Thinking of different restaurant marketing ideas during this pandemic situation?
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many restaurants had to close their dining service or even shut down totally to prevent the spread of the virus.
Now, restaurants are slowly beginning to reopen to serve the public but dine out services are still in question. To survive during these hard times, restaurants are focusing more on the online aspect.
Food take-out service and online ordering and delivery will become the next big thing in the upcoming months.
How do you plan to manage your restaurant marketing in this pandemic situation? confused?
In this post, we will give you a few restaurant marketing ideas/tactics that will keep you not only connected to your existing guests but also introduce you to new ones as you adjust to this situation.
1. Create Compelling Content
Content is always the king. Creating unique content on a daily basis is a great way to not only boost your brand but also for grabbing customer attention, especially since you have to adjust your business accordingly the situations post-COVID.
So what kind of content you can use?
Behind the scenes
People love your dishes, but they love you more. The main reason for your guests to dine with you is the experience you give them, not just the lip-smacking food you make. Take your audience on a tour, something like behind the scenes into your dining room, your kitchen etc.
Give your audience an insight into how you started in the restaurant business or what was the inspiration behind your success or Why did you want to own a restaurant?
Share How You are Coping in these times
From the past few months, things have been tough on restaurant owners and the staff. Even though you are not used to sharing your struggles of running a restaurant, but this is a great opportunity to show your loyal customers how you are dealing or coping up in this pandemic situation. If you are more open about your struggles with your customers, connecting them at a more emotional and personal basis becomes easy.
Share Recipes, Tutorials, and Live Cooking Shows
Teaching your audience about some of your secret dishes could help build a reputation. Publish the recipe with images, step by step or post a video in your YouTube channel. Share tips about food on Instagram. This way your customers can connect to you at a deeper level of communication.
Reach New Audience on a New Social Media Channel
It is now time to test different social media channels as part of your marketing strategy. Connect with old customers and reach out to new potential guests.
Many TikTok creators have been creating their own recipe videos and posting them. You can try the same.
Is your restaurant targeting the right audience? Find out here.
Use Your Smartphone
Believe it or not, during this hard time your smartphone has become a powerful tool. Use this to your advantage and create scroll-stopping content.
Document Your Journey to Reopening
Restaurants are now preparing themselves for reopening. With a strict limit on capacity and new hygiene and safety regulations, dining out will be very different than it did before the spread of the virus.
To prepare and make awareness among your customers about the whole new dining experience, you can document and share your journey to reopening.
Showcase photos of your spacious new floor plan, share videos of masked staff etc.
This type of content help customers soothes some of their anxieties about dining out in the wake of Coronavirus.
Revisit and Optimize Your Online Presence
As restrictions are being uplifted, consumers have started looking up places to dine, so you need to be in those search results. Make sure to optimize your online presence and update your social media channels so that when customers look for your restaurant, they can actually find you.
A great place to start is by making sure you are set up with Google My Business. It is free, easy to use, and allows you to manage your online presence across Google, including Search and Maps.
Update your website and also update and include infos like:
- The current status of your operations (closed, open, open for takeout or delivery only, etc.)
- safety and hygiene precautions you are maintaining at your restaurant
- How are you supporting your staff during this time
- How guests can support you ( gift cards, relief funds, direct ordering, etc.)
- How they can stay connected with your restaurant
Lastly, optimize your website for SEO. It is an activity that is must to put in favour of all operational considerations when running a restaurant.
Find Partners and Influencers
Restaurants all around the world are in the same boat as you in this difficult time. You can all rely on each other for help and hope.
Many restaurants are partnering around relief and charitable initiatives in this time of needs.
With the help of restaurant influencers, you can build stronger relationships and reach a wider audience.
Remember: consider your budget based on current income before making any decisions while collaborating with influencers.
Also Read: 8 Restaurant Marketing Strategies That Work In 2020
Marketing Your Reopening
It is difficult to predict any outcome with the prevailing current situation. When your reopen make sure to communicate with customers about all the safety precautions you are taking in keeping them safe and healthy and at the same time giving them unmatched service quality.
Provide information about all the ways customers can order from you, including online ordering or any delivery apps.
Share any adjustments or changes in menu
Highlight the deals or special promotions you are offering as part of your reopening.
Wrapping Up
The transition to normal will be a long and careful process for many restaurants. This may take quite a while. Take advantage of the time and prepare a perfect marketing plan.
Simple restaurant marketing activities will help you prepare for your re-launch and help you stay top of mind with your diners.
What do you feel about these restaurant marketing ideas? Do you find them useful? Feel free to drop a few restaurant marketing ideas in the comments below.
Do you wish to stay at the top of your game during COVID 19? Wish to promote your restaurant business online? Whether you are targeting local customers or online customers, we work hand in hand with both your online and offline requirements to get your business to the top. We will create, optimize your Google My Business listing, your social media actions and posts, your content marketing strategies to make sure you rank on top of the list even in this pandemic. What are you waiting for?
