Facebook Strategies for Restaurants

If you’re like most restaurants, you’re probably advertised with print ads, loyalty programs, maybe you’ve even sponsored a local sports team. But restaurant marketing is evolving with technology, with a big push towards social media. It’s one thing to have a Facebook page with a status updates and photos – it’s another to have a social media strategy that yields measurable results. Restaurants that are using social media correctly are acquiring new customers and increasing guest frequency at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.

Here’s a list of tips to improve your Facebook page to get better results:

Build a Custom Landing Page
Facebook was always known for its uniformity. You could post all sorts of content, but your page design will essentially look just like everyone else’s. However, now Facebook lets you develop custom branded landing pages, which let you personalize your restaurant’s page with photos, videos, contest forms and much more. Landing pages are often used to promote deals, special events or simply welcome visitors in a creative way. A good example would be promoting a contest with a sign-up form, or a big call-out to like the page with an arrow pointing to the Like button. Try using some of these ideas to personalize your page, and before you know it you’ll have a have a lot more likes!

Contests are a Winner
Giving away a little something is a surefire way to generate buzz, get people engaged, and increase your likes. And since your fans are already hanging out on Facebook doing something else, filling out the online contest form really isn’t a big deal. Best of all, Facebook contests are a great way to capture data, including email and physical addresses for re-marketing. Make sure to mention your contest in your ad. An example would be: “Like us for a chance to win a $100 Gift Card”

Use Applications
Polls, quizzes and other types of applications are available in the Admin section for page owners, and they take just a few clicks to install. Facebook offers some generic ones, like a discussion board, but you can also add other apps from Facebook’s app directory. A great example would be – the Open Table app – If you use this popular reservation system in your restaurant, you can also offer online reservations right from your Facebook page! Plus, if you know how to develop in HTML, or know a web programmer then the sky is the limit. Programmers can create customized tabs using Facebook’s HTML-style FBML markup language, which can do virtually anything a website can do.

Facebook Ads Are Smart
Facebook ads are the epitome of targeted marketing, and if handled correctly, can bring you a great return on your investment. Ads can be targeted by city, age, gender, interests, and other demographic criteria. You can even target your audience by the pages they like. So for example, if your restaurant is hosting a wine dinner, run a targeted ad to Facebook users located within 10 miles of your restaurant, who are fans of Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines. You can’t get any more targeted than that! Facebook ads are one of the fastest ways to build likes and to locate a prime audience for your restaurant.

The goal of any restaurant is to build customer loyalty, and get your patrons to recommend your restaurant to their friends. A simple thing like designing a custom Facebook page and interacting with your guests can work wonders for your brand. Post regularly and let your fans feel like they are involved in the experience. All of these practices will engage your fans in what you have to offer, lengthen the experience, and keep customers coming back for more.

For more information on social media for restaurants contact, Brainstorm Studio today.

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