5 easy need-to-know strategies if you plan on marketing your restaurant in 2020
Customer certainty is defining the way we choose, buy and return to certain restaurants and not others. Technology and social media are helping customers to become informed buyers, eliminating spontaneity in place of a ‘guaranteed’ experience. So, are you on top of your marketing game?
I hear you; you’re running around, struggling to get rosters sorted, you’re putting out blazing HR fires, while maybe (if you have the luxury) you’re driving from location to location making sure everything is in order. I hear you. Marketing goes on the back burner. Besides you don’t have time to figure out how competitor is effectively communicating online.
As humans, we are beings of certainty, meaning we want to know what we are getting. Surprises are nice, sure! But a life full of adapting is stressful… Effectively communicating to your customers through social media eliminates that adaptation, as you are speaking to your target buyers with promotion, entertainment and information.
Want to know how much Generation Z and millennials hate surprises and love certainty? A whopping 99% of millennials and Gen Z are more like to rely on social media and online reviews when choosing a restaurant compared to Generation X and Boomers, who relied more on their friends and families to make a decision.
Here are five great examples of awesome restaurant Instagram marketing in Manchester!
Promoting Your Menu
Where the light gets in is rated as one of the best restaurants in Manchester. Their socials show why. From the looks of things, they are using an iPhone to showcase their menu online giving people a taste of what is in store.
Effectiveness
It is scientifically proven that people get digital hunger. One of the brain’s major functions is to find food. It is scientifically proven that we are more susceptible to prettier and flashier food the grabs our attention. So make sure to share your delicious goods on Instagram.
How to do it
Using some good lighting (natural light is always the best), head toward a window and take pictures of your current menu.
User Generated Content
The Bull and Bear in Manchester show how to make the most out of User Generated Content (also known as UGC). Bull and Bear serve British classics in a breath-taking domed trading room floor from a stock exchange hotel. They use social proof as part of their online marketing to show other people are wining and dining in their restaurant.
Effectiveness
Social Proof is an integral part of any marketing campaign in any industry. It especially works in the hospitality sector. Users show off where they’re eating and what they’re eating to their friends. This makes their friends hungry for a taste of the delectable goods on your menu.
How to do it
If your restaurant is being tagged in stories or posts, share them on your story highlights feature on your Instagram. If you want to boost social proof and user generated content – make a discount for anyone who takes a picture in your restaurant. Ensure to get them to tag your restaurant so you can share their picture on your socials so they can avail of the discount.
Add a LinkTree
Dishoom in Manchester offer a restaurant and menu to fall in love with, with an experience straight from the heart of Bombay. Located on 32 Bridge Street, they utilise every piece of real estate on their Instagram, including their bio. Their link bio has a LinkTree. A LinkTree is a website you can use for free on your Instagram to direct your audience to the parts of the cite that interest them the most.
Effectiveness
Rather than leaving them on your homepage and letting the navigate your website – a LinkTree empowers your customer to view the webpage on your site which is most relevant to them.
How to do it
Head to LinkTree and set up your account. Enter in the pages you find are most relevant to your audience and you’re ready to go.
Championing your staff
Champions celebrate. Celebrating your staff creates a roster of champions. Take Mana Manchester for example, as part of their marketing, they take really professional photos of their employees. On their Instagram it enlists their job role, shows off their personality and introduces them directly to your new customers. It shows what the customer should expect when they drop by.
Effectiveness
Celebrating your staff on social acts as a shop window for your employees to the world, introducing them to your potential customers immediately and thus, creating a bond. People are more likely to like, share and comment on piece of content that has a REAL human in it. Plus, they know who to expect when they eventually visit your place. See the amount of comments they are getting on their photos from customers!
How to do it
With your camera or smartphone, take a photo of a single employee. When captioning the photo make sure to K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple silly!). Tell your audience what this individual specifically does in your restaurant, but then: go into detail on their strengths. Showing off your staff shows a pride in your establishment. It’s like you have a best friend that you can’t wait to tell everyone about.
Supplier Hero
Adam Reid’s The French showcase a lavish and relaxed dining experience and their social media sites are no different. Apart from screening a variety of high-quality photos of their staff, menu and setting, they also show what is going on behind the scenes.
Effectiveness
The concept of an open kitchen entices customers to a unique experience (which is becoming more and more popular with consumers). The sights can make customers work up an appetite for your steak or fish dishes. People love to see how their food has been made and the processes. By giving them a behind the scenes look at your business and your suppliers you will rack up those likes and followers.
How to do it
Simply take a picture of what your supplier is giving you (even better, include the supplier in the photo). Before you post the picture, make sure to tag your supplier and add a caption to why you chose this product and the benefits of this particular supplier.
Writing
If you have the budget to outsource your writing efforts to a professional, or someone who is, studying let’s say English or journalism for example, ask them would they be interested in giving you a hand in return for experience. Alternatively, if there is someone who works in your restaurant who is a natural born storyteller, give them the responsibility to create and connect with your audience.
Photography
If a staff member is doing a media or marketing course, they are most likely doing photography as a module. Try and work out a project together where both of you benefit from using each other’s skillsets.
Hey, you’ve made it to the end of this article! If you’re still undecided in what direction you want to go with your content marketing, be sure to send over an email to me with any questions. We love to help people here in Bizimply, so advice over a coffee or the phone is for always for free.Â
