Today we are continuing our series on Social Media and how restaurant owners can utilize their functions to grow revenue and increase awareness. The theme of this article is focused on Facebook and things you can to drive business.
- Use beautiful images to sell the products – The main purpose of a restaurant is to sell food, drinks and create a great experience. With that in mind, take good and appetizing photos of the menu items. People eat with their eyes and if they see something that grabs their attention, then they are more likely to use that establishment.
- Offer something of value to followers – Customers should feel special to follow your restaurant on Facebook. Whether it is unique coupons for a free appetizer or drink, there should be a reward. Try posting free recipes of house-favorites. Or, start an instructional series of videos on how to make certain cocktails or meals. Keep people coming back to your page.
- Engage the customer – By opening your restaurant to social media, people will leave their opinions of the establishment. Guaranteed. However, embrace the good with the bad. Have a conversation with those customers that leave glowing comments and engage the ones that leave bad ones. It is 100% possible to turn an unhappy customer into a brand activist because you took time out of your day to understand his/her concerns. Post to the page often so customers have a reason to come back and stay engaged with the brand.
- Have a Fan of the Week – This is a terrific way to build engagement on your Facebook page. Pick one fan per week and highlight them on your Facebook page. Consider inviting the fan of the week into your kitchen to take photos and post them on your page. Highlight their favorite dish and even offer it to them for free.
- Use call-to-actions in posts – A call to action encourages followers to do something after reading the post. You may ask them a question, like “Tell us what your favorite sandwich is, in the comments below!” Or you can encourage them to sign up for your newsletter or RSVP for a special event. The point of a call to action is to make customers feel included as part of your business. When you ask them their opinion or to share something about themselves, they feel special and included. Bonus points if you can answer comments and replies on your page to customers.
- Have fun – Enjoy what you are doing and it will show through the work. So, have fun and showcase the restaurant, staff and everything your business has to offer.
Next time, we are going to tackle Twitter and the ‘Twitterverse’ and how a business can use it to their advantage to bring in current and new customers.
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