As a restaurant owner/operator, how often do you think about the work you are doing online to promote your business? Is your website primarily used for online bookings, menu browsing, directions, and opening times? If so, it’s time to start thinking differently.
More and more, restaurants are seeing the benefits of content marketing on their websites, helping to drive more customers through the door and dramatically boosting the bottom line.
Today, we will explore seven ideas you can use for your restaurant’s content marketing campaign, helping you to attract and inspire more customers. The end result? Greater success for your business.
#1 - Start a blog
Perhaps the most common and most effective way to implement a content marketing strategy into your business is to start a blog. This is a unique section on your website where you can talk about all kinds of subjects relating to your restaurant, and post related articles as well.
You may want to talk about the style of your food, the origins, the traditions, or anything you think your customers will be interested in. If you’re struggling for ideas, you can use idea generation tools like State of Writing or Essayroo.
This is a screen shot from the Vimeo video posted by The Burger's Priest, Toronto. Read below and find a link to the full version.
#2 - Start having fun with videos
Video content is exciting, and all online users love it. Check out this video of The Burger’s Priest restaurant (Toronto) and its take on Made in Compton. As you can see, this is a restaurant having fun and it’s incredibly enjoyable to watch.
So, when it comes to your business, there’s no reason you can’t pull your team together to make a video that inspires teamwork and could make your business go viral! If you’re in need of a script for your video, you can always enlist the help of copywriting tools like Uktopwriters.
#3 - Talk about your history
Whether this is on your About Us page, in a video format (or both), writing up the story of how your restaurant came to be is one of the best ways to interact with your customers and to connect with them on an emotional level, making it far more likely that they’ll want to come to your restaurant.
You could make up your story to be really over the top and elaborate, or you keep things traditional that will put a smile on your reader’s faces. Whichever approach you take, be sure to check your content’s grammar using tools like Grammarix.
#4 - Use memes
Memes are one of the most popular forms of internet media, so it goes without saying that using them as content for your business can be a sure-fire way to attract attention and entertain your customers.
“When a breaking news story happens, try to think of a way to match it to your business and make it funny. Make sure that you’re not going to offend anyone, just a bit of light-hearted humour to get your customers giggling,” says Deborah Strait, a content marketer at make me do my homework agency.
#5 - Custom social media accounts
This is an increasingly popular technique for restaurants to implement online and get their customers buzzing about their business. Start by taking the best item on your menu—perhaps the most popular or the one that stands out the most, such as your hottest and spiciest dish—and then create a custom social media page with the name of this dish. Give it a personality and post regularly. Not only is this a bit of fun for your followers, it also promotes that dish for free!
When writing your social media posts, be sure to use tools like Easy Word Count to make sure you fit the character limit, and check the grammar using tools like Ukwritings.
#6 - Get your customers involved
Social proof is such an important business tactic. Shop online and you’ll see all kinds of products that have their own reviews which make other customers far more likely to invest in the product or service. The same can be said for your restaurant.
On your website or social media channels, acquire pictures, videos, or statements from your customers who loved your food and would recommend it to anyone, using this as your content.
You could also run a monthly prize drawing where people who have given reviews can win a prize, making it far more likely that they’ll leave you feedback to use. When adding references and quotes to your online content, you can do so professionally using tools like Cite It In.
#7 - Introduce each week, build hype
Another increasingly popular social media content technique being used among businesses is to kick off the week with a post that describes everything going on in your restaurant. You can do this as a post or in video format; whatever feels right for your business.
Talk about all the promotions and deals that you’re running that week, what menu items are hot and sought after, as well as any other information you want your customers to know about.
You can post these on any social media channels you like, as well as your website. Make sure you’re checking and proofreading your content, using tools like Boomessays, as recommended by the Huffington Post, to generate ideas and ensure your content is of a high quality.
Remember to get creative and to think outside the box, and you can be sure that your customers and followers will love your business, boosting your bottom line.
