From Lockdown to Reopening to Lockdown – Engaging Diners Starts with Being Clear and Trustworthy About Your Restaurant.

COVID-19 has made takeout and delivery the name of the game for diners looking to visit their favorite restaurants in 2020. This seismic shift in business practices means that restaurants need fresh, new ways to promote their services – especially for diners who are safety-conscious.

Social media is a powerful, scrappy tool for restaurant owners and marketers. Food and restaurant brands are among the most-loved, highest-performing companies on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Now that the world has seen lockdown upon lockdown, customers are more cautious than ever when it comes to choosing a safe place to eat or getting a meal to go. Restaurant brands have a unique opportunity amid the chaos to focus their efforts toward a digital marketing strategy that keeps them in front of their target audience and positions them as a safe, reliable service for ordering takeout or delivery. 

The real-time quality of digital marketing makes it a helpful way to keep customers aware of your current status as a restaurant. Are you open now? Have your hours changed? Has your menu changed? Foreground essential information while getting people excited about a delicious meal. Another sure way to keep customers interested is to engage with them directly via social media. Respond to their comments, offer promotions, and include humanizing pictures of your staff to build a more reliable connection with your followers. 

As I’ve written about in the past, food marketing is all about including strong visual imagery. In addition to showing how your restaurant is upping its hygiene game, get busy posting images of your menu’s top items. You might consider giving your customers a sneak peek at how your kitchen works – revealing recipes with a friendly face is a great way to build community. You can even hop on the online content bandwagon that so many brands are utilizing during the pandemic and offer paid tutorials or classes via videoconference, pay-per-use video, or social media video streaming like IG Live.

At this point, it is no secret that people are spending more time than ever on their screens – which means restaurant brands have a real opportunity to engage with their customers in personal, meaningful ways. If you’re a restaurant owner looking to build your social media presence, ASTRALCOM can help.