In order to promote your business, it is very important to be where your audience is. The average person spends more than 2 hours a day on social media. This means that most likely, you find your guests on social media – so take the chance and engage with them! This post will cover 6 easy ways to engage on social media with your restaurant guests. Before we dig into the 5 steps, let’s look into what social media platforms you should be on. Now, let’s dive right in!
What Social media channels should you engage with your guests on?
There are several social media platforms you can take advantage of to increase your restaurant’s online visibility, and engage with your guests. According to Statista, some of the most popular social networks in 2022 are Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. We already have some great posts about how you can take advantage of each of these platforms, but let’s cover them slightly before moving on to the 5 tips for how to engage with guests on social media.
Your restaurant can leverage Facebook as a huge platform to potentially drive in a lot of customers. You can use Facebook to spread the word about your place, and give customers an insight into the experience they will have at your place. It is especially important for you to be on Facebook considering that you can use Facebook to offer your guests to order food and/or book a table directly from your Facebook page.
YouTube
Video content is super popular nowadays. Especially restaurants can benefit from using YouTube to e.g. share recipes, cooking sessions, cooking tips, and other kitchen and food-related content that can engage your guests. You can use these kinds of videos to build brand awareness and create a relationship with your guests.
Instagram is great for sharing pictures of your restaurant and the food. You can also use Instagram for sharing information about events, competitions, a new menu, and much more. Instagram stories are also a great way of doing this (Read our post about how your restaurant can use Instagram stories). It’s important when you use Instagram that your content is creative and engaging in a way that strengthens interaction with your target audience. Have you heard about the term ‘Insta-worthy’? Well, it’s an important term!
Here is our in-depth guide for how to be ‘Insta-worthy’ and use Instagram to engage with guests.
Tip 1: Don’t be afraid to be personal!
There is nothing wrong with posting content about the restaurant owner(s) and staff. You are the ones that make your amazing restaurant possible! Give your guests the chance to get to know you as well.
Tip 2: Use “geotags”
Although it could be cool to reach social media users all around the world, geotags help you reach your local audience. Social media users use these geotags in order to find people, restaurants, cool events, and more near them. If you are consistent with using geotags, locals find you easier.
Tip 3: Arrange a competition
Have a competition on social media in order to engage with your guests. Give your guests the possibility to win a gift card, free drinks, a free dessert, or similar through your own competition. For instance, you could do a 3-step competition, where one can participate by:
- Follow your account on social media
- Like your post
- Comment and tagging 2 friends
This will not only increase engagement substantially but also attract new guests to your restaurant.
Tip 4: Be up to date with current events and holidays
Post light content from time to time and create conversations. In order to do this, you could use national holidays, global events, or similar when doing a post. However, it is important to keep it relevant. For instance, do you serve Mexican food? Then maybe you can do a post about margaritas on National Margarita Day.
Tip 5: Use social media also when you are closed for the season
Does your place close for the season? Be careful not to go into ‘online hibernation’ as this could harm your restaurant. You want to stay top of mind and not lose awareness so that you still get a lot of guests when you open again. Make sure to always stay connected with your guests on social media. Here is our guide for how you can engage with your guests online when you are closed for the season.
Tip 6: Post frequently
It is important to do posts frequently and consistently. For instance, you can plan to do a post on social media 1-2 times a week. Most social media channels also allow you to do “My Story. A “My Story” is a short user-generated photo and video collection that disappear after 24 hours. Try to use this feature as well!
Increase your restaurant’s online visibility
We hope that you found these 6 tips useful. Besides engaging with guests on social media, there are other important ways to increase your visibility online and create strong brand awareness. Here are 6 ways to do that:
- Create a Google My Business profile
- Create profiles on social media channels
- Be active on social media
- Update information on review platforms
- Do some PR
- Encourage guests to give you a review
Are you curious about how you can increase online visibility with these 6 ways? Then dig into our comprehensive post about how to increase your restaurant’s online visibility.
Integrate your booking page on social media with resOS
If you have are active on social media and have a lot of engagement, give your guests the possibility to book through your Facebook page. Are you interested in trying out resOS? Then do not hesitate with contacting us at [email protected].
