Should your restaurant be active on social media? Absolutely. Is it important also to have a website and mailing list? Even more so.

Why? Basing your marketing plan on social media alone is akin to renting without a lease. Websites and mailing lists, however, offer the control that comes with ownership.

Why you need a website and mailing list for your restaurant

Websites offer restaurants many benefits. Jenny Companion, VP eastern operations, and Nathalie Kent, communications coordinator, of hospitality consulting agency The Fifteen Group say, “Having a proprietary website provides more freedom to tell the story of your restaurant, control the narrative, share all pertinent information and maintain a certain look and feel. You can share your full menu in a large format […], offer easy access to make reservations or contact your team, share maps, and more.”

“Having a proprietary website provides more freedom to tell the story of your restaurant.”

Jenny Companion, VP eastern operations, The Fifteen Group
Nathalie Kent, communications coordinator, The Fifteen Group

Your mailing list is your most valuable digital commodity because it consolidates contact information for people who interact with you in many places. 

Companion and Kent say, “Building a mailing list is also beneficial as it affords restaurants more direct communication with their guests. Rather than posting a restaurant LTO or promotion on Instagram and hoping it gets seen, they can send a newsletter directly to their target audience’s inbox.”

“Building a mailing list is beneficial as it affords restaurants more direct communication with their guests.”

Jenny Companion, VP eastern operations, The Fifteen Group
Nathalie Kent, communications coordinator, The Fifteen Group

Why social media alone for your restaurant isn’t enough

Your community expects to find you on at least one or two social media platforms. This allows you to promote your brand and engage with followers. But each platform has both content and functional limitations.

Be mindful that what you build on any third-party platform like Instagram, Facebook or TikTok is somewhat precarious. Changing algorithms can limit who sees your posts, services can be converted from free to paid, and sometimes platforms even shut down (goodbye, Google+). 

Each social media platform has both content and functional limitations.

For Facebook Pages, which businesses use, ongoing algorithm changes favour paid posts over organic reach, meaning your posts appear less frequently in your followers’ feeds. If you have a Facebook page, no doubt you receive frequent nudges to “boost” your posts — for an advertising fee, of course.

On Instagram, posts used to appear in reverse chronological order. If you posted an enticing photo of your lunch special at 9 a.m., followers who used the app that morning most likely would have seen it. Now, the rules that dictate how your posts rank in followers’ feeds are far more complex, including factors like followers’ behaviour (e.g., the types of posts they engage with), the interactions between you and them, timing and more. It’s complicated.

You might not like it, but there’s nothing wrong with social media platforms changing the rules when they please. After all, they offer their services for free, but not out of altruism. They’re businesses prioritizing their interests. 

Again, just like renting that great space without a lease, basing your restaurant’s marketing plan entirely on social media doesn’t offer a lot of security.

The power of website ownership

Apart from the content, marketing, and operational benefits of having a great website, it’s yours to control. If you want to change up the design or integrate new functionality like a mailing list service, well, you’re in charge.

You own your domain name (like www[dot]bestrestaurant[dot]ca) and choose the platform to build your website on. By using a hosted website, you can focus on functionality, content, and SEO (strategies to help search engines display your site to would-be visitors) while your provider handles the nuts and bolts (think fun stuff like updates, security, backups, etc.). One website platform is Sociavore, which was developed for independent restaurants. 

Yes, you’ll need to pay for your domain name (URL) and platform fees, while your social channels are free. But you won’t be at the mercy of social media’s frequently changing rules and players, and visitors to your site will find everything they need in one place.

Making the most of an email list

Congratulations if you have scores of followers on social media, but do you know how to contact them outside the platform? Visits to your website may be booming, but do you know who those visitors are?

Creating a mailing list allows you to make the most of traffic to your website, social channels and restaurant. It’s your master list of everyone who’s said they want hear from you.

No matter what happens to your social channels or website, your mailing list is there for you. It’s your most powerful marketing and relationship-building tool, allowing you to communicate directly with your subscribers. Build it with care and treat it like gold.

“Those who sign up for your mailing list are, by definition, already engaged with and invested in your brand, so you’ll be able to capitalize on an active and interested audience to drive business.”

Jenny Companion, VP eastern operations, The Fifteen Group
Nathalie Kent, communications coordinator, The Fifteen Group

As Companion and Kent say, “Those who sign up for your mailing list are, by definition, already engaged with and invested in your brand, so you’ll be able to capitalize on an active and interested audience to drive business.”

Seven tips to maximize your restaurant email list

1. Offer multiple opportunities to subscribe — Put sign-up links on each social channel and your website, and provide paper forms and/or digital options on your premises. Always seek to expand your list. 
2. Offer incentives — It’s well worth providing special offers or promotions for people to join your mailing list.
3. Personalize email — A little thing like using subscribers’ names in email goes a long way toward relationship building.
4. Learn about subscribers’ interests — Polling subscribers about their interests means you can target content to them. Send the promo about your new meat lovers’ menu to the people who are happy to see it, not the vegan crowd.
5. Don’t flood subscribers’ inboxes — If you send too many emails, they may tune you out or, worse yet, unsubscribe. 
6. Remember, consent is key — Spam may have a place on some menus, but it doesn’t belong in your mailings. Learn more about Canada’s anti-spam legislation.
7. Use a mailing list service — You don’t have to manage your list alone. Services like MailChimp or Constant Contact support you in enrolling new subscribers, anti-spam compliance, sub-list creation, communication design, and analyzing impact.

Your restaurant may have a Facebook page and Instagram account, but do you have a website? In this time of soaring social media popularity, you may think a website isn’t necessary, but your online marketing strategy isn’t complete without one. 

Each component of your online presence has a role to play, but your website is the hub that brings them all together. Think of it as your one-stop virtual shop for your restaurant’s brand. 

Restaurant websites attract visitors and drive sales

Amina Gilani, co-founder and COO of Sociavore, a website building platform designed to meet the needs of independent restaurants, says, “Over 80 per cent of customers are going online first to discover a restaurant.”

Restaurants Canada likens your website to your front door. “Today’s diners are keen to learn as much as they can about your restaurant before they make a reservation, so they’ll visit your website to get information. There, they expect to find your menu, hours of operation and location, social media links, and maybe even a blog.”

“Today’s diners are keen to learn as much as they can about your restaurant before they make a reservation, so they’ll visit your website to get information.”

Restaurants Canada

With the COVID-19 pandemic in its second year, your website visitors want much more than information. They’re looking for a virtual guest experience to replace what they’ve come to expect from your physical location, and functionality that allows them to interact with you.

Your restaurant website can also drive sales. Technomic’s Industry Insights report of September 7, 2020 states, “Convenient online and app-driven ordering has been a lifeline during the pandemic,” and reports that 24 per cent of consumers who order food for off-premise do so using a restaurant-specific website.

Cindy Perri, brand guardian for Charcoal Group restaurants, which use Sociavore, says, “Not only does our website support all of our marketing efforts as the final destination in a long line of communication and storytelling, but it also functions as the technological bridge between the guest and restaurants for programs such as online ordering, gift cards, loyalty, feedback and takeout efforts, to name a few.”

Take control of your online presence

If you think your restaurant doesn’t need an online presence, think again: you already have one. 

Even without a website or any social media accounts, someone Googling your restaurant or your type of eatery will find plenty of information about you in the form of reviews (some of which may be negative) on sites like Yelp, personal blogs and even friends’ Facebook posts. 

Having a restaurant website helps you take control of your online presence. “You don’t want other people to build what your brand is online,” Gilani says. “You want to be able to do that for yourself, just like you do for your bricks and mortar experiences where so much care is put into that guest experience.”

Sociavore optimizes your site for search engines, something known as SEO. Simply put, making it easy for search engines like Google to find your site makes it easier for people to find you. 

The power of social media integration

Your Instagram account can convey your restaurant’s food and vibe through beautiful images, but the platform doesn’t allow for much information like hours and menus. Also, their hashtag-based searches make it challenging for someone who doesn’t know about your restaurant to find you when they’re looking for a new place to eat. While a Facebook page can include lots of information and photos, its busy format doesn’t lend itself well to showcasing your brand. 

“Websites are different from social media in that they hold more robust information that you can’t necessarily post on social media as easily, […] so it’s great to have that place guests can go to find out more,” says Perri.

One way to address these social media shortcomings is to direct people to your full-service restaurant website via links in your Instagram profile and Facebook “About” section and posts. Similarly, links from your website to your social channels encourage more followers there.

Sociavore also provides seamless integration between your website and social channels. For instance, you can automatically import your Instagram posts to your restaurant website, post to social media from your website and even schedule those posts. Social media management can be time consuming; Sociavore makes it more efficient.

Brand Points PLUS and Sociavore make it easy

Small restaurant operators may not have the level of resources and technical expertise of the chains, but with Sociavore’s no-technical-skills-required, drag-and-drop approach, you can easily build a highly customized, professional website that supports your operations and offers guests the functionality they’ve come to expect in the age of apps. With a Sociavore-powered website, they can make reservations online, order takeout or delivery, purchase gift cards, buy tickets for live or virtual events, and more.

Greenbridge Foodservice has aligned their Brand Points PLUS program with Sociavore to help you compete just like the big guys. They’re offering special pricing and an exclusive all-in-one plan where their teams build your website and update it quarterly for you. And you can use your Brand Points PLUS points to pay. Learn more at https://chefconnexion.com/digital-smarts-for-the-independent-restaurant-operator/.

Photos and video reign supreme in social media today, so you may be excited to jump into this form of marketing. And, how hard could it be to post mouth-watering pictures or an appetizing video of your signature dishes?

While nice to have, you don’t need a dedicated social media team or professional photographer for success. With a strategy, knowledge of basic principles of photography, and some tools to enhance your smartphone camera pics, you can generate engagement and drive traffic to your establishment.

Strategize for success

It all starts with your brand

Think of your brand as the story you want to tell, visually and with words. First, define the brand you’re promoting: your establishment’s, yours as a chef, or both. Then identify your key message. Is it about local food and sustainability? Family-style ambience? A party vibe, or fine dining? Commentary on food politics?

Your brand is the foundation for each social media marketing decision you make, from the channels you use, what you share, and the mood of your images. Yes, mood, since that’s what you want to create.

Which social channels should you use?

There are many social media channels. Consider which socials work best for food generally and your brand in particular, where your customers hang out, and what fits well with your resources and skills.

Instagram and Facebook are the big players, and many in your community will be there. Consider a presence on one or both. These are tablestakes.

We eat with our eyes first. Instagram is the place to be for images (and increasingly video). It’s ideal for showcasing your food and atmosphere. You can also use a Facebook page to amplify your story in photos and videos. It also provides a robust information directory for details like hours, menus and directions. You can even engage with your community through live video on both platforms.

Try to be where your target demographic is. If you cater to Millennials and Gen Z, consider using the video platform TikTok. While less visual, Twitter can effectively convey your brand and discuss food issues in a newsier format. 

Don’t bite off more than you can chew

Social media is surprisingly time-consuming to maintain well. Don’t feel you have to be on all channels or use video if it’s not your thing. It’s better to focus on one or two channels that you’re comfortable with and can use well. 

Plan your approach

Make a basic plan for each social media channel you use. Think about:

• How often you want to post — Consistency is more important than frequency.
• Timing — Post that great shot of eggs benny when people are making brunch plans, not at four p.m. on Sunday.
• Varying content across channels — People may follow you on more than one platform. They can tune out if you post the same photo at the same time everywhere. Vary timing, promote different dishes or use different shots of the featured dish.
• Engagement— It’s not all about what you receive from social media. How will you respond to followers who tag your restaurant in photos or leave comments? Your engagement with them is at least as important as what you post.

Synchronize key information

Changing your hours? Update them on any channel where they’re posted. Or, put a link to your Facebook page in your other channel profiles so you only need to update once.

Sharing guidelines

What makes your content uniquely identifiable so followers stop scrolling to check out what you’re up to? Visually, it may be your food styling, the human elements included, the mood of your photos, or curated elements of your personal life. Telling your story cohesively supports your brand identity.

Content wise, if you’re going to share a political or personal post when you’ve only featured food before, ensure your intention supports your brand. A photo of the head chef’s new baby may generate a positive response; a rant about a local political issue may not, unless you’ve established your reputation as a public figure with views that people follow.

Learning for success

Smartphone camera quality has advanced greatly, but you still need to bring some photography savvy and skills to the game. Many online articles and courses are available. Through learning and practice you’ll develop a good eye for what works best for you.

Here are four basic considerations for attention-grabbing images.

• Lighting — Use natural, diffused light or an evenly lit space whenever possible. If lighting is an issue, photograph your dish in an illuminated light box or attach a ring light to your phone (they’re not just for selfies!). Don’t use a flash, which can create harsh contrast and glare.
• Layout — How you compose photos can add emphasis and drama, influencing the viewer’s reaction. Try various styles like the rule of thirds and centring. Be aware of what doesn’t belong — that sexy cocktail doesn’t look as appealing with a bar mop in the background.
• Perspective — Experiment with different angles to see what works best for each dish. Does an overhead shot make that towering salad look flat, while a 45-degree perspective adds drama to a bowl of steaming soup? For video, the popular overhead style may feel instructional when you’re trying to convey the excitement of a dish coming together.
• Editing— It’s always worth taking a few minutes to correct and enhance photos before sharing them. You can adjust shadows and brightness, enhance colour, crop for stylistic effect, and add filters for a cohesive tone. You can use an editing app or the tools built into platforms like Instagram.
•  

Equip for success

Choose among the following basic tools to take your smartphone photos to the next level:

• Tripod (consider overhead capability)
• Light box, available through Brand Points PLUS
• Ring light (standalone or clips onto your phone)
• Light diffuser screens
• Reflectors (as simple as foam board) to bounce light
• Snapseed, a free but powerful editing app for iOS and Android

Internal marketing is the process of promoting your brand and products within your organization. In a restaurant, the internal communication between owners and employees is an important factor that contributes to the success of a restaurant. Restaurant operators who implement internal marketing programs recognize that their most valuable marketing media are the people who work for them.

Communicating brand and product knowledge to your employees doesn’t have to be boring. Here are some tips on strategies you can implement and execute to promote internal marketing within your restaurant:

Encourage individualism

For years the trend was to script everything a staff member said to guests and have them dress in branded uniforms to fit the “brand look.” Today, some of the most popular and successful restaurants encourage their staff to dress in a way that showcases their individuality. This encourages staff to be themselves and allows them to create meaningful and authentic relationships with regular and new customers.

Discount programs for staff

A great incentive for current employees to visit the restaurant on their days off is to offer meal discounts. If an employee wants to bring friends or family, the meal discount also extends to them. In addition, regular guests love seeing and interacting with staff when they are off the clock.

Create a fun environment

Employees who enjoy their work excel at work. If employees are having fun, they’re going to work harder, stay longer and help promote your restaurant to guests in a positive way. Be an employer they want to promote by creating a fun, efficient and well-run working environment.

Boost your staff events

Company events help with team building, validate your employees, and boost company morale. There is often a gap between management and employees. To help fill this gap, look for certain ways that the team can connect outside of the restaurant environment. Summer parties, wine/beer tours, fitness groups or educational sessions are great examples of team bonding. These activities in the workplace enable better communication, better relationships and ultimately increase productivity.

Set up regular tastings with suppliers

Tastings are one of the most effective tools for suppliers to help build their own brand awareness and ensure that employees are keeping their brand top of mind when suggesting alcoholic drinks. Beer, liquor and wine reps are always happy to conduct private tastings for restaurants that represent their brand. This is a great tactic to provide product knowledge to your employees in a fun way.

Bring on the sale contests

Adding an element of healthy competition can help generate engagement and potentially increase sales. Connect with suppliers and come up with a contest that promotes a great prize. The incentive will encourage staff members to be eager to win. By creating a contest like this, not only will your sales increase but the contest will also create internal excitement with the team. A win-win tactic.

Hold pre-shift meetings

A part of the internal marketing management process that gets overlooked is the pre-shift meeting. Take a few minutes before each shift to brief your staff about any promotions and features for the day. While working in a restaurant can be fun and rewarding, it can also at times be a thankless job. Give some praise to your staff by highlighting their achievements. You can also have a chef or bartender to put together a dish or drink that staff are encouraged to promote or feature for the night. During the shift meeting, have staff try it and romance it to each other.

Does your restaurant celebrate National Meatball Day (March 9)? Or National Margarita Day (February 22)? Add let’s not forget Eat All Your Veggies Day on June 17. There’s been a proliferation of national food days (not to mention weeks and months) in recent years, with one for just about anything (National Eat What You Want Day, anyone?).

National food days aren’t officially decreed by governments. Rather, they’re set by the individuals or organizations — many of them marketing agencies — behind the numerous online calendars. These include The Complete List of Annual Food Holidays for Restaurants by Flanagan Foodservice in Canada, and National Today and Foodimentary from the U.S.

There are many differences and overlaps among the various calendars. The calendars above all celebrate National Cheesecake Day on April 30, while listing other food days on different dates or excluding some altogether.

What’s common to all national food days calendars is that they’re designed to complement your restaurant’s marketing plan. Jackie Oakes, senior marketing manager at Flanagan Foodservice, says it was important to compile their listing because “celebrating food holidays helps your story and menu stay fresh.” 

“Celebrating food holidays helps your story and menu stay fresh.”

Jackie Oakes, senior marketing manager at Flanagan Foodservice

Wondering how to leverage national food days to entice patrons to visit or order takeout and delivery? Our 10 tips will help you craft a strategy that not only generates sales but enhances your reputation at the same time.

Start with a strategy

Plan ahead to make national food days part of your marketing strategy. Map out the days you want to profile to create your own calendar. Build in ample time to develop each campaign, including promotional materials and testing any new menu items. Plan according to your resources to ensure each campaign is successful.

Limit the number of food days you celebrate

There are hundreds of national food days, so it’s smart to be selective about how many you promote. After all, if every day is special, are any truly special? And focus on days that will be special to your community.

Consider timing

Do you need to celebrate National Champagne Day on New Year’s Eve? If business is slower early in the year, you could do worse than using National Cheese Lovers Day (January 20) to promote your awesome grilled cheese or macaroni.

Stay on brand

Breakfast and brunch restaurants might not want to let National Egg Day on June 3 slip by. And National Greasy Foods Day (October 25) could be just the ticket for some burgers and wings joints. But either day might be off-brand for other restaurants.

“We love to align with celebrations that highlight our brand’s values and offerings.”

Cindy Perri, brand guardian for Charcoal Group restaurants

“We love to align with celebrations that highlight our brand’s values and offerings,” says Cindy Perri, brand guardian for Charcoal Group restaurants. “When we align a celebration, promotion or event in that way, it speaks to the overall brand experience that our guests have come to enjoy, so in turn we create a buzz with our guests and ultimately build brand value.”

Think Canadian

Canucks love to celebrate our iconic foods like Nanaimo bars, tourtière, and the donair. Consider tapping into that passion by including a few of these on your own food days calendar.

Beertown Public House, a craft beer dining establishment, has tweeted about National Poutine Day on April 11, showcasing a photo of their poutine and using the hashtag #ProudlyCanadian.

1,500 Canadians were asked what their favourite iconic Canadian food is. The clear winner? POUTINE! Happy #NationalPoutineDay! 🇨🇦 #Beertown #BeertownBites #ProudlyCanadian pic.twitter.com/RARa4XNQbH

— Beertown (@BeertownPublic) April 11, 2018

Promote and engage on your socials

“Social strategies have never been more important than they are right now,” says Flanagan’s Jackie Oakes. “If you want to be where your customers are, this is the place to be.”

Use social media not just to promote, but also to drive engagement. For National Butter Tart Day (June 1), why not join the fierce debate: raisins or nuts? Run a poll on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. The number of passionate responses may surprise you! Provide eye-catching signage and hashtags on your premises, and watch patrons handle promotion for you.

Use special offers and contests

“Celebrating food holidays and highlighting a current menu item or introducing an LTO can be a great way to generate interest in your brand,” Oakes says.

Earls Restaurant has celebrated Canada’s iconic cocktail on National Caesar Day with LTOs. In 2019 they offered Caesars at a special price on their Twitter account, and in 2020 they ran a giveaway for their Caesar kit on Instagram.

CAESAR THE DAY — It’s never too early to enjoy a Caesar when they’re featured all day! Celebrate #NationalCaesarDay with us for $5 Caesars today only, all day long.â €
⁣⠀#Caesars #CanadasCocktail pic.twitter.com/Wo7x9EjefV

— Earls Restaurants (@earlsrestaurant) May 16, 2019

Acknowledge special food needs

Use occasions such as National Gluten Free Day (January 13) and National Vegan Day (November 1) to showcase offerings for your community with allergies and special diets. They’ll appreciate feeling included and safe at your establishment.

Don’t forget the ingredients

National food days celebrate ingredients as well as dishes. National Maple Syrup Day (December 17) is a springboard to promote food and beverage items sweetened with it.

Give back

Consider combining a national food day with a donation program for a cause important to you or your community. Donating a portion of sales not only supports charities, but enhances your restaurant’s reputation.