Social Media Training for Restaurant Owners: Fill Up More of Your Seats
Restaurants understand the importance of making the most of every marketing dollar.
In the past, many restaurants were hesitant to use social media because it was difficult to track their ROI. But thanks to the advanced analytics that are now available, it's easy to see how well your social media marketing dollars and resources perform.
Since more restaurants use social media than traditional loyalty programs, QR codes, daily deals or location-based marketing, it's obvious that this medium can work. However, that's only true if you understand what consumers want and how to connect with your target demographic.
If you want to successfully utilize social media to bring more people through your restaurant's front door, Web Media University's Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest training courses can teach you everything you need to know.
To give you an idea of the type of highly valuable information you'll get from our training course, let's take a look at three different options for successfully utilizing social media to promote your restaurant:
Regularly Change Your Main Cover Image
Facebook, Twitter and Google+ all devote a significant portion of profile pages to a large cover image. Since this is the first thing visitors will see when they come to your profile, use this space to showcase one of your best dishes. But don't settle for keeping the same image. You can easily switch to a different image every one to two weeks. Utilizing variety is also great during specific times of the year like the Christmas season.
Encourage Your Customers to Share Photos
If you've spent any amount of time using social media to promote your restaurant, you've probably discovered that photos get a lot of attention and engagement. While it's definitely wise to publish a steady stream of your own photos, you should also encourage your customers to share their photos of your food. You can even take this a step further by holding a contest for the best food picture.
Don't Be Shy with Promotions and Discounts
One of the nice things about working in the restaurant industry is you have a fair amount of flexibility in terms of pricing. And since people always like to feel that they're getting a good deal, use this to your advantage. Even though you obviously don't have to slash prices, think of creative ways to offer promotions and discounts.
Whether it's a 2 for 1 Happy Hour deal or a complimentary new dessert with the purchase of a meal, customers will stay engaged with your social media profiles if they know that they will be rewarded with special deals. These types of promotions are also very powerful for getting more people in your restaurant seats.
