This is one of the most difficult times to run a restaurant. There are so many large fast-food networks available, offering cheap and quick meals for busy people. The growing concept of street food mobile units is yet another strong competitor for traditional restaurants. Let us not talk about countless mobile apps allowing people to order food at the office or for home.
In this complex and competitive environment, restaurants have only one powerful weapon: social media marketing. More precisely, Facebook™ marketing. This is the online forum where adults spend most of their internet time. They look at their friends’ vacation photos, cute photos with cats and funny memes. If they are also thinking about what to have for lunch, a strategically placed Facebook™ ads will give them the answer.
Why Facebook Ads™ Work?
Facebook™ has refined its advertising strategy over the years, so that, at present, an ad looks like a regular post. It has the standard format of Facebook™ post, it is focused on visuals (80% image, 20% text) and it blends seamlessly into the user’s news feed.
This strategy removes the friction from the interaction between businesses and Facebook™ users (“oh, not another ad!”). People perceive these ads as useful and interesting content and will click on them if the deal looks interesting enough.
This article will help you create irresistible and mouth-watering Facebook™ ads for your restaurant business.
1. Start With a Sweet Deal
The reason why people click on a Facebook™ ad for a restaurant is not that they are really hungry (that could be a reason, but don’t count on it). They saw an irresistible offer and want to take advantage of it. It is even more impactful if they were about to look for a restaurant to celebrate an event.
Of course, this perfect match does not happen by coincidence. It is all about targeting the right people with the right offer. For example, you can search for people in your local area whose birthday or marriage anniversary approaches and offer them a discount for a special dinner with their significant other.
2. Spice Things Up with Outstanding Images
A photo is worth 1,000 words – but they have to be the right words. There is a complex psychological relation between colours, shapes and human emotions. Restaurants need to pay great care to the photos and videos of their products used for all marketing purposes.
Each product must be presented in the best light and angle and have crisp, vibrant colours – so real, that it makes people reach out to the screen to take a bite. This is why you must hire a professional photographer specialising in food photography. No matter how good your offer is, if the photos don’t make the prospect’s mouth water, you won’t see them seated at a table anytime soon.
3. Promote Special Seasonal Dishes
Have you noticed that starting with September American food and drink chains start heavily promoting pumpkin flavoured everything? This is a smart strategy of taking advantage of the popularity of Halloween (where pumpkins are key decorations) and making people hurry up to take advantage of a limited edition of the regular products.
Scarcity and the connection with popular celebrations are smart marketing tactics. Whenever you have special seasonal dishes on your menu, make them the number one item promoted in your Facebook™ posts.
4. Promote Entertainment Events
A restaurant is not only about food – but it is also about the atmosphere, the decorations and the type of entertainment offered to clients. Many restaurants bring in lots of clients by promoting live music, the weekly/monthly contests for clients and other similar forms of entertainment.
After all, if it were only about the food, people would simply order it for home delivery.
5. Give Your Existing Customers a Reason to Come Back
Once you’ve won a new customer, keep reminding them about the great time and the good food they enjoyed in your restaurant. Retargeting ads are some of the best online marketing strategies – because you are not addressing perfect strangers, but people who already have a relationship with your business.
A Facebook™ ad targeting people who visited your restaurant delivered some weeks after the previous visit offering a special discount for bringing a friend is a smart way of keeping a customer loyal and winning a new one at the same time.