Many people think that a food business does not need to have an online presence, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
If you have a food business you need to be on the Google search engine radar and be present on social media for people to find you.
Remember that competition among restaurants is fierce.
Now it is not only necessary to offer good food, have great kitchen equipment and quality supplies, but you also need to boost your food business with digital marketing or even implement automation to achieve the objectives you have in mind.
Take into consideration that to stand out you need to implement the latest industry strategies to get to new people that may turn into customers. This is why we are helping you out with 10 ways on how to promote your business online.
Create visual content
The best way to promote your food business is with visual content because people will crave your food if they see such good pictures, and where can they get your food? Yes! at your restaurant.
You can create your own pictures with your phone, or you can hire a photographer to make a product photoshoot session. Just keep in mind that the photos that you upload to your social media or website have you be yours and have to be high quality.
Create your own website
Having your own website is a great tool to promote your business, keep in mind that it is a place where you can talk about your business without being invasive.
It is the perfect place to talk about what you have to offer and place important information like where you are located, your contact number, open hours, specialties and your menu.
Also, you can use SEO in your Digital Marketing strategy, or even SEM to position your website on the search engines and in this way be prominent when a person is looking for a restaurant like yours.
Have an online menu
Potential customers love to navigate online and investigate about the restaurant they are planning to go to. Sometimes they even have special requirements, for example, they can be vegetarian, vegans or allergic so it is a smart move to check the menu online first.
This is the reason why you should have an online menu with all the dishes that you offer at your restaurant. Also, make sure that it is high quality, with good images, easy to navigate and easy to read.
Be present in online restaurant directories
A restaurant directory is a restaurant guide that is divided by city or by style with information of the restaurant, the address, contact information, the specialities, ratings and opinions.
It is a great idea to be part of these online restaurants directories because most of the time they are free and people love to search for new places in this kind os sites, also they have the facility for potential customers to make a reservation from straight from the directory.
Another idea that goes aligned with this topic is to create your Google My Business site even if you already have a website because in this way you will appear on the Google directory and people that look for a place to eat near them will find you right away.
Be part of loyalty programs
There exist a lot of food apps out there that offer loyalty programs and they want to partner with a business like yours, otherwise, they wouldn’t exist.
This is a great way of promoting your food business because who doesn’t like special offers and discounts? Much more if they are exclusive.
Remember that partnering with online apps encourages more people to check out your restaurant and what you have to offer.
Create a newsletter
Having email marketing and creating a newsletter is a great tool to keep in touch with your clients and potential customers. It is a way to inform then about your new products, your special offers, promotions and the latest news regarding your restaurant or the industry.
To create it you need a platform that allows you to send multiple emails at the same time and also a customer database.
In order to have the database, you will need to offer your customers a promotion, discount or make a contest in exchange for their information.
Start a blog
A blog is a great way to give your food business a voice, a personality and share all the fun and interesting stories that might interest your customers. Also, it is a great way to share your knowledge like recipes and kitchen tricks.
Remember that you can keep your blog as simple or as complex as you want, it is not necessary to post all the time, but it is important to be constant so the people keep you on their top of mind.
Work with influencers
When you are just starting your food business, it may be difficult to generate hype about it and get customers at the very beginning. That is why a great way of marketing your business is working with influencers.
But please be aware that are many people out there buying fake followers and fake engagement, so before contacting an influencer do your research and be sure that it is a genuine influencer, that already has a follower solid base and that aligns with your business.
You can ask them to create content regarding your business so you can post it in your own profile and also you can ask them to promote it on their different channels.
Another great idea is to work with a blogger as he or she can also leave you a review, and they can share their genuine experience of your restaurant online.
Partner with delivery services
There are many delivery services out in the market and it is a great idea for you to offer delivery to reach customers that maybe are not so close to your location.
This would be a great advantage to your business as you will get noticed locally and many people, that due to many situations are not able to go out, will have the opportunity to taste the food from your restaurant.
Hopefully, you found these tips useful, and you can put these restaurant marketing tips to good use. If you need help with your Digital marketing strategy do not hesitate to contact us!
