It’s 2024: Is your restaurant up to date with your social media marketing? There are some well-established practices and some aspects that are ever-changing. Here are the social media marketing tips you need for your restaurant in 2024.
Use The Channels That Work Best For You
Following trends and staying up-to-date on the latest in social media marketing is important. But one time you don’t want to just follow the crowd is when you’re choosing which platforms to establish a presence on. Â
Why? Because not all social media channels are useful for the same purposes. You want to be using not just the most popular social platforms, but the platforms where your target audience is spending their time. For instance, if you own an upscale restaurant with a clientele primarily in the 40-60 year old age range, TikTok isn’t going to do much for you. You’ll want to use your time to strengthen your Facebook presence instead.
Be Aware of New Social Channels
That being said, you still need to stay in the know about all the new emerging channels that you could potentially use for your restaurant marketing. Past experience has shown that early adopters of new social media apps tend to have an advantage. The algorithm favors them and they have a chance to build their presence before the platform gets oversaturated.Â
When new social platforms start to make waves, do your research right away and determine whether you want to set up a profile. When it comes to digital marketing for restaurants, especially on social media, speed and staying up-to-date are important. Right now for instance, restaurants who are interested should be making sure their Threads profiles are set up and optimized, since Threads has the potential to be the next big thing on the social scene.
Post Consistently
No matter what channels you choose to pursue, it’s essential that you are posting consistently as part of your hospitality marketing strategy on social media. The ideal posting frequency can vary across channels, but generally you’ll want to be posting at least once a week on every social media platform you have an active presence on. On platforms like Facebook and Instagram that have stories, you should be posting stories even more frequently than that as well. Simply put, if you’re not consistent, it will be hard for your social media presence to take off, and your brand won’t reach as many people.
Paid Ads Are Your Friend
A solid organic social media strategy is important. But organic efforts alone are rarely enough to really grow your business at a fast pace. A key piece of the strategy on social media for small businesses is paid ads.Â
Some brands shy away from ads, don’t want to commit to a large restaurant marketing budget, or feel like if they’re good enough, organic posts should be enough. But the reality is, ads help you reach way more people, much more efficiently. You need to spend money to make money: That holds true in social media marketing as well. Social media ads can really increase your brand awareness and drive substantially more direct conversions than organic posts.
Think Outside The Box
Finally, don’t be scared to get creative! It’s not just the tried-and-true marketing methods you should be using on social media. Social media platforms are constantly changing and evolving. They are the perfect place to try new things and think outside the box. For example, instead of just engaging with followers who comment on your content, you may try using DM’s to start fun and interesting conversations with potential customers. Or perhaps you start making use of groups on Facebook or LinkedIn to bring in new eyes to your platforms. Think about methods your competitors haven’t thought of to really set your restaurant apart on social media.
So where to begin? If you want even more social media marketing advice for restaurants, download our free Restaurant Marketing Recipe Book. It’s a very handy resource to guide you through all aspects of restaurant marketing to make sure your brand is on track. And if you can’t dedicate the time yourself or are looking for experts to optimize your restaurant’s social presence, hiring a restaurant marketing agency is a great way to go.Â
Social media marketing for restaurants in 2024 is no easy task, but do it well with the tips above and you’ll start seeing results right away!
