It’s no secret that a strong online presence is critical for the success of your restaurant. If you have a limited budget and cannot afford to hire a marketing agency for your restaurant, it’s time to do a little research of your own. While we all know that using a social media platform is important, which social media platform is the most critical for your restaurant? If time is a limiting factor in how much effort you can dedicate to your online platform, this is definitely a question you’ll want to be able to answer. This week we’ll explore a few different social media platforms and let you decide which one is best for your specific needs.
First, Yelp. When searching for a new restaurant, people turn to the internet. A quick google search of restaurants in your area will pull up a slew of restaurants via Yelp. You’ll want to make sure that your Yelp account is solid and that you have a good mix of reviews. The more reviews you have, the more you’ll pop up in searches via Yelp’s algorithm. Yelp also makes sure all of their reviews are thoroughly vetted, and reviews from popular users will show up more frequently - so get to know your local Yelp crowd! Yelp is a great tool, and is probably the most influential social media platform so it’s a good idea to dedicate the majority of your time to managing your Yelp reviews.
If you have upcoming events to share with the public, turn to Facebook. Facebook is great because you can sponsor ads that will show up in multiple users’ timelines, create free event pages that can reach thousands of consumers, and keep your followers up to date with new menu items, photos, and fun happenings at your restaurant. We also recommend Facebook because it allows you to create multiple ad campaigns and keep tabs on how your ads have performed via reports.
Lastly, Instagram. Instagram is great because it doesn’t require a ton of work and you can delegate one of your staff members to managing your Instagram page. It’s definitely worth using, but it’s important to post only high quality images. With good images, creative captions, and fun Instagram stories, you’ll soon have a following that will hopefully pay a visit to your restaurant. Don’t overlook the hashtag - a little research goes a long way when considering relevant hashtags to use on your restaurant’s Instagram page.
So, which platform should you use? All of them! While you may want to dedicate more time to one specific platform, it’s important to be on multiple different platforms to help cultivate your online presence. A good place to start is your own website (of course), a solid Yelp account, a Facebook page, and an Instagram page. We recommend dedicating the most time to managing your Yelp account, while keeping a good handle of your Instagram and Facebook page. The most important thing is that you get out there - your customers will thank you for it.
