Social Media Ideas for Restaurants in 2019

We love working with restaurants in building their social media attention! Social media is an integral part of today’s marketing, and even if you AREN’T active on social media, you can be sure that your customers are tweeting, publishing, and posting about your food, service, and establishment. Here are a few ideas to develop your restaurant social media marketing plans:
It should go with out saying, but a restaurant should encourage (and continue to encourage) customers to share photos of their meals on their own social media, using a specific hashtag created for the establishment. This turns these individuals into ‘brand ambassadors’ — they share online, they shout you out, you grab their content from the hashtag, and then you’re able to recycle it to post and then shout them out. Be sure to remind customers at check-out that you have social media accounts, or ask them if they are aware of the accounts. With the ASK, they will DO…especially as it’s fresh in their minds. It’s a non-pushy way to get them to interact and give you ‘free’ marketing!
A restuarant that is a client of ours has had solid success when we implemented an ‘engagement for discount’ tactic. First, pick a day of the week — typically we’d aim first for the day that is your slowest day. Or, perhaps we use a timeframe (such as lunchtime, dinner, the time that – again – may be your slowest). In prepping for that day with a few posts in the days prior to prime the pump, ask your social audience members to not only Like a post, but to Comment with a friend’s name that they’d meet (for lunch, etc). Commenting, given the analytics changes that Facebook went through earlier in 2018, is massive — the post, and the page, pops up in the tagged person’s notifications. Facebook gives preference to pages and posts that are built organically, and this is a big way to grow.
Then, if the users can (1) confirm they Liked it, (2) can show your staff the Comment, and (3) actually show up with Person #2, than they get 10% off the total bill (for BOTH people). It’s cleaner in that there’s no coupon to print, no extra steps…just all out in the open with your team.
And finally: People love a debate. People love to have a say. Individuals, especially on social media, are yearning for that type of thing (yep, for better or worse). So, by giving them that attribute on your social pages, you’ll make them a hive of activity — and can use the data for future utility as well!
Ask things like: We’re going to be getting a new local brew. What should it be and why? We’re thinking of featuring only one of our sandwiches. Which is the one that we should feature the most? And so on…
Asking these questions, and getting these responses, will drive the page forward — growth in reach, page likes, and more. Yes, we can even go as far as to ask people to tag others, though many will do that for themselves. Instead of just telling your audience things, now you’ll be listening to them. You’ll have an understanding — especially with the more serious inquiries — of what they are really looking for! Two birds, one stone.