunity, especially if you have great restaurant signage in person and online. There are hundreds if not thousands of people near you who are discussing things online right now! Be ready to interrupt people’s lives, and bring them into your restaurant. Here are 5 ways for restaurants to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy:
1. Put your menu to work for you
In person or online, restaurant menu signs are the one thing visitors are most interested in – so why not put it to work? Add social media icons and your usernames so patrons can quickly add you to their social media accounts.
2. Add social sharing links to your website
Always make it easy for people to share your establishment with their friends. Leave a Facebook “like” and Twitter button on your website so your restaurant shows up in their friends’ feeds. And don’t forget industry-specific sites that allow people to share reviews.
3. Time your communications strategically
If you tweet about lunch, do it a couple of hours before people are likely to head out and go to lunch. Get them hungry by sharing the lunch specials with your digital restaurant signage, and remind them of any discounts or takeout options.
4. Images are key
If you make a dish look appetizing, even if patrons don’t know what it is, they will likely inquire for more information. Use photo sharing sites like Flickr, Instagram and Tumblr to capture some of your restaurant’s best dishes.
5. Create specials on Foursquare.
When patrons check-in on Foursquare, it lets their friends see where they are. Use this to spread awareness about your business! When you create loyalty or mayorship campaigns, patrons earn rewards for coming into your business.
Keep in mind, social media is insanely popular, it’s effective, and it’s a free restaurant signage solution! If you dedicate a few hours or more a week, you can increase your brand awareness and really get people excited about your restaurant.
