9 Easy ways to use Facebook Marketing for Restaurants

Did your restaurant just open? You're wondering where the people are. 

Or maybe you're noticing a decline in the lunch crowd since your competitor moved in across the street. 

Do you use Facebook marketing for restaurants? Keep reading if you don't. 

Facebook marketing is one of the most effective advertising channels for reaching your customers.  

The worst part is your savvier competitors are likely stealing your customers and growing sales if you don't advertise on Facebook. Businesses can easily reach their ideal customer segments through Facebook's robust and flexible platform. You can even target niches within the restaurant and food industry. Are you looking for event planners, group dining, or private dining? All of that is also possible with Facebook ads and marketing.  

You will learn why Facebook marketing for restaurants is so important for creating awareness, and you will also learn nine killer marketing strategies to consider. 

1) Optimize Your Profile  

To effectively use Facebook for restaurant marketing, a company profile must be created and kept up to date.

Your restaurant's main hub is your profile. It's the first page people who look for your business will see.

This is significant since people commonly use the platform to find restaurants.

According to a Square survey, 52% of consumers discovered a new business on the platform. This number is more than Google Reviews, Yelp, Newspapers, and Magazines. For millennials, the figure increased to 70%.

You only need to make your page easy to find and ensure that it contains all of the information they require to visit your restaurant.

A well-optimized restaurant's Facebook profile includes

1. Description with keywords
2. Relevant category tags
3. Menu
4. Link to its website
5. Opening hours
6. Contact details

This ensures that when Facebook users search for the business, its profile comes up top.

2. Engaging with Followers on Facebook

Social media for restaurants is a great method to connect with current and potential consumers on Facebook.

You don't have to pay for every click because you're driving visitors to your social network profile, as you would with an ad.

Always start here to get the most out of Facebook marketing for restaurants. Your company profile is your Facebook home base.

It's where people get to know you better. The more engagement you have, the more people are drawn to your profile and real location.

This is how you lay a solid basis for restaurant Facebook marketing.

3. Create a Business Profile  

Begin by completing your business profile.  

Ensure that all of your images are of great quality. Display your cuisine in the greatest possible light.  

Remember, people consume with their eyes first. This is especially true if they haven't yet tried your meal.  

Include some preliminary images of your nice personnel and satisfied customers. Give them a sense of the mood.  

Share images of your signature dishes to entice others to try them.  

Write a catchy title and description. Include your address to let folks know you're in their neighborhood.  

Include any awards you have received or a stellar health inspection score.  

Integrate Facebook widgets into the design of your restaurant's website, as well as any emails you send so that customers can simply visit and like your page. 

4. Build Your Initial Following 

More Facebook fans foster trust. Your followers share your postings with others in the area, increasing your following.  

A brand's followers are valuable. However, many restaurants struggle to gain the first 1,000 followers.  

Here's what you need to know to succeed.  

1. Never buy followers. Many of them are fake 
2. In order for your Facebook presence to develop, you must have people who enjoy your restaurant.  
3. Start publishing new content on a regular basis.  
4. Encourage customers to visit you on Facebook while they are at the restaurant on their mobile devices.  
5. Inform them about a unique Facebook-only discount, a contest, or anything else they'll want to see immediately.  
6. Hold contests to get people interested in your brand.  
7. Run advertisements. Every restaurant should set aside money for Facebook advertisements. It is an essential component of restaurant Facebook marketing. 

5. Consistently Deliver Shareable Content  

Consistently share content to attract and retain fans. You don’t have to write any lengthy blog articles for a restaurant.

Social media and restaurant content marketing are other methods of promoting restaurants.

Post at the right time if you primarily cater to the dinner crowd, that's 1-4 PM.

If you’re a coffee or bagel shop, posting before the shop opens in the morning will remind that early crowd to get their morning fix.

Share some recipes, don’t worry they won’t be able to make it like you do.

This not only appeals to those who want to know what's in their food. It helps you showcase the care you take in providing amazing food.

Tell some stories: They can be really short. Let employees tell stories. Always keep it positive.

Don’t shame customers: Use stories to show that you and your staff are people too. You’re involved in the community.

Share great reviews: Don't forget to share your great Yelp reviews. This not only presents you in the best light. It gives recognition to the reviewer. Many people like that social media attention.

Start a contest: Ask users to use a certain unique hashtag. They can include a recent visit to your restaurant in a post they share. Choose a first, second, and third prize winner to get a prize that your fans will enjoy.

6. Use Facebook Ads  

Facebook advertisements are an excellent approach to reach a large number of potential customers. They are also quite simple to use; all you need is a Facebook business page and a credit card.  

A Facebook ad strategy might be effective for a number of reasons.  

With audience targeting, you can create highly specific profiles based on people who might like your food.  

Here are some groups that your restaurant could target with advertisements:  

People who like your page: Existing customers are already aware of your restaurant and, if they follow it on Facebook, are most likely fans. Displaying ads with special deals or new menu items to these folks can be an efficient approach to increase sales.  

Audience retargeting: This is when you show advertising to people who have previously visited your website. These people are aware of your establishment and may only need a final push to visit.  

People in your area: You can advertise to people in your neighborhood. This is ideal for restaurants, as they are the folks who are most likely to visit. Simply select a location based on a zip code or a set radius around your current location. Combine it with other biographical facts such as age or interests to make it even more effective.  

Various Offers: Use enticing offers when producing advertising.  You could send customers an email with a discount, link them to your app, promote an event, or book a table.  

Simply select the promotion that best fits your restaurant and the customer category you are targeting. 

7. Include a Call-to-Action  

A call-to-action button at the top of a Facebook profile is easy to add. Use this to ask customers to either:  

1. Get your app 
2. Make a booking  
3. Visit your store 
4. Get in touch with your restaurant 
5. Purchase takeaway or delivery meal 

Simply select the most important one for you.  

The button encourages users to utilize the app. It takes visitors to a landing page with links to either Google Play or the App Store, where they may download it regardless of operating system.  

When clients visit the page on mobile, it bypasses this landing page and directs them to the relevant app store. 

8. Experiment with Different Types of Post 

So far, we've basically ignored Facebook pages' posting function. However, even if it is less beneficial than it once was, you should continue to utilize it to market your restaurant because:

• – People will still see your posts on their timelines.
• – People will notice the posts when they visit your pages.
• – Ads can be used to promote your posts.

The objective is to figure out what types of posts work best for your restaurant. Restaurants frequently utilize Facebook posts to:

1. Create new menu items.
2. Promote upcoming events.
3. Provide special offers or discounts.
4. Share user-generated content.
5. Tell stories about the restaurant.
6. Introduce contests or competitions.
7. Promote their application.
8. Share general content that customers may find captivating.
9. Advertise takeaway, delivery, or shops.
10. The secret to a good post is to use high-quality photographs and well-written text.

You may also expand the potential reach of your post by using relevant hashtags or tagging other people or businesses.

9. Drive Traffic to Your Own Online Properties  

Facebook can help you in connecting with your target audience. However, because of the company's activity of constantly altering its algorithm, you never know when a change will have an adverse effect on your business.

As a result, it is important that you develop your own online properties in addition to your Facebook presence. You may then utilize Facebook to direct visitors to these assets, such as your website and app.

Your main online is your website. You have complete control over how your brand is presented, and you can include elements like:

1. Online reservations
2. Online store
3. Restaurant information
4. Your menu
5. Your blog

Keep in mind that visuals play an important role in branding, and customers will get to know about you based on the fonts, colors, and graphics you choose.

While SEO and other forms of marketing generate traffic to your website, your brand keeps consumers coming back. Consider employing copy and paste font tools, AI imagine generation software, and color wheels to find what works best for your brand image.

The more you employ these images, the more identifiable your brand will become.

To rapidly develop a website, get in touch with Restaurantify the restaurant website builder that creates top-notch restaurant websites in five minutes.