The complete guide to social media for restaurants and bars

With over 270 million posts with the hashtag #food and over 23 million with #drinks, food and drink photos are among the most popular types of content on Instagram.

Are you not included? It is very likely that your clients are already publishing content with or without your interaction.

88% of people are influenced by online reviews and comments, so you know, digital presence is vital for a business.

But the most important thing is to know what are the best methods to take advantage of this presence in favor of your bar or restaurant.

If you are not sure if your social media strategy is working, you are not alone.

A recent study showed that 45.9% of small business owners

Another statistic shows that 16.6% indicated that they are aware that their strategies are not working.

It is a huge 62.5% of business owners in total who are not confident in their methods.

Your potential on social media is untapped, surely because no one has taught you the most effective ways to do it.

In this guide on social media for restaurants and bars, we will talk about:

• What you are missing out on if you are not on social media

• Comment configurer vos profils pour réussir ;

• Astuces pour créer des posts pertinents et intéressants ;

• 4 techniques pour booster vos comptes sociaux.

Can you afford not to be present on social media?

According to the 2016 Sprout Social index, 75% of people have purchased a product because they saw it on social media.

Out of this percentage, 60.7% needed to see between 2 and 4 posts from the same company before making a purchase.

If you are not active on social media, you are missing out

Fill out all your profiles

If you are just starting out on social media, first create your company account on all popular social networks: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Ensure that relevant information such as opening hours and your contact details are easily accessible.

The fewer clicks it takes to get information about your bar or restaurant, the better. Internet users want to quickly find what interests them.

Let's take the example of the multi-location restaurant Luigia. They make very good use of the limited bio space on Instagram to explain what their page represents. A simple sentence explaining that they are a pizzeria representing the best of Italy. We know they are in Switzerland and Dubai.

He then uses the hashtag #luigiarestaurant to create interaction with his online community.

Finally, the presence of featured meals in their bio and in their photos (pizza) is as obvious as can be.

Facebook pages provide an easy way to enter your information, including opening hours, address, messaging options, and popular visiting hours for your establishment.

But there are still many other attributes on Facebook pages that you should take advantage of, for example:

• Add a "Book Now" button if you accept reservations

• Afficher une version imprimable du menu ;

• Ajouter un type de cuisine ;

• Ajouter des services comme «Bon pour les enfants», «Bon pour les groupes» et «À emporter» ;

• Autoriser les avis (et surtout, ne pas oublier d’y répondre).

Set up multiple locations on Facebook

If you have multiple addresses, it is not a problem, as Facebook has a feature that allows you to add numerous addresses. Although it may seem difficult to set up at first, the advantage is that your closest establishments will appear for your customers when they search for a bar or restaurant.

If you have multiple locations, consider downloading a spreadsheet from Facebook (Excel sheet). You can use it to your advantage later by creating Facebook ads based on the location of your restaurants or bars.

Consider the main page of your social networks as a landing page, as shown for example on the Holy Cow page below.

Each location is able to have its own sub-page that is linked to the main one, like this Birmingham location. Depending on your social media marketing strategy, you can ask the different sites to manage their own posts.

This can benefit you in several ways

1. You can transfer content from subpages to the main page. This means it takes less time to organize the branded content.

2. Il est plus facile de promouvoir des menus spéciaux et spécifiques pour chaque lieu.

3. Les clients peuvent publier des avis spécifiques à chaque établissement, et vous y naviguerez facilement. Si les emplacements sont facilement identifiables, répondre aux commentaires le sera aussi. Tout cela permettra alors une interaction facile avec vos clients.

Although basing your establishments by location on Facebook has its advantages, the disadvantages are not far behind.

1. You have more pages to monitor and the management time is likely to become significant.

2. Plus de pages signifient une plus de messages/commentaires à garder sous contrôle. Vous rencontrez des difficultés de gestion de vos réseaux sociaux. Heureusement que la solution est tout simple : définir un responsable par établissement et leur prodiguer des formations sur la manière dont ils s’y prendront (la réponse aux questions et l’animation des vos pages).

As an agency, at Lions Creative, we act as a strategic advisor on the main page of several

Create relevant messages

Engagement vs. Promotional Messages

In the same Sprout Index, the research led us to the following conclusion: the most annoying posts on social media are promotional ones. What do they look like? Specifically, they are ads! They are the "in-your-face" marketing that you encounter daily, those ads that follow you wherever you go.

Most promotional posts talk about discounts or a specific product. It's like a party where one of your guests only talks about themselves.

But if this person started conversations with questions, listened to other guests, and built new relationships, then no one would mind if they boasted from time to time.

Promotional messages do not need incredible marketing. On Instagram, for example, all you need is to incorporate photos in action or visually appealing product placements for your customers. In fact, Instagram users are more drawn to beautiful photos; Instagram being a purely visual platform. On Facebook, prioritize videos or interesting articles instead.

The best photos or videos will also encourage your customers to imagine themselves momentarily in your business or with your product.

What would you do if you wanted to approach a group of strangers at a party? You would probably try to start a conversation, by asking questions for example. The methods are almost the same on social networks.

Here are some ideas to start a conversation online (and in person!):

1. Ask a question

2. Sollicitez l’opinion de vos clients ;

3. Incorporez du contenu généré par vos clients.

Post at the optimal times for your restaurant or bar

What is the best time to post on social media? It all depends on the company, but before deciding anything, make sure to first understand your main audience well. Take the time to analyze the traffic of your current establishments to know when you will best reach your customers.

For example, if your bar doesn't open until 8 pm, displaying your drinks at 9 am would be completely useless. That's why it's better to focus on time intervals rather than a specific hour. This data chart on the best times to post consumer goods on Instagram can help you

You can also post content that is easy to digest (no pun intended) at any time of the day.

Examples of this type of content would include: showcasing your staff, posting photos taken inside and outside, sharing articles on general food (excluding alcoholic beverages), and fun "behind the scenes" content. Understand that highlighting your behind-the-scenes, production, kitchen, dishwashing team, etc. makes your business more human. Consequently, your customers will feel closer to your brand.

All of this, with the aim of familiarizing your clientele with you. Thus, your visitors will have the impression of knowing you even before they have entered your establishment.

Since social media feeds are algorithmic, we recommend adopting a social media advertising strategy that aligns with the content being posted.

I explain to you in detail. What's the point of posting a delicious dinner photo if your clients will only see it the next morning? Yes, because social networks no longer work chronologically.

To remedy this, you can use promotional tools. It is only in cases like these that we recommend paid advertising. By targeting the right audience for your brand, you will get results.

With promotions, you can promote your posts at a specific time so that your customers see your special hamburger before dinner time.

4 techniques to boost your pages on social networks

If you feel like you have scaled back your digital strategy, but still need some energy in your messages, consider one of these advanced marketing strategies:

1. Partnership with another chef or bartender for a meal

Collaborations work just as well in person as they do digitally! Start by choosing a restaurant or bar you would like to work with, then propose a collaboration to them for an event, for example. Create a series of content for social media, with each party benefiting from it.

2. Associate influencers with your brand

Take advantage of social media influencers by offering exclusive meals or organized events.

Another way to do it is to invite a remote influencer to share their experience at your establishment. For example, if your restaurant is based in Lausanne, they can post about your food as well as other local attractions they have enjoyed.

See here also an opportunity for partnership with other establishments, hotel, bar, restaurant

Another way to work with influencers is to create a collaborative product or menu item. This can be particularly interesting for brands focused on ingredients.

For example, a cocktail bar could work with an influencer to create a special recipe that will be published on the influencer's blog and all of their other social media channels.

3. Go live

Ah the live streams! An incredible feature, but so underutilized.

Promote your best evenings, your events of the day, game nights, or simply discuss your new products live.

Take this opportunity to show the behind-the-scenes of your bar. Also, organize a live question-and-answer session (a behind the scenes) with your chef or introduce your bartender who can show you how to make a cocktail at home.

4. Create a dedicated space for social media

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco is a very small establishment. However, this little bakery has become a highly popular destination spot among Instagrammers.

From the neon sign to the tiled words "Holmes Sweet Home," customers flock to the store just to show their followers that they have been there.

You can adopt a similar approach with a unique design, tiled floors, wallpapers, or other signage elements. In short, highlighting what makes you unique should be a priority in your social promotion.

Conclusion

Social networks are the first digital invention that allows your business to get closer to your customers.

It is therefore not surprising that there is such an influx of business leaders looking for ways to ensure that their efforts on social media bring them the best return on investment.

In this article, I have described five points that will have a direct and positive impact on your business:

First, I explained to you why you are missing out on a huge potential for digital promotion if you are not active on social media.

Secondly, I have shown step by step how to correctly use Facebook and Instagram to showcase your bar or restaurant. The method of setting up a Facebook page with multiple locations is also included.

Thirdly, I have described how to create relevant and interesting posts.

Finally, I have provided you with 4 techniques to take your digital strategy on social networks to the next level.

Each of these points on social media has the same objective: to bring you new customers and increase your revenue.

The happier your subscribers, users, and clients are, the happier you will be.

This is a fundamental truth when it comes to business.

If you liked this article and want to go further with Instagram, we wrote it a few weeks ago

And you, what social media techniques have you used to increase your presence?