Social media for restaurants is more important than ever as the country opens up and customers can return to their favourite places. Your old customers are excited to get back to you and there are plenty of new customers out there too, looking to make the most of the hospitality businesses in the area.
If you want to build a strong customer base in the coming weeks and months, you need to show people that you can provide a fun, safe atmosphere. Being able to harness the positive energy and excitement that people already have and turn it into great content is the key to success where social media for restaurants is concerned.
While you have been closed, your customers have been more desperate for social media content than ever. It’s their only way of communicating with your business and getting information about any potential changes. That increased focus on social media content will continue over the next few weeks and months. It’s crucial that you capitalise on this and use social media channels to communicate everything about your restaurant. Here are some of the key strategies you should use.
Show New Additions
People want the familiarity of their favourite places, but they also want something new and exciting. Many hospitality businesses have used lockdown as an opportunity to make changes and additions. If your restaurant has been refurbished or you have made additions, highlight these on your social media to create more excitement around your restaurant. This shows people that you are not just reopening and operating as normal. Despite the circumstances, your restaurant is still offering something new and different for old customers.
Encourage Sharing and Engagement
Creating shareable content is an excellent way to generate a lot of buzz around your restaurant. When people visit and have a great time, you want them to tell all of their friends about it so they make a booking too. You can encourage sharing and engagement by creating hashtags for people to use on posts. Make sure to post lots of high-quality visual content too because it is more likely to be shared. Pictures and videos of new dishes or cocktails that you have added to the menu, for example, are perfect. Use your hashtag on this content and you can start a conversation about your restaurant and your menu, which will lead to a lot of bookings.
Don’t Forget Safety
Capitalising on the excitement that people feel about returning to restaurants is key, but don’t forget about safety. The situation is still changing all the time and many people are naturally a bit concerned about being in crowded indoor spaces for the first time in a long time. In some cases, this anxiety may prevent people from making a booking in the first place. So, make sure to address safety in your social media posts and show people that you are providing plenty of sanitiser and you have set up your furniture in such a way that social distancing is always maintained. Demonstrating that your restaurant is fun but also safe is the best way to encourage people to come back.
Social media for restaurants can be difficult to manage right now when there is so much else going on. It often gets neglected because restaurant owners are focused on adapting to the new way of doing things and making sure customers are happy and safe.
At AsOne, we can manage your digital marketing strategy for you, so you can focus on creating a great experience for your customers. If you are having trouble with your social media strategy, get in touch today to find out how we can help.
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