Tips for Promoting Your Restaurant or Bar

Did you know that ninety percent of restaurants close their doors within the first year? This shocking statistic proves that running a restaurant is no easy task. However, with your dedication and these tips for promoting your restaurant or bar, you can make a difference. Although there are many reasons for a venue to fail, such as poor customer service, uninspiring food, or an overpriced menu, many failures come down to nothing more than bad marketing.

Building a prominent and respectable business is not easy, and it won’t happen overnight. The following restaurant marketing tactics should help you get started on the right track:

How to Promote Your Restaurant

Get on Instagram

As a restaurant,  Instagram should undoubtedly be one of your first social media setups; it’s the undisputed No. 1 in the food and catering industry. Primarily a visual network, Instagram is invaluable to restaurants, food bloggers, and other individuals or businesses in the industry. After all, a picture of food is truly worth a thousand words. Instagram is also great for drawing attention to special promotions, promoting team-building — unleashing evangelists to promote on your behalf –, and providing information on limited-term offers.

Start Building Your Mailing List Early

Tips for promoting your restaurant or bar have to include email marketing. It is still one of the cheapest and most effective forms of digital marketing. However, a poorly executed campaign with low-quality content will do nothing but harm your business. Building up an opt-in mailing list takes time, so it’s a good idea to start building it up as soon as possible, even if it’s still a few weeks before your venue is ready to open. Once your venue is open for business, you’ll want to start engaging people with content that is no different than this article, offering free information. If you’re a sports bar, you don’t need to only tell your clientele about your specials, but engage them with things that interest them. Talk about sports, an upcoming game, a post-game analysis, or a survey about a team or sport. If you run a French bistro, engage them with interesting tidbits about French culture, travel, or history. Be creative, link it to the core theme of your venue so that the content is relevant.

Those who take the trouble to sign up will be among your most promising customers. However, you should avoid emailing too often. Only send out newsletters once a month, and/or mails when you want people to take a specific action — like a two day special, for example.

Invite Professional Food Bloggers

You’ll need exponential word of mouth to thrive in digital marketing and online viability. To achieve that, you need to reach out to the top influencers in your area. For example, anyone who runs a popular food blog that deals with venues in your area might be considered a leading influencer. Also, research food platforms like Yelp and Zomato; contact the most active and most followed reviewers. If you have a genuinely great product and service, these influencers can and will promote your business in the most valuable way possible. To boost your chances of getting a great review from someone whose opinions people trust, consider inviting them for a free meal, and have the owner and chef meet them personally.

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