What is your restaurant's marketing plan? Do you have one?
If you do, does it include social media marketing? If not, it should and you should be using Facebook.
93% of all social media advertisers use Facebook. Facebook has a huge reach with its 1.2 billion monthly users and their 1.3 billion users on Facebook Messenger.
Read on to learn more about using Facebook as part of your marketing plan.
A marketing plan is your restaurant's road map. It sets out where your restaurant currently stands and where you want it to be at certain times in the future (eg., six months, one year, three years). It's your guide detailing the steps you plan to get you there.
Your plan should also include information about your target customers. If you aren't sure who they are, answering these questions can get you started toward figuring that out:
Spend the time to figure out who your target market is so you can make your advertisements relevant to them and not waste your money trying to get the wrong people into your restaurant.
There are so many ways Facebook can help you market your restaurant. Check out the following suggestions to find ways to add Facebook into your marking plan.
Your Facebook marketing and ads will be routing potential customers to your Facebook page to get them to go to your website and through the door of your restaurant.
So get your Facebook profile page set up right so it makes a positive first impression.
A solid profile should contain the following:
Once people begin visiting your page, edit your profile to tailor it to answer commonly asked questions.
Once you have created your page, encourage your employees, friends, and family to Like and Follow your page.
The purpose of most of your posts should be about engaging your followers and getting them to react by liking, sharing or commenting.
Are there local events happening near your restaurant? Post about it and encourage people to make your restaurant a part of their day.
Is there a health benefit to some of the food you serve? Post information about it.
Make your restaurant a part of the community by sharing news and relevant information to your area.
The next type of posts you should be making is sharing other people's posts.
This is where knowing who your targeted audience really comes into play. For example, if most of your customers are from the local college, share posts about things to do with their college or topics college kids would enjoy.
Posts promoting your restaurant are important but don't make your page all about YOU. Keep the ratio of posts promoting your business to 10% of your posts.
Until you reach 10,000 followers, studies indicate that you probably don't need to post more than 1 or 2 times per week to get good engagement responses.
Set your page up to allow visitors to review your restaurant.
Many people trust what others have to say about your business more than anything you tell them about it. Even strangers.
Encourage people who dine at your restaurant and express having had a positive experience to visit your Page and post a review. You could offer them a discount on their next visit as an incentive.
Facebook Live is a feature that allows you to stream video to your followers.
Have live music at your restaurant? Take a short video to entice customers to come by or join in at your next event.
Or show off your chef's talents by letting your followers watch them put the final touches on one of your more popular or unique dishes.
Facebook will allow you to promote a page you've previously posted.
Have some of your posts had a lot more engagement than others? If so, after a month or two, have Facebook promote it. If your follower's enjoyed it the first time, make sure any new followers see it, too.
You can have a Post promoted to people who have already liked your page (and their friends) or you can define who Facebook should target specifically.
Ever wondered what people do once they visit your site, what pages they go to and how many of them follow through to respond to your Call-to-Action?
By adding a Facebook Ad Pixel to your coupons, email campaigns, and your website, you can track the engagement of your customer.
Facebook will then be able to show you the demographic information for people who actually open your emails, redeem their coupons, or follow through to booking a table at your restaurant (if you have that function on your website).
You can then use that information to have Facebook target more people in your area that fit the demographic.
If you sell merchandise at your restaurant, add a Shop page on your Facebook page. Once you set this up, it will allow people to purchase your swag right from your page.
If your restaurant is set up to accept gift cards, be sure to add a Gift page to your Facebook page to allow people to buy them.
Facebook Like Ads are ads that promote your page. You can only use up to 90 characters in your ad, so choose them wisely.
Facebook ads for restaurants can be targeted to a list you provide to Facebook, to your current follows (and their friends) and to any other group of people using Facebook's demographic options.
If you would like some creative suggestions for creating your ads, here are some awesome restaurant advertisement examples.
Facebook also allows you to send your restaurant advertisements to people who use Facebook Messenger.
By using this option, a customer can click on your ad and open a chat window directly with you via Messenger. You can then use messenger bots to provide the customer with additional information, such as answering questions or offering more information about your restaurant.
Take steps today towards meeting the goals you've set for your restaurant.
The tips in this article are just the beginning of things to do to reach new people who you think will enjoy dining at your restaurant.
As with all marketing, spend some time looking at what your competition is doing on Facebook that is getting their followers engaged. Incorporate any relevant ideas into your own marketing plan.
If you would like more information on creating your restaurant's marketing plan, please contact us.
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