With many restaurants competing for potential customers’ attention, the food and restaurant industry can be tough to navigate. However, the best restaurant marketing strategies center on your food’s quality and well-placed promotions.
Advertising for a restaurant is extremely important to help you stand out from the competition. Using print and online advertising allows you to target customers and build a local reputation for your brand. You can also use these advertising ideas as a guide to restaurant marketing. Grow your restaurant and increase your sales by implementing these strategies.
1. Plan Your Paid Advertising
Setting up Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads is critical when considering which restaurant advertising ideas to use. A Google ad is helpful since searches for “food near me” and “restaurants near me” usually appear in the top 20 results. In addition, many consumers order takeout on their way home from work or eat out at restaurants as a part of their evening routines. Therefore, your Google ads can target potential customers within a 1-2 mile radius of your restaurant if you want them to order takeout or dine in.
Local restaurant advertising ideas can also include placing paid ads on social media platforms. Facebook ads allow you to target customers based on their location, so you can track if they saw the ad and visited your restaurant. If you want to grow your following on your restaurant’s Instagram account, Instagram ads can reach thousands of customers. Setting up paid ads campaigns on Google and social media to reach customers across a wide geographical area is an excellent way to increase visibility for your brand.
2. Spread the Word Through Word of Mouth Advertising
Your customers can help promote your business via word-of-mouth advertising. Even though it is not a direct promotion, it may help to improve your reputation among the locals and persuade them to visit your restaurant. Social media makes it even easier for customers to spread the word about their dining experience.
Since 94% of content marketers prefer to promote content on social media, creating social media-worthy foods can help you generate buzz in your community. When your customers see your food, they can take pictures and videos and post them online. You can also ask your customers to tag you in their posts or stories so you can repost their photos and videos on your social media accounts. Using your customers’ content on your social media account can help you develop relationships with them and take their feedback into account.
3. Have Fun With Restaurant Chalkboard Advertising
Chalkboards are adaptable, enabling the owner of the restaurant or their most creative employee to change the message as often as desired. Consider how you can make people interested in your eatery with your chalkboard messaging.
You can use your restaurant chalkboard to inform your guests about your menu item of the day, whether it’s burgers in the summer or hot chocolate in the winter. Other restaurant promotion ideas you can post on your chalkboard include happy hour discounts and fun events like trivia nights.
4. Print Restaurant Advertising Flyers
Restaurant flyers are another great way to get the word out in your local community. You can send your flyers by direct mail, include them in takeout orders, and even distribute them at food festivals. The best restaurant ads illustrate their brand while including the most important information about their fast food menu items, specialties, and seasonal offerings.
Among the main points you’ll want to include on flyers advertising your restaurant are:
Popular menu items
Keep the most popular dishes in mind if you only have a small space on your flyer for showing your food options. Feature some of your most delectable menu items to appeal to potential customers’ tastes.
High-quality food photos
The best way to grab customers’ attention is by including high-quality, professional food photos. Featuring photos of your restaurant’s most popular dishes lets customers see what kind of cuisine they can enjoy by dining with you.
Special promotions
Your flyer needs to communicate your unique offers if you want new customers to visit your business. Takeout orders for the whole family may also include incentives like free drinks or desserts.
Contact information
It should contain both an address and a telephone number. Be sure to include your social media accounts and the availability of online ordering platforms. You want to make it as easy as possible for customers to find your business.
5. Rely on Coupon Advertising
Coupon advertising for restaurants is a tried-and-true way of increasing foot traffic to your restaurant. Customers are more likely to visit your restaurant if you include a coupon in your cashier tape or the back of the grocery store receipt.
If you are starting a restaurant within a small community, you can benefit significantly from offering coupons at the grocery store to get your name out there. Introducing your new restaurant to the locals and forming a partnership with a nearby grocery store could be the key to building a loyal customer base.
Include discounts on takeout and catering services in your coupons. One of the best restaurant marketing ideas to promote your restaurant is offering discounts around the holidays when people are more willing to splurge for special events they’re hosting.
Better Advertising Helps Your Restaurant Succeed
It’s tough for restaurant owners to retain their customers without advertising strategies to attract attention and foot traffic. A combination of paid ads, social media, flyers, and coupons can help you reach your consumers and deliver relevant information that gets them excited to try your food. Using these restaurant marketing ideas, you can unlock incredible growth potential for your restaurant.
By Eric Shafer