The reference marketing to-do list for restaurants

Tips, ideas and best practices!

We have selected for you the actions to take if you want your restaurant to strengthen its digital presence.

Marketing in restaurants

90% of customers research a restaurant online before they go to dinner. So it's essential for restaurants to build their online presence to attract new customers, create a real community and increase sales. But running a restaurant is time-consuming, and you often don't have enough time to focus on marketing.

What is restaurant marketing?

Restaurant marketing is all aboutattracting and retaining customers. By now you know that these customers spend a lot of time online and rely on the reviews of other customers to know where to buy their food. It's easy to think of discounts, pretty pictures and social media when we talk about marketing. While it's true that building a strong brand identity is essential to standing out from the competition, you also shouldn't overlook the small, easy changes that can be made that will help strengthen your digital presence. Start by making sure your establishment can be easily found online. Check that your menus are updated, that the hours listed are correct, that the various links and information are valid. To help you, we have selected a number of tasks that can help you strengthen your online presence. Before we get to that, we would like to draw your attention to some statistics:

- 57% of customers visit a restaurant's website before going to eat;

- 71% of customers are more likely to recommend a restaurant if they receive a quick response from it on social media;

- 92% of consumers read restaurant reviews;

- 77% of customers value reviews from other customers more than reviews from critics;

- 92% of restaurants use Facebook for their social media branding and marketing.

- About 50% of customers say they are trying a restaurant for the first time after seeing a post on the networks.

Improve the digital presence of your establishment

What do these statistics show? They show that your customers are very concerned about what is happening online. They also show that your competitors are already using digital tools to improve their reputation. No matter what stage of digital development you are in, there is always room for improvement and you can start getting more orders . Our list contains free tools, ideas and current best practices to improve your marketing plan without the headache!

1 - Complete and optimize your Google my Business profile

Did you know? An optimized Google Business Profile gets about five times more views than a non-optimized listing. Google has now replaced traditional directories. It goes even further by automatically filling in the information on your page with what it finds elsewhere. The first step is to check this information and change it if it is wrong. Make sure that the hours of operation, contact information and the address listed contain the correct information. Add your complete and updated menu to your listing. Adding an FAQ to your listing is a good way to find out what your customers are looking for, attract new ones and reduce the amount of time your staff will spend on the phone before greeting your customer either in the room or electronically if they are ordering for delivery. Questions that may come up include: is parking available in front of the restaurant? Do you have gluten-free, dairy-free or meat-free meals? Is my dog allowed in your establishment?

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2 - Follow more people

Who does your restaurant follow on social media? Expand your reach to your restaurant's customers. Talk about the dishes you offer and your signature dishes to increase your visibility and gain more followers.

3 - Use hashtags

Using hashtags is an effective way to gain visibility on social networks. Add about three #'s per post associated with your food, your city and your content.

4 - Publish user-controlled content

Every day, take 10 minutes to browse the different locations. If a customer posts from your restaurant, always republish it! Encourage your customers to tag your establishment when they post with a mention of you. This way, you will promote your business for free!

5 - Create a calendar with holidays

Planning is key to perfecting your marketing strategy. On the first day of each month, look for special events taking place during the month. It could be the first day of summer, Labor Day, Father's Day, or even National Hot Dog Day! Whether it's a big occasion or a small one, look for moments that will allow you to offer discounts at the right time or to encourage customers to celebrate a special event in your restaurant.

6 - Partner with food influencers

As you probably know, influencer marketing is very trendy right now. It has the advantage of allowing companies to reach a large community immediately. Working with influencers is relatively simple. Micro-influencers looking for either a free meal or an experience to post about are plentiful on the networks. On an Instagram profile, contact the person you want to work with and send them an explanatory note asking for their rates and thanking them for their time and interests. We recommend contacting multiple people to have a quicker effect.

You can also invite critics and bloggers to your restaurant. Influencers will be a great support to build your online presence while critics will improve the reputation of your establishment among your customers.

7 - Create your menu online

93% of customers look at the online menu before eating out or ordering. Make sure your menu is up to date and on your website, Google profile and social media. By giving your customers the right information up front, you reduce the amount of time your staff will spend on the phone giving that information.

8 - Give of yourself in Instagram and TikTok reels

A strong digital presence is essential to attracting new customers. Videos are well on their way to staying hot on Instagram and TikTok, so take advantage of this! You'll grow your audience, stay top-of-mind with your current customers, and who knows, maybe have some fun creating this content! Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling:

- Introduce yourself and tell your story: since Instagram reels are meant to be consumed quickly, explain your role and the function of your restaurant with an attention-grabbing introduction. Don't forget to include your name, your restaurant's name and address, your favorite menu item, and a CTA encouraging the user to come to the restaurant or place an order.

- Introduce your team: Make your restaurant more human by introducing your staff. You can even use credits from popular TV shows as background music and ask each staff member to perform a funny move. You can also capitalize on humorous trends by introducing each staff member by their astrological sign.

- Offer cooking tips and tricks: create real instructional ones using your chef's expertise and showcasing his best cooking tips. For example, he can explain how to chop vegetables, or the 5 ingredients you need to include in macaroni and cheese to make the world's best pasta easily in your kitchen!

- Use a trendy song: don't hesitate for a second to use current music trends! Jump on the bandwagon and use popular songs as background music to enhance your food content.

- Create an ASMR video showing how your delivery packaging is made: like videos on the networks, there's no telling if ASMR will ever go out of style! Watch some ASMR videos for inspiration and use the soft sounds of your packaging to create sensory reels for your customers.

- Publish at the right time for your restaurant and your customers. The best time to post seems to be Monday between 9am and 1pm. Saturday posts are not essential. Monitor your best performing posts and track your customers' engagement. You will be able to capitalize on the best time to post to get your subscribers' attention.

10 -Adopt a consistent photo, color palette and brand identity
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11 - Publish discounts

Offering promotions on third-party apps will encourage more customers to order from your restaurant. Offering promotions on delivery apps can help you improve your visibility and get on the front page.

Know that in 2021, 80% of orders are made from the home page. Therefore, it is important to find ways to increase your visibility so that it significantly impacts your order volume. If offering promotions seems time-consuming, entrust this task to the RusHour team and its marketing automation solution.

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About RusHour

RusHour s mission is to become a trusted partner for restaurants worldwide, offering several products and services that help restaurants adapt to the technology and trends of tomorrow. We provide our clients with a unique way to manage all online orders from multiple platforms from one place. At the same time, our team of experts is on hand day in and day out to support restaurant owners through this change.

Any questions? Write to us: hello@rushour.io

Need a demonstration? Make an appointment right here!

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