See the Most Important Social Media and Digital Marketing Trends for Restaurants

There’s no sector of brick-and-mortar as competitive as restaurants. Corporate chains v. small family-owned affairs. In cities and towns across Canada, every day, restaurants are opening with the best of intentions while others are closing down shop. What makes a successful restaurant in a city like Toronto? Well, a lot of things. Digital marketing and brand reputation management online are perhaps the two biggest influences, at least in terms of attracting leads.

Unless you’re a regular customer of a restaurant, you’re probably not going to inherently want to try a new place. After all, you could end up disappointed either in the food, the service, the parking, the location, etc. There are a lot of variables. With a place you’ve been getting food at for years, you know exactly what you’re getting. You know what to expect and there shouldn’t be any surprises. For new restaurants, this is the battle they face every day – how to attract customers away from the competition.

From the moment a restaurant opens officially, they are accumulating expenses. Profits are a necessity to keep going and preferably, the sooner, the better. So many small businesses ignore the potential that restaurant digital marketing brings with it.

In a city like Toronto, there’s over a million people out there on their smartphones at any given time. Some of them are looking for a restaurant just like yours. Digital marketing comprises of content marketing, email, social media, video, and so much more. Where are you most likely to hit them – social media. Here’s a few restaurant facts about how social media’s used.

 34% of restaurants have a dedicated employee whose full-time job is to market said restaurant through digital marketing ads, promotions, and social media posts.

 12% of restaurants don’t market at all on any social media, surprisingly.

 The #1 social media platform for restaurant marketing is Facebook with more than 91% leveraging their bets on this channel. Instagram however is on the rise, from 24% of restaurants using it in 2017 to 78% using it this year. Meanwhile, Twitter comes in third place with 39% of restaurant brands using it to promote their posts.

If you’re looking to be successful, sure, you need to have great food, great service, and atmosphere. You need all that but what else you need is a way to get people through the door. Registering accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter lets people know you exist. These accounts get people connected to your brand, liking and sharing posts.

Is it possible to be successful without social media for a restaurant – absolutely, but why would anyone want to be? Social media is a quick way to a sale. When someone’s looking for a recommendation or searching out a restaurant on their smartphones, your name shows up. If you’ve got the goods, you could make a repeat customer right then and there. Do this enough times and you’ve got a customer base strong enough to keep you thriving in a busy urban hub like Toronto. Customer by customer, this is how you do it.

To the 12% of restaurants who don’t market their brands, we think it’s a big loss. Facebook has billions of users out there, millions spread across any given restaurant’s general vicinity. Build awareness, find customers, and have an infrastructure to get the word out on deals and promotions. This is your ticket. Make it happen!