Digital Marketing for Restaurants benefits restaurant or cafe owners by increasing brand visibility, getting analytic feedback, using local SEO, building customer loyalty, offering coupons and incentives, and increasing profits. Restaurant owners can improve their reputation by investing in strategic digital marketing plans, posting reels, shorts, or pictures about the interior design, ambiance, and food, offering online coupons and offers, and responding professionally to reviews. 

Digital marketing for restaurants costs less and gives you better conversion rates. Around 90 percent of restaurant, hotel, or bar owners say they invest in social media for promotion. Further, over 60 percent of customers say that they discover a new restaurant in the market using Instgram. 

Digital marketing tips for restaurants are discussed in great detail in this article, where we have talked about the best online platforms for restaurant marketing, how to expand your reach in local markets, run targeted ads to attract highly converting leads, what type of content you should post online, and how to interact with the new and existing customers.

Key Takeaways for Digital Marketing for Restaurant 

  • A well-optimized restaurant website is essential. It provides information on menus, specials, and contact details. 
  • Use local SEO strategies for restaurants to optimize your content for local searches. 
  • Do social media marketing for restaurants by creating engaging content, promotions, and event announcements.
  • Email Marketing for restaurants is an effective way to reach customers, collect email addresses, and run targeted campaigns.
  • List your restaurant on online food delivery platforms like Uber Eats, DoorDash, etc., for increased visibility and accessibility.
  • Create loyalty programs for restaurants to retain customers and incentivize repeat business.
  • Collaborate with influencers for restaurant promotion to use their credibility and expand your reach.
  • Use video marketing for restaurants to showcase your restaurant’s ambiance, featured dishes, and customer testimonials through high-quality videos.
  • Invest in Pay-Per-Click advertising for restaurants using platforms like Google Ads and social media to increase visibility.

What is Digital Marketing for a Restaurant?

Digital Marketing for restaurants is the online strategy to optimize your presence using various platforms, such as search engines, Google My Business, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc., to meet your overall marketing goals. It helps you give a better-personalized customer experience, increase sales, improve website traffic, and build brand awareness and value. It gives your potential customers the information they need, whether it is your restaurant address (from your Google Business Listing or Website), your interior space (from the photos you and your customer post), or various discounts you are offering in deliveries (through your social medis or third party delivery sites). 

Why is Digital Marketing Important for Restaurants?

Digital Marketing for restaurants offers several benefits for the growth of your business. They include,

  1. You will better understand your audience. For example, through social media, you can learn your target customer’s preferences, feedback, etc. 
  2. Digital marketing helps your customers find and contact you easily. For example, if a customer visits your restaurant one day, you cannot get them to come every day to tell them about your new dish or a new setup in your restaurant. However, updating your customers with digital platforms such as Instagram and Facebook is pretty simple.
  3. Digital Marketing is less expensive than traditional methods such as billboards or distributing pamphlets. 
  4. You can reach more customers with a well-strategized digital marketing plan for food restaurants. 

What are the Top 7 Digital Marketing Strategies for Restaurants

Here are some of the best digital marketing tips for restaurants that we are going to discuss in this article:

  1. Website Development for Restaurant
  2. Local SEO for restaurant
  3. Social Media strategy for restaurant
  4. Email Marketing for restaurant
  5. Online Food Delivery Platforms
  6. Create a Loyalty Program 
  7. Collaborating with influencers
  8. Video Marketing
  9. PPC Ad Campaign

Website Development for Restaurant

Website development for restaurants has become truly important because around 89% of customers search for a restaurant online before ordering food or visiting the restaurant in person. Your website is one of the first things customers will see online. Having a well-optimized restaurant website is an excellent way for you to establish your credibility. 

How to build a well-optimized website for a restaurant?

  1. First of all, be clear about your goals. Is it about getting more orders or just displaying your contact information?
  2. Choose a unique name that is easy for your customers to remember. Include your targeted keywords in your domain name for a high SEO ranking. 
  3. Once you have selected the domain name, choose a reliable hosting provider for your website. Some are “Hostlinger”, Godaddy, “Bluehost”.
  4. Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly. It would be better to align your website color with your restaurant’s color.
  5. Plan your website structure properly. If you want help planning the structure and theme of your website, try consulting with a UI UX designer.
  6. Your restaurant website should be well SEO optimized. 
  7. Digital Marketing for Restaurants: Best Strategies to Boost Revenue

Here are a few of the pages you can create: 

  1. Home Page: Your main page; add your essential information here. Consider adding high-quality images of your featured dishes.
  2. Menu Page: Make a clear menu page and mention your price. You can also write one or two lines about the specialty of a particular dish.
  3. About Us: This page is dedicated to you and your restaurant. It is essential because it adds an authenticity factor to your restaurant website.
  4. Contact Page: This web page will have your contact information, address, and a map directing potential customers to your restaurant.

Local SEO for Restaurant

Local SEO for restaurants is marketing your restaurant in your local area. The person who lives in your locality has a high chance of converting into a paying customer. Local SEO for restaurants optimizes your online presence so that your restaurant ranks at the top whenever someone searches for a restaurant near me in your area.

How to do local SEO for a restaurant?

  1. Optimize your Google My Business Profile or create one if you have none. 
  2. Add correct information on your profile, such as your name, address, website, operating hours, etc. Make sure you fill in all the columns asked under the profile completion process.
  3. Your phone number and address are essential to your restaurant business; therefore, you must include them consistently throughout the internet.
  4. Research local keywords and phrases and include them in your website content, title tag, meta tag, and even the description of your GBM profile. For example, if you have a Mexican restaurant in Grand Bazaar, NYC, or New York City, The local keyword, in this case, would be “Best Mexican restaurant in Grand Bazaar NYC.”
  5. List your restaurant in online directories such as OpenTable, All menus, etc. 
  6. Digital Marketing for Restaurants: Best Strategies to Boost Revenue
  7. Remember local link building. It is easy and effective. All you need to do is collaborate with local businesses, participate in community events, or reach out to that famous food blogger in your area.
  8. Create localized content and attract your traffic. This works well in a tourist spot such as Hawaii, etc. For example, suppose you have a restaurant in Hawaii. In that case, you can create content on topics such as the “best Hawaiian food to enjoy in Hawaii” or write on exceptional Hawaiian food such as Lomi Lomi Salmon.
  9. Encourage online reviews for restaurants, as word-of-mouth marketing works best, especially in a food-related business
  10. Ask your happy customers to post about their experience on your listing. This strategy will help you build trust and authenticity.

Social Media Strategy for Restaurant

Social media marketing for restaurants is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing online marketing channels you must take advantage of. Your potential customers are also using social media to find the service you are offering. Let us see how we can do social media optimization for restaurants.

How to do social media optimization for restaurants?

  1. Select the right platform for your restaurant. It would be better for restaurants to use social media channels like Instagram and Facebook.
  2. Now, choose a color theme, font style, and tone of voice for your restaurant profile, and follow it consistently.
  3. Post-high-definition appetizing photos and videos of the dishes you serve at your restaurant. 
  4. You can post a wide range of content on social media, such as:
  • Behind the scene of an order preparation
  • Stories of your featured dishes
  • If you have a family-run restaurant that has operated for centuries, you can post about your rich heritage and values.
  • Repost pictures of your happy customers
  • Post about your staff
  • Showcase the hygiene you maintain in your kitchen area.
  1. You can use social media to announce special events that are taking place at your restaurants, discounts, or a newly launched recipe.
  2. Use related Hashtags to boost your posts, short videos, and stories. 
  3. Remember that you should also interact with your audience and make them feel you care what they say or suggest online.

PPC Ad Campaign for Restaurant

PPC or Pay-Per-Click advertising for restaurants, is a digital marketing strategy where you have to pay a fee each time one of your ads is clicked. Well, this paid marketing has more return on investment than many other traditional marketing strategies. 

How to create a well-performing PPC Ad campaign for restaurants?

  1. Choose the right platform for your restaurants. Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads are good options for restaurant promotion.
  2. Research the right keyword for your restaurant; you can include your cuisine name, location, or any of your Unique Selling Points (USP) in your keyword.
  3. Create a good ad copy compelling enough to get the clicks.
  4. Set a budget for your ad campaign, however, you must always start with a low budget and slowly invest more effectively in the campaign.
  5. Use the local targeting feature to get the most out of your ad campaign.

Email Marketing for Restaurant

Is email marketing an old method? Will it not be a profitable option for your restaurants? Think again; the situation is the reverse of it. According to Hubspot around 77% of the audience still prefers to receive promotional messages or notifications through email rather than text messages or even social media. Given its high return on investment, we must correctly use email marketing strategies for restaurants.

How to run an email marketing campaign for a restaurant?

  1. The first step to running an impactful email marketing campaign for restaurants is to build an email list. But now you might wonder how to do it.
  2. You can collect the emails of your potential customers in three significant ways:
  • Collect it in person during dine-ins, dine-outs, or takeaways. You just have to ask your customers for their email dusting bill preparation process and add it to your list.
  • Ask your visitor to submit their email address while signing up on your website. 
  • You can also promote your email newsletter on social media and ask potential customers to subscribe.
  1. The next step is to choose an email marketing platform for your campaign. You can use platforms such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Sendinblue.
  2. You can collect your customers’ email addresses and data, such as their food choices, addresses, etc. Now, you need to segment them to create targeted ad copies.
  3. Design your email using high-quality pictures and add a clear Call to action to guide your customers through your content.
  4. You can also create automated emails such as a welcome offer, birthday discount, or order confirmation email.
  5. Measure your progress and see what is working in your favor and what is not.

Get your restaurant listed in the Online Food Delivery Platform

Partnering with online food delivery or having your online delivery system can grow your restaurant business by almost 50%. This internet generation loves to order their favorite food from the comfort of their home. Let us see how we can boost the restaurant business by listing on an online food delivery platform. 

How to boost your restaurant business by listing on an online food delivery platform?

  1. Get your restaurant listed in online food delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and others. If there is any other famous local food delivery platform in your area or city, you can also register for that.
  2. Create a visually attractive and navigable menu. If you are listed on various online food delivery platforms, create a consistent image across all platforms.
  3. Set your price according to the competition and give discounts as well.
  4. Work and communicate with the delivery partner for reliable food delivery.
  5. Response professionally to your rating as well as reviews. Respond to negative reviews in the same way as listed above.
  6. When you deliver orders, your food’s packaging becomes extremely important. For this, invest in reliable, durable, and attractive packaging so that the food does not leak while delivering. 
  7. Study the platform algorithm and see how they rank the restaurant for a specific food query. You can see their ranking factors and change your strategy according to that. Remember that each platform is different, so make your strategy according to that.
  8. Using locally targeted keywords in your restaurant profile on these platforms is essential. This helps your profile rank high in Google search as well.

Create a Loyalty Program for your Restaurant

Creating a Loyalty program for restaurants is a long-term marketing strategy. Take the example of any big food franchise, whether Domino or KFC; they all have loyal customers. But how will you create a loyalty program for your restaurant? It’s simple; you just need to follow the steps mentioned below. 

How to create a loyalty program for your restaurant?

  1. Be clear about creating a loyalty program for your restaurant. For this, you can ask yourself whether the purpose of your loyalty program is to boost customer retention or advertise a particular dish.
  2. Choose a structure for your loyalty program. This should be based on your customer’s interests, demographics, etc. These are a few systems you can consider:
  • Point base system
  • Tiered system
  • Punch card 
  • Discounts or cash backs
  1. You should also invest in a good loyalty program software to track the customer data and create a loyalty program as your interest.
  2. Promote your loyalty program through various digital channels such as your website, social media, email, or restaurant marketing. 

Influencer marketing for restaurants. 

Influencer marketing for restaurants is another great strategy that helps increase your credibility and engagement and drive in more customers. Today’s generation sees influencers as trusted figures, especially when taking their suggestions or reviews. Therefore, you must use the right influencer marketing strategies for your restaurant. 

How do you do influencer marketing for restaurants?

  1. Choose the influencer that posts content related to food, local tourism, etc. For this, you can check their post, previous collaboration, and the authenticity of their content.
  2. Now that you have researched the influencer profile, contact them with personalized and genuine messages. 
  3. Collaborate with the influencers on various platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or blogs.
  4. Measure your metrics such as reach, engagements, increased footfalls, etc.
  5. Take the feedback of the influencer who has collaborated with you and ask them about the experience. It will help you make changes in the next collaboration. 

Video Marketing for Restaurant

Video marketing for restaurants allows you not just to showcase your delicious dishes but also to connect with your audience in a better way and build your brand. Video is a highly shareable form of content in social media; it implies that your content has the potential to reach a wide audience. 

How do you do video marketing for restaurants?

  1. Shoot high-quality videos with a good camera, lighting, and clear audio. 
  2. You can record videos on these topics:
  • Showcase the ambiance of your restaurants
  • Post about your featured dish
  • Make videos on the preparation process
  • Post about your chef and their passion for serving the best quality food to the customers
  • You can also create video testimonials of your happy customers
  1. Write a catchy title and keyword-rich description. It helps in your ranking on YouTube.
  2. Create high-quality thumbnails with catchy to attract your potential customers.

Case Study for Restaurant Digital Marketing

Restaurant Name: Michel’s at the Colony Surf

The restaurant serves a delicious food menu with personalized service, hospitality, and an amazing experience on the shores of Kaimana Beach.

Organic Traffic Growth: 739.48%

Restaurant Name: Morla Restaurant

The restaurant offers a cozy and elegant vibe and a tasty menu in Miami. They give you the best culinary experiences of your life.

Organic Traffic Growth: 593.41%

Restaurant Name: KÓMMA Mediterranean Restaurant

The restaurant offers Mediterranean cuisine with an unforgettable experience to Miami locals and visitors. 

Organic Traffic Growth: 492.23%

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About WebKey Digital: The Best Digital Marketing Agency for Restaurants

Webkey Digital is an award-winning digital marketing agency for restaurants that has helped over 50+ restaurants, such as Michel’s at the Colony Surf, Morla Restaurant, Morla Restaurant, etc., to bring their online presence in front of the right audience. We create custom digital marketing strategies that consider your needs and expectations and offer goal-oriented solutions. 

We have worked exceptionally as a complete digital marketing agency for restaurants for the past ten years and have won various awards such as Best SEO Company of the Year, Platinum MarCom Award, and DealCrunch Best Digital Marketing Company award. 

Contact Now and get the best Digital Marketing consultancy for Restaurants.