Restaurant marketing is how you show what makes your place special and get the word out to attract customers. It is a series of steps across different channels, aimed at reaching the right audience and turning casual visitors into regulars.
Customers are the backbone of your business, from loyal regulars to travellers who stop by once. Smart marketing through digital platforms, email campaigns and ads helps guests return time and again.
What is a marketing strategy?
A marketing strategy is a game plan for how a business promotes its brand and offerings. It covers how you win new customers, your budget, and the mix of organic content and paid ads.
A good strategy combines inbound and outbound techniques. Inbound marketing creates valuable content people find on their own. Outbound marketing broadcasts a message to a wide audience. Data guides the whole process: it helps you understand your market, choose content and channels, and assess results.
What are the essentials of a strong marketing strategy?
- Consistency. Keep your message steady across ads and social media.
- Emotional connection. Understand what your audience cares about and write messages that land.
- Authenticity. Be transparent about what you stand for.
- Innovation. Look for new ideas that catch attention.
- Customer focus. Solve real problems for your audience through your messages and products.
What restaurant marketing strategies work?
1. Revamp your restaurant website
Keep your hours, menu and address easy to find. Make it easy to order online.
2. Use social media
Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok have large audiences and are a good place to start a campaign.
Here is how a restaurant client of Marketing Platter, powered by Tussle Digital, improved its social presence. Their pain points were:
- Struggling with digital presence
- Zero followers and zero engagement
- Low website interaction
The results from two reporting graphs:
| Metric | First graph | Second graph |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 15.8K (up 980.2%) | 38.4K (up 272.3%) |
| Reach from ads | 15.2K | 29.2K |
| Content interactions | up 100% | up 67.1% |
| Link clicks | 360 (up 3.5K%) | 1.2K (up 73.4%) |
Organic reach rose from 898 to 9.6K. Followers increased from 59 to 431.
3. Keep your Google Business Profile current
Updating your Google Business Profile (Google My Business) is one of the easiest ways to boost traffic.
4. Complete your review site profiles
Yelp, UberEATS and TripAdvisor help people find new restaurants. Fill out every profile fully and reply to negative feedback as soon as possible.
5. Join sponsors and events
Take part in local groups or create your own events to spread the word and generate buzz.
6. Offer discounts and promotions
If you have the budget, consider a limited-time discount on major couponing sites to get more eyes on your business.
7. Encourage user-generated content
Customers tagging you on Instagram and Facebook is an opportunity. Encourage a branded hashtag, create moments worth photographing and share their content.
8. Seek restaurant critic reviews
Positive reviews by respected industry figures can lift your profile.
9. Run a Google Ads strategy
Google Ads helps restaurants raise visibility, attract new customers and drive foot traffic or online orders. Location targeting puts ads in front of nearby people who are searching for dining options. See our PPC service.
For another restaurant client, the pain points were:
- High competition and cost
- Ad relevancy and engagement
- Difficulty in tracking conversion
The campaign delivered 2.01K clicks, 174K impressions and 544 conversions, with cost remaining relatively stable.
How do you start?
Before you run any plan, state your goals and what you want from it. Then monitor and analyse every marketing effort to see what connects and what does not.
Marketing Platter, powered by Tussle Digital, is an all-in-one solution for restaurant marketing. Contact Tussle Digital to talk about your goals.
Questions we get asked
What is restaurant marketing?
Restaurant marketing is how you show what makes your place special and get the word out to attract customers. It is not one size fits all. It is a series of steps across different channels, such as your website, social media, reviews and ads, aimed at reaching the right audience and building loyal regulars.
What are the best channels for restaurant marketing?
The post covers nine: a revamped website, social media, Google Business Profile, review sites such as Yelp, UberEATS and TripAdvisor, sponsors and events, discounts and promotions, user-generated content, critic reviews and Google Ads. Set your goals first, then monitor results to see what works for your restaurant.
How can Google Ads help a restaurant?
Google Ads can raise visibility, attract new customers and drive foot traffic or online orders. Location targeting puts ads in front of nearby people who are actively searching for dining options. In one client campaign described in the post, ads delivered 2.01K clicks, 174K impressions and 544 conversions.
What results did social media marketing deliver for a restaurant client?
In the post, a restaurant client of Marketing Platter, powered by Tussle Digital, started with zero followers and zero engagement. Reach hit 15.8K (up 980.2%) in one graph and 38.4K (up 272.3%) in another. Organic reach rose from 898 to 9.6K, and followers increased from 59 to 431.
