How to Reach Diners with our Restaurant Social Media Marketing Agency
Restaurants are a mainstay of our culture. We find them on every high street and in every town and village. They are places we go to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, catch up with friends; or just places to eat on the nights we can’t be bothered to cook! In 2019, over 25,000 restaurants were operating in the UK. This is a huge number considering the fact that it does not include pubs, bars, hotels or cafes. You can start to see why competition is so high for the businesses within the hospitality sector. In an area of immense competition, how can restaurants gain the edge and get customers through the doors? The team at VerriBerri have a specialist restaurant social media marketing department which can help.
Social Media Use
For many of us it is a major part of our day to day lives. We scroll through newsfeeds, look at profiles, upload pictures and keep in touch with friends. In fact, the majority of people in the UK have at least one social media account; an even higher number have accounts on multiple platforms. Statista is an organisation that specialises in producing statistics on wide variety of topics. They place the number of active social media users in the UK at 45 million people. That’s 66% of the entire population of the UK! On average.
UK social media users spend 1 hour 50 minutes on social media each day, with more than 80% of users being within the 18-34 age bracket. In 2019, in terms of overall use; Facebook was still the most popular social network with 35-40 million active monthly users. It was followed closely by Instagram and Twitter. So like it or loathe it, social media is here to stay and given its reach, ignoring the substantial benefits it can have for your business is to lose out on a valuable asset.
How social media can work for your business
For a restaurant, social media marketing is a tool that can help with brand awareness. It can humanise a business, increase web traffic, promote specific products and help with its reputation. When utilised correctly it is a conduit to help foster loyalty to your business.
Most obviously, in our online climate of instant gratification, the benefit of having easy access to critical information such as a menu, contact information and location cannot be overstated. As an example; many small restaurants are often difficult to find, but having the location of the restaurant online with directions specifying where a customer is able to park their car, can change the fortunes of a business overnight. It allows the restaurant to be more accessible for very little time invested. Another proven successful method for increased customer interest is to use timed posts before mealtimes. Posting a photo of the day with a special menu item just when your followers are about to eat might make them reconsider their homemade cheese sandwich when they see that a delicious looking special is just around the corner!
Try something new!
Competitions are a surefire way of keeping interest peaked, especially if they occur regularly. This can benefit a restaurant two-fold. Depending on the style of the competition; it can also double as a way to increase the size of your mailing list. If your restaurant has deals on a certain day, social media is a fantastic way to get the word out. Everyone has heard of Taco Tuesday for that reason.If these methods don’t fit with the style of a restaurant, simply posting photos of delicious menu items—especially ones that aren’t as popular— can be a great way to get interest piqued. Followers might not have seen a menu item before and be in the mood to take the plunge and try something new. Taking this a step further; uploading videos of a chef discussing recipes or taking followers on a tour of the kitchen brings a personal touch to your social media page. These are just a few of the methods at your disposal when using restaurant social media marketing.
How Using a Dedicated Restaurant Social Media Marketing Company Can Help
All the aforementioned ideas are all well and good; but for many restaurant owners simply running their business can take up an extraordinary amount of time. Strategically timed posts are a fantastic idea in theory, but practically, if you are working on other aspects of the business there simply may not be enough time to keep on top of this. If a customer were to respond to a post and their comment is ignored for a few hours due to a busy service, they will probably have already moved on. When using a dedicated restaurant social media marketing company you not only get the combined industry experience and knowledge of their entire team; you also have comfort in the knowledge that they are all working to further the success for your business. Knowing that a team is monitoring your social media accounts on a daily basis gives you the peace of mind that your followers will feel more of a connection to your business, all whilst increasing the size of your following and reaching an ever larger audience.
Contact Us
Navigating the world of social media can be daunting, especially when it involves the reputation of your business. Success can mean increased exposure and revenue, whereas failure can lead to your image being tarnished. The key is to have a plan. Know the audience you need to appeal to. Identify what you actually want to achieve from your social media campaign.
At VerriBerri we specialise in restaurant social media marketing and would love to assist you and your business achieve success online. If you would like to find out more about how we can help and the services we offer, then let us know! Contact VerriBerri today on 01376 386 850. We offer bespoke services and would love to sit down with you, look at your existing social channels and see where we can help!