Occasionally restaurateurs may fail to see the overall benefits of using social media platforms for their business.
CEEK have worked with numerous restaurants over the years and have posted on their behalf thousands of times, thus we feel we now have the industry experience and insights to know what content and strategies resonate!
Content is king and is certainly the differentiator between accounts that grow and retain their community.
Below are our top 5 content creation ideas to help you truly connect with your audience online:
1. Bring the human element
Adding a human element to your social media content gives an organic flair and makes posts more engaging to your audience, influencing them to envision themselves there.
Customer generated content is also one of the easiest ways to generate content as it can be as simple as sharing posts that have been shared by your diners.
Another great way to add a human element to your social media is to share pictures introducing members of your team. Adding a face behind a post boosts engagement as it makes your social channels look more approachable to message and make a query, by adding that personal touch.
This technique also ensures your feed isn’t saturated with product placement which can often bring a consistent novelty feel to posts as well as add a personal aspect by letting the viewer know who is behind the scenes and how passionate they are about what they do.
2. Join the trend wagon
The CEEK team are always up to date with the latest trends within our clients’ industry sector. There is no better way to optimise your social media platforms than ensuring your posts engage with the conversation.
Restaurant marketing trends to look out for include showcasing your restaurant’s interior design (consumers today choose to go to places that look different and are picture worthy for that great Instagram shot!). Plant-based and vegan dishes also continue to wield a “cult-like” following.
3. Highlight your eco-friendly initiatives
Another trending category are all environmentally friendly elements of a restaurant. These should certainly not be overlooked as part of your marketing strategy. Eco-friendly initiatives are crucial for the savvy customer and could be the tipping-point when they make their decision to dine at certain venues.
Consumers are increasingly more aware of their environmental footprint, so it is essential to highlight your restaurant’s participation in eco-friendly initiatives such as the use of organic produce and recycling.
4. Refresh your content on a seasonal basis & beware of scheduling
At CEEK Marketing, our social media executives constantly ensure that our restaurant clients’ marketing strategies are always harmonious with seasonal changes, such important holidays and or seasonal changes.
This not only helps your account engage in the current conversation by increasing the relevance of posts, it also creates the opportunity to share any menu or interior changes at your venue.
One other key element of restaurant marketing is to react to the weather. Be careful with scheduling posts too far in advance, the last thing a customer wants to see in the middle of a heatwave is a selection of a restaurant or cafe’s hot beverage selection.
Stay relevant and react accordingly.
5. Ask for opinions
Asking your audience for their advice on how you can improve or what they love not only encourages conversation but also showcases that you have their best interest in mind.
The best way to action this is by either creating a simple poll on Instagram stories or encouraging your audience to send their opinions by email or by replying in the comments section. The engagement you receive could even help you run some market research; it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
To summarise, social media marketing for restaurants is a great way to engage with consumers as well as be up to date and also participate in the newest market/social trends.
Moreover, to optimise social media marketing for restaurants it is important that your posts match both your overall marketing strategy and your audiences’ best interests.
For more information about CEEK restaurant marketing services, enquire now.
