btwn Business Blog
If you own a restaurant in New York City, it can be challenging to get noticed. With so many restaurants competing for customer attention, it is important to ensure that your restaurant stands out and markets itself effectively. If you're stuck and don't know where to start, we've got you covered. Here are 9 tips that will help you to improve your restaurant marketing strategy.
One of the easiest ways to grow your presence is through social media marketing. Social media is a great way to connect with your customers, create excitement over new offerings or events, and highlight what makes your restaurant unique. In addition, using social media will give your restaurant an authentic voice and personality which customers can connect with more easily. There are plenty of platforms to choose from to create an online presence, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Regardless of the platform you choose, it's essential to stay active, post consistently, and upload quality content.
Yelp is a restaurant marketing powerhouse with over 178 million monthly users. Yelp reviews can make or break your restaurant, so it's essential to ensure that you're doing everything in your power to maintain good ratings and manage any negative feedback. To get the most out of Yelp, take the time to fill out all the information on your profile page, including pictures of your restaurant space, hours, and contact info. Additionally, consider integrating paid advertisements to help your restaurant stand apart from the rest.
Many restaurant owners forget that customer loyalty is an integral part of restaurant marketing. One way to ensure your customers return time and time again is through a successful restaurant loyalty program. By utilizing a restaurant rewards system, such as btwn, you can incentivize frequent visits with special perks such as discounts or cash back incentives which will help to increase loyalty to your business.
It's no secret that word-of-mouth buzz is one of the most powerful marketing tools for restaurants. To create positive word-of-mouth, it's essential to engage your customers and keep them talking about your restaurant in a positive light, thereby building loyal customers. You can employ various strategies, such as offering creative incentivized referrals, hosting exclusive events, or rewarding loyal patrons with freebies or discounts. For example, using a referral program like btwn allows restaurants to get started for free while ensuring that customers will be rewarded for referrals, all without requiring your business to do any extra work.
Encouraging restaurant guests to take and post pictures of your food or restaurant will not only showcase your incredible dishes but also provide potential customers with an authentic view of the dining experience. You can promote this content by creating a unique hashtag, encouraging users to tag your restaurant, or even running a contest. Additionally, placing a centerpiece at each table promoting photo reviews or leaving a business card with this information at the end of your customers' visits can encourage visitors to create content about your restaurant.
While traditional restaurant marketing methods like print and billboards are still effective, the most efficient way to attract new customers is through geo-targeted advertising. This strategy helps reach potential diners in the vicinity of your restaurant, who are more likely to become loyal patrons. Geo-targeting pays off because people nearby are generally more inclined to visit a local restaurant advertised nearby, rather than one with broader coverage where they would need to go out of their way to find you. Effective methods for geo-targeted advertising include using Facebook Ad Manager or Google Ads.
If you're looking for an easy and effective way to attract people to your restaurant, consider offering special promotions. While your regular menu might be enough to attract customers, special promotions can encourage repeat visits. Examples of special promotions may include deals such as:
- "Buy One Get One" deals on desserts
- Buy two entrées and receive 25% off your total order
- Happy Hour, where appetizers and drinks are half the price
- Discounts for a certain number of recurring visits
There are many ways to advertise this, either through social media or by using free applications like btwn. Btwn offers engagement tools such as coupons, invitations, surveys, and more at no cost to your business.
If you're looking to boost restaurant marketing, email is one of your best options. Utilizing restaurant email marketing can increase customer loyalty and pave the way for more effective retention strategies in the future. For example, you can send emails for customers' birthdays, reminders for special events, enticements to revisit using coupons, or even offer rewards for their continued patronage. To do this, you'll need to create an email list that includes accurate information about your customers, such as their name, birthday, and correct email. You'll also need a restaurant email marketing service like MailChimp that allows you to send out newsletters. While you can collect all of this information by hand, you can also use digital applications to automate the process.
If you want your restaurant to stand out and attract the attention of audiences you wouldn't reach through traditional advertising, connecting with restaurant industry influencers would be the right move for you. Influencers are individuals who have authority or expertise in a specific topic. For example, they may be well-known food bloggers or have a passion for discovering unique spots. They can promote your restaurant through their social media channels and create YouTube videos that target specific audiences, such as millennials or people living near your restaurant's location.
If you are looking for some expert advice on how to improve your restaurant marketing, we hope this article has helped! It's important that you keep these tips in mind when designing and executing your next campaign to ensure your NYC restaurant stands out among your competition.
