Social media has taken the world by storm and for a lot of businesses, they were completely unprepared how to use social media for their business. One of the businesses that should know the value of social media marketing and what it can bring to their table, so to speak, is the restaurant.
Once restaurants are equipped with the knowledge how to maximize the use of social media, it will be easier for them to reach customers, tap more potential customers and promote their food and services.
So, what would customers like to see in the social media accounts of restaurants?
Pictures
Post real pictures of the food in your menu. By taking pictures of the food that is being served, it will be easier for people to know what type of food is served at the restaurant. This is going to make it easier for people to know what to expect, especially if it is their first time.
Just be careful, and remember that people tend to expect what’s in the photos to be exactly like it is when they order something. Try and keep the portions similar and don’t add items that won’t be in the actual product.
Sharing Specials
While running a restaurant is a great thing to do, it can be difficult for people to know about the “specials” and other such promotions that are available. A restaurant that understands the value of social media knows that such promotions should be shared on all of their social networks. Customers, all and new, who will see these promotions will be enticed to visit the restaurant and avail of these promotions.
Make sure that if you have several social networks, all “specials” that will be promoted in each one is the same. If a customer reads one offer on one site, and a different offer on another site, it can create confusion with the promotion and might end up turning them off from your business.
Location Is Key
When people are visiting a location they will often turn to social media or the search engines to find out what type of restaurants are in the area. When they are searching on these sites, it is important for the restaurant to show up in the results. This will drive traffic and increase sales for the restaurant.
Not showing up in searches will mean loss of sales.
Complaints
Complaints are going to happen and when they do, they should be brought to the attention of the restaurant manager to address right away. However, when people are turning to social media, they have a tendency to either tag the business in their post or even complain directly on the page of the restaurant. By complaining in the restaurant’s social media page, it becomes easier for people to know about the complaints as well as the response made by the restaurant.
By making these correspondences public, customers will be able to see how well the restaurant handles complaints made against them and what they are going to do about it. Sometimes, acknowledging mistakes can benefit a restaurant in the long run. Customers are smart enough to know that even businesses make mistakes and at least, they were acknowledged and will be made as a reference for future improvements.
Building Up A Loyal Following
Every restaurant is going to get its regulars who are going to come into the location no matter what happens. However, what people need to realize is these followers may not come in on a regular enough basis for the restaurant to avoid having to close or having other problems that are financially related.
When the restaurants turn to social media, though, they will be creating a diverse following that is going to have a variety of likes and dislikes, but all have one thing in common and that is the way they like the restaurant and the food that it is serving.
Employee Information
Sometimes people are going to have a favorite waitress, cook, or bartender. When they have their favorites, they will often only come in when they know that these people are working. When the restaurant gets the approval of the staff, they can easily post who is working that evening and then people who are following the page will know if their favorite waitress, cook, or bartender is working.
This will also give your business a “face”. When customers know who your staff are, it gives your place more personality. You’re not only a business, you become a friend, a place that people like to frequent because they know the people that are working there.
Final Thoughts
When people are looking at social media marketing for restaurants they need to realize there are quite a few factors they never thought of before. Some of those factors will be easy to understand once they have started to use this form of marketing, but others are a little bit more complex. However, by using all of these aspects together it is going to be easy for the restaurant to gain a tremendous following from people who are in the region or even travelers who want to try something unique and good.