Getting your restaurant ready for summer: 20 digital marketing to-dos
So you’re getting your restaurant for a busy summer! There are so many things to get sorted before the mid-year peaks begin, especially on the digital marketing front. Here’s a checklist of 20 essentials to kick off the season.
Opening dates and hours
First and foremost: when can customers actually visit your venue? Make sure your opening days and times are up to date everywhere. That includes:
Your website
Facebook (‘About’ section)
Twitter (bio)
Instagram (bio, pinned Stories)
TikTok (bio)
Note: some social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram lend themselves to having this kind of informational minutiae on the profile, whilst others, like TikTok, reward keeping text to a minimum. As TikTok is more a place for top-of-funnel discovery, it’s better to put your restaurant’s most visually-interesting ideas front and centre, and let other apps take care of the bums-on-seats details, or reply to anyone commenting/messaging about opening hours.
Google Maps (via Maps itself, or Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business)
Sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.
Your print media — menus, window displays, etc.
Local directory sites and council/BID listings
Press packs you might have available on your site
Automated messages, e.g. auto replies on Facebook
Social media housekeeping
When you’re checking your opening hours, make sure all other info across your social media profiles is up-to-date, accurate, and relevant.
Clear out any expired offers or limited-time dishes that might still appear in bios or pinned content.
Ensure that all links to websites, booking systems, etc. are working, and if you use multi-link services like LinkTree, do some spring cleaning there too.
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Make good use of ‘Link’ stickers in Instagram Stories
While it might not be advisable to add Link stickers to every Story you post — that could seem a little desperate and sales-y! — the occasional tappable call-to-action on booking/order promotions can go a long way, and be genuinely helpful for customers.
Remember that you can customise the text of Link stickers, too, so considering styling the CTA to your brand’s tone of voice rather than leaving it as a big ugly link.
Though, there are certain situations where leaving the default link might work better. A Deliveroo or Uber Eats URL could carry some of those apps’ brand equity into your content and perform stronger than a generic ‘Order Here’ sticker. Test to see what works best for your audience.
Know your customers
There are lots of ways to get a better understanding of your customers. We, for example, have helped restaurants in London know what drives the most bookings, and then used those learnings to optimise search and social ads. Getting to grips with social media stats, website traffic, and bookings data ahead of summer could be a game-changer for the season.
Google Maps check-up
Your Google Maps listing is what the majority of existing and potential customers will see when they search for your restaurant, or Google things like ‘places to eat near me’.
While checking that the opening hours are all in order, update your menu, service area (for deliveries), contact details, order/reservation links, amenities, etc.
Glance over the photos people have submitted of your food. If the lead image isn’t great, look into uploading some better-quality shots. Report any pictures that are unrelated to you!
Respond to reviews
Google Maps, Facebook, Foursquare, TripAdvisor, Yelp — customers will be leaving reviews for your restaurants all over the web. Claim any pages and listings you’ve yet to, thank the positive reviews, and address the bad ones. Prompt customers to write their own, and turn the strong ratings into user-generated content (UGC) for social.
Website housekeeping
There’s a lot that goes into making a good website — far too many things to list here! — but this list of relaunch essentials is a good start:
Keep it simple — opening hours, location, delivery links, shop (if you sell products), contact info, menu, social links
Make it responsive — your site needs to work on phones and tablets as well as it does desktop computers
Hit the keywords — make sure the text on your site mentions the things you want to be discovered for
Fill in the metadata — titles, descriptions, social preview images, etc. Not sure how to do this? Read our ‘20 questions to ask your developer about SEO’ guide and drop us a message about our web design and SEO services.
Publish your menu online
As mentioned above, get your menu on your social media profiles, your website, Google Maps, etc. Wherever you can, upload it as text, not a PDF. Text is easier to read on all devices without awkward scrolling and panning. Plus, menus are rich with keywords that’ll help boost your website’s search rankings.
Get in-house delivery sorted
A couple of years ago, during the height of pandemic-borne lockdowns, we thought a lot about delivery apps vs. in-house delivery. Companies like Uber Eats and Deliveroo were life-savers for restaurants during COVID-19’s peaks, but their commissions can be costly, their quality control and customer service is often poor, and you can’t access customer data for retargeted ad campaigns.
In-house deliveries are a bit trickier and costlier to set up, and competition is slightly tougher, but there are no extortionate commissions cut from your revenue, you have full creative control of the customer experience, you have a tighter relationship with drivers, and you can track conversions.
If you’ve only ever relied on established apps for your delivery infrastructure, consider trying a different approach by managing deliveries in-house.
Brand identity health check
Remind your customers and followers what they love about you, whether it’s through engaging copy, mouthwatering photography, captivating videos, or interesting graphics and illustration.
Or maybe this is the perfect opportunity to reconsider everything from your logo and color scheme to your brand story and overall ‘vibe’ — a rebrand before one of the busiest periods of the year gets underway.
Up your merch game
If your brand identity is awesome, people are gonna want to wear it on their body! Tees, hoodies, caps. Beer mats, koozies, bottle openers. Art prints, bags, hot sauces.
When you start selling merch, you’re in your customer’s wardrobes, outfit selfies, refrigerators, back gardens, and cars. The upper echelon of brand loyalty.
Gift cards
A simple idea that upholds a gargantuan industry. Get your gift card options ready ahead of summer. Even if you just sell £250 worth per week, that’s an extra £13,000 per year.
Implement a loyalty scheme
Keep customers coming back with offers for return visits, or think up an exclusive ‘club’ diners can join to get special deals via email.
Grab everyone’s attention with competitions
Arranging a giveaway can be a great way to get on more people’s radars. Even better if it’s run in partnership with a few other brands — you’ll all be exposed to one another’s followers. This doubles up as a great way to build some B2B relationships.
Collect customer emails
Whether it’s through loyalty schemes, newsletter subscriptions, or competitions, capture emails! Email sign-ups show high interest and high intent, and landing directly in people’s inboxes is incredibly valuable. You could even include an opt-in on your website’s contact form.
Setting up your online shop
If you’re selling gift cards, loyalty subscriptions, merch, etc. you’ll need an online portal through which to do so. Got a site, but not sure how to implement an ecommerce system on it? Our web design and online shop management services are ready when you are!
Connect your shop to Facebook and Instagram
Importing your products to Facebook and Instagram will enable you to tag them in any photos you post, so customers can just tap on the picture and be taken straight to the purchase page. The more frictionless the conversion process, the more sales you’ll make.
Book a shoot for food photos and videos
Work with a photographer and/or videographer who understands how to extend your brand identity to the style of your images, TikToks, and Reels, and who knows what works well on social media.
It’s very possible to capture the basics of your entire menu — drinks and spread shots included — in a single day.
Some creative ideas might require a bit more of a longer-term strategy. TikTok, for instance, calls for trend-driven, people-focused videos that can’t necessarily be achieved in a one-and-done session.
We offer photography/video production and TikTok strategy services, if you’re unsure where to start.
Collaborate with influencers
Get your food seen by whole new audiences and curate some quality user-generated content in the process by inviting influencers to dine in your restaurant for free. The better the spread you put on, the better the pics! Some influencers will welcome your guidance in what you want in return for the meal — take any opportunity to stipulate that TikToks and Reels are part of the exchange.
Communicate with local PR
Lots of journalists and bloggers are — excuse the pun — hungry for stories about what restauranteurs are doing in their cities. Reach out to local newsdesks and writers in your region with an interesting idea or angle for a story. Many will be looking to publish lists of businesses for their summer-centric articles. All solid exposure.
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Let’s discuss your business needs and how we can help.