Social media’s growth has been explosive, especially with the emergence of new platforms that have attracted plenty of attention. Restaurants and cloud kitchens have been quick to establish themselves on social media as a part of their marketing strategy to gain followers and customers. This has resulted in newspaper advertisements becoming increasingly redundant as everyone has embraced the digital age and the benefits it brings. Since social media has become such a powerful business tool, restaurants and cloud kitchens need to work out their plan when it comes to marketing themselves on it. The benefits are almost endless given you can reach a whole new customer base and, if you do it right, have the potential to send your sales skyrocketing to incredible new heights. But getting your restaurant or cloud kitchen’s social media marketing right certainly isn’t easy. There are many important aspects that need to be on point in order to truly enjoy the success you seek.
The data tells the story
The online food delivery industry in Malaysia is thriving as revenue is set to hit US$336.3 million in 2022, while the number of people using food delivery services is expected to reach 12.8 million by 2026.
With a clear insight into the future, let’s look at how your restaurant or cloud kitchen can benefit from social media marketing.
- 90% of people found out about a restaurant online prior to deciding whether to eat there. This is higher than any other type of business.
- 74% of customers conceded that they will more than likely order food from a restaurant they follow and engage with on social media
- 71% also said they would recommend eateries to their family and friends if the restaurant replies to them in a prompt manner on social media
- Nearly half of all diners who went to a restaurant for the first time said they decided to do so due to a post they saw on social media
- 22% added that they went back to the restaurant again after seeing a post by the establishment on social media
The figures provide an intriguing insight into a market that is set to continue growing going forward. In order to tap into it and benefit financially, it is necessary to get your the social media marketing of your restaurant in shape.
To help you achieve this, we at Kitchen Connect have prepared a comprehensive list of 10 tips on how to ace your restaurant’s social media marketing.
- Consistent style
- Pick your colour
- Eye-catching photos
- Human touch
- Engaging Content
- User-generated content
- Partner with Influencers
- Small details matter
- Capitalise on holidays
- Share on Stories
1. Matching style
First and foremost, you will need to adopt a consistent style across your social media accounts. This means using the same colours, fonts, and images as it will help shape your restaurant’s persona online. One useful tip is to pair your restaurant’s food philosophy with the style you use for your social media. For example, if your eatery solely serves vegan or vegetarian food, you will likely use different tones of green.
2. The right colour
Since there are so many colours to choose from, it is important to pick the right one that corresponds to your business’ logo and the type of food your eatery specialises in. Once you pick a colour, you will have to use it consistently across all your social media channels.
To make this easier to understand, let’s use an example. Let’s say your business offers delicious Malaysian food; the colours you use will likely be vivid ones, such as orange, yellow and red.
Another good idea is to change the colours you utilise based on the season or when you change your menu. Simply put, the colours you select should match the cuisine your eatery offers and the brand logo as well.
3. Stunning photos
Food photography is universally enjoyed, meaning it is vital to upload top-quality images of your food as part of your restaurant’s social media marketing strategy. Given the vast amount of competition you will be up against, be sure that only the very best photos get published on your social media accounts!
4. A human element
Talking about your restaurant and the food being served is all well and good, but there comes a point where you will need to diversify your content. This is where your restaurant can gain an edge over the competition. Posting photos and videos of the people behind the scenes should be a key feature in your restaurant’s social media marketing plan.
However, when publishing posts with a human angle, make sure it isn’t boring! Get your staff to talk about why they love working at your eatery and also make sure they are involved in unveiling exciting updates, such as upcoming events and new items on the menu.
5. Captivating content
If you want people to engage and interact with your content, you need to make sure it is attention-grabbing. If you continuously publish dull posts, people will start seeing your social media account in a negative light and stop following you. If one goes, usually more follow. Not only will this hurt your online presence, but it may also result in your customer base shrinking.
In order to avoid this situation, upload exciting content like promos, discounts, and competitions. Getting your followers involved and hyped up will encourage them to like and share your posts!
6. Get customers involved
Don’t do all the hard work yourself. Getting your customers involved should be part of your restaurant’s social media marketing strategy. Get them posting pictures of your dishes using a unique hashtag or by tagging your business. This may result in more people hopping on the trend, which, in turn, can boost your follower and customer count.
7. Work with influencers
So many people have a particular influencer they religiously follow, which means partnering with one should definitely be part of your restaurant’s social media marketing plan. With 92% of diners trusting the advice given to them by friends, family and the influencers they follow, you definitely don’t want to miss out on this aspect. There are so many recognised social media figures in Malaysia, so be sure to invite them to try your food and post a review about your business. If your dishes hit the mark, expect a flood of followers and customers flocking to your business and social media accounts.
You can even put together a special offer when collaborating with an influencer so that both of you can feature it on your social media channels.
8. You can’t forget about the small details
All the major aspects of social media marketing are well taken care of and maintained by restaurants, but it is vital that the small details aren’t overlooked. When using pictures in blogs, for example, be sure to fill in the alt text as this is useful for search engine optimisation (SEO).
When uploading videos to your social media platforms, remember to add subtitles. Also, when posting any content, do some research on the most-used hashtags in order to attract the attention of those people.
In addition to this, create a content calendar as you want to ensure you post on certain days at particular times. If you publish content whenever you feel like it, your customers may get confused and unfollow you!
9. Holiday cheer
Holidays should feature prominently in your restaurant’s social media marketing strategy. In addition to focusing on the main ones, try to use some of the more quirky ones to your benefit.
By preparing unique content for special food occasions like World Pizza Day on February 9 or World Vegetarian Day, which falls on October 1 this year, you can differentiate yourself from your competitors. It can also help bring in more followers and customers as they will be quick to realise that your eatery is different from the others out there.
10. Use stories to provide updates
If you have exciting updates to share with your followers and customers, do so using the stories feature on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. What exactly should you post? Everything from important updates to promotions, discounts, and fun food events.
When you want to reveal a new item on the menu, hype it up by encouraging your followers to guess what it is. You can even offer a prize to the first person that gets it right! By doing this, you will boost your user engagement rate.
Kickstart the social media marketing strategy for your restaurant right away
With plenty of useful tips provided, it’s time to get your restaurant’s social media marketing plan in order. Just remember, it doesn’t need to be overly complicated! Interested in opening a cloud kitchen in Malaysia? Fill up the form below to get in touch with our team today.