In this series we'll discuss three different industries or businesses, and how they can succeed on social media. There are paid and free ways to do this, and we'll just give you a few tips to get you started.

    

 

4 ways to find restaurant success on social media:

Cater to foodies and food lovers

You're a restaurant, and you make and sell food, so this one should be a no brainer. But the point is to post high-quality, detailed images that make your follower's mouths water. After all, if you make them hungry for your food, they'll likely come in that day for lunch or dinner.

Posting times for lunch would be around 10:30 a.m. to get them thinking about their lunch break - and for dinner would be between 2-4:30 p.m. This way you could catch them before they pick up their kids from school, or before they get off of work. Everyone is busy these days, so don't forget to mention your to-go or catering services as well. Pictures work best on all platforms, especially Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Give them a reason to come back

Give away food, coupons, discounts, you name it - anything to give people a reason to come back to your pages again and again. This works great on Facebook, just be careful not to be too promotional or you might see your Organic Reach decline or at worst, FB may ban you for a day or take the post down.

Promote your Facebook page

The single best way to get new Likes, Followers and customers is to promote your page on Facebook. Start small if you want, but if you aren't sure what parameters to set - contact our social media specialists to have them run this for you. They have years of experience running advertising campaigns on social media and promoting brand awareness through acquiring thousands of Likes and Shares.

Drive in-store customers to your pages

You need to get the people that regularly enjoy your dining experience to interact with your brand on social media. Have cards next to your menus with QR codes or social icons. Give them incentive by offering 10 or 15 percent off their meal when they Like your page or give you a review. Utilize a social app like Foursquare and offer free appetizers when they "check in."

[caption id="attachment_769" align="alignleft" width="1024"] Consider it a huge win for your restaurant when you can get customers to leave positive reviews on sites like Foursquare, Facebook, Google+, Yelp, and Trip Advisor[/caption]

If you're unsure about giving away free food, remember that online reviews and a strong online presence can work wonders for restaurants! You will always have your loyal base of customers. A strong online presence can help you sell meals to tourists, people looking for a new place to eat, and people looking for a phone number to place a to-go order, to name a few.

And all these new potential customers aren't looking through the phonebook anymore. They're searching on Google. Which is where your brand will be found after intensive social advertising campaigns, a bigger social circle, and a lot of great reviews!

Contact us to learn more, or to see what social media packages we have to offer to ensure you're well on your way to increasing your restaurants social media and overall online presence.