Some of the statistics surrounding new restaurants aren’t very promising when you realize a large portion of them fail in a short amount of time. But why? Owning and operating a restaurant is challenging in many ways. Arguably, the most challenging part is attracting more people to your establishment. 

Restaurant marketing has changed significantly over the years to the point where it’s mandatory to have an online presence. Traditional means of advertising like mailing flyers, radio and television advertisements, and word-of-mouth are still effective, but effective digital marketing for restaurants can extend your reach even more. Consider these tips to help you attract customers to your website.

What Local SEO Can Do For You

Many new business owners make the mistake of thinking they don’t have to spend a lot of time on search engine optimization (SEO). No matter what type of food you serve or how large or small your city is, people are going to look up restaurants online. And if yours doesn’t show up high enough in the search rankings, chances are they’ll go elsewhere. Why not work with restaurant marketing companies to boost your SEO? These are some of the strategies to consider implementing:

• Use local keywords on every page of your website
• Use external and internal links
• Create a blog with relevant and engaging content
• Use Google My Business
• Keep your contact information updated

SEO is not as easy as it seems, especially if you don’t have any experience with it. Partner with restaurant marketing companies to ensure you’re covering all bases.

Increase Your Social Media Following

If you don’t have at least one social media account today, you’re behind your competition. Not only does social media potentially help your SEO ranking, but it allows you to interact with customers and boost your engagement. You can also take advantage of some unique networking opportunities, as well as hold competitions, and incorporate paid or free ad campaigns. All of these features can boost your brand and potentially set the foundation for your restaurant marketing efforts.

Email Marketing Is Still Effective

You might think email marketing is a thing of the past. The truth is it’s still alive and well. Nearly everyone has an email address, so the biggest challenge you have is getting a list of them. Earning subscribers to your restaurant email can be done by holding contests or offering discounts through: 

• Social media, 
• Affiliate websites, 
• Restaurant website, 
• Landing page ads 
• Much more 

Then once you get a good list of email addresses, you can offer those subscribers discounts or coupons if they bring a friend or get someone else to subscribe. Be creative with your restaurant email marketing efforts and you might be surprised at how large your subscriber list grows.

Use Online Reviews To Your Advantage

Online reviews can help your restaurant marketing efforts, even if you get some bad reviews. You’ll never please every customer that walks through your door, so expect to receive negative reviews. Instead of ignoring them or deleting them, respond to them courteously and professionally and provide them with a solution to make it right. You might not win back that particular customer, but you can guarantee other customers are watching the interaction and might base their decision on whether to visit your restaurant on how you handle the negative review. Every single online review can be used to your advantage and restaurant marketing companies can help ensure you stay on top of them.

Partner With Local Businesses To Boost Your Brand

You won’t want to partner with other restaurants in your area necessarily, but you can develop relationships with other businesses. Consider doing some guest posts to their blogs and offer promotions that benefit each other. For example, you could partner with a hotel to refer their guests to your restaurant and give them a coupon to use. On the other end, you could offer a discount on a hotel stay to your customers. Advertise this partnership on your website and you’ll be well on your way to maximizing your restaurant marketing efforts.

Explore Influencer Marketing

Effective digital marketing for restaurants could also include influencer marketing. If you have anyone with a large social media following in your area, invite them to eat for free at your restaurant and then post about their experience. Their followers will see the posts and you could earn several new customers from their influence.

Optimize Every Aspect Of Your Website

Finally, and most importantly, your website needs to be perfect all the time. A restaurant website is not something you can create one day and not touch again for months. All of your links need to be valid, menus need to be updated, and contact information should be accurate. Restaurant marketing companies can evaluate your website and make small tweaks or completely redo your website depending on what’s needed. And nowadays, optimizing your website for mobile viewing is mandatory, so be sure your customers can view your website no matter where they are.

At iwebcontent, our experts understand everything there is to know about digital marketing for restaurants. You have enough responsibilities on your plate running your business, so we can take your restaurant marketing responsibilities away. Your focus should be on your customers and everything you do to create a great experience. Simply contact us to learn more about our services and then wait to see the new customers walk through your doors.