Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India: A Secret Recipe to Success

Are you searching for Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India? then this is you. In this technologically advanced stage of humanity, any business, big or small, can flourish. You just need to know how to use technology to your advantage. Restaurants are no exception. In light of Covid-19, the situation may have seemed a bit daunting. But now that we are getting back to normal, it’s time to start attracting more customers with digital marketing for restaurants, don’t you think?

Let’s say, you create a new recipe, or your chef has just introduced vegan food to the menu. How do you roll it out to the public?

Of course, there’ll be a few walk-ins, maybe some of them are looking for the speciality. But chances are, most of them are back to try their favourite dish. However, there are hundreds of people out there who are looking for exactly what you created. But they don’t know about your restaurant, so you have to reach out to them. The question is, HOW?

Today, we will share some tips to help you increase your revenue with digital marketing for restaurants. Let us have a look at the steps you can take to maximise your revenue through technology:

1. Create a Website | Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India

This is the first step to spreading the word about your restaurant. Build a website so customers find everything about you from the most reliable source – You!

In today’s era, no matter what business you run, you must have a website as customers want to learn more about your business. Having a website helps them find your restaurant, look at pictures depicting the ambience and food items, check ratings, etc. They can also learn about your community practices which help in building trust.

Further, you can create an online menu for those who want food delivered. This is a growing market and one that spends a considerable amount of money on having food delivered to their offices, home, etc.

2. Create Pages across Social Media

Open business pages across popular social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can even link Pinterest and Tumblr to share enticing pictures of your menu. This generation is addicted to social media. You can use methods of digital marketing for restaurants on these social media channels to connect with a larger audience.

Upload posts of new recipes, offers, events, etc. to engage your audience. Make sure that your posts are appealing enough to draw them to your restaurant.

You can also use WhatsApp as customers find it more convenient. Create a business account and provide a back-link on all your social media channels. People can use it to check availability, make reservations, etc. With the new WhatsApp features, you can even create a menu and help customers place orders quickly.

Digital Marketing for Restaurants India

3. Create a Buzz | Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India: A Secret Recipe to Success

Now that you have all your communication channels ready, it is time to attract customers with digital marketing techniques for restaurants. The best way to do so is to get people talking about it. You can take the help of regular patrons or invite influential food bloggers. When they come to your restaurant, encourage them to take pictures and post them on their social media accounts. Don’t forget to ask them to tag your business. You can create an exclusive hashtag for your establishment as well. Encourage customers to share posts of the food, the ambience, etc.
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Food bloggers usually have thousands of followers. They will create an instant buzz, thus enforcing your methods of digital marketing for restaurants. It is beneficial for them as well as for you. Sharing positive posts about a hangout location is equivalent to a positive review. When their followers see the post, they are encouraged to try the food too. You can reward their efforts with discounts, or coupons, or some freebies. The amount you spend on rewards is negligible to the amount of business they bring in.

Your regular customers can also help you with your digital marketing for restaurants. Even if they have a limited number of followers, the posts serve as a virtual recommendation to their peers.

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4. Post-High-quality Pictures of Your Food

This is a very important step towards digital marketing for restaurants. Whether you shoot pictures with a phone camera or a DSLR, make sure the aesthetics are pleasing. A striking picture of a dish makes one salivate! This makes people hungry and what they crave is the dish you featured.

You can follow these guidelines for attractive food photography:

1. Pay attention to the plating of the dish. Keep the setting clean.
2. Use a white background as much as possible as it makes the symphony of colours pop.
3. Shoot the picture in natural light.
4. Take pictures from different angles and in different locations.
5. Use props as required, such as chopsticks with Asian food.

5. Encourage Referrals

Another great way to reach a larger audience is referrals. Encourage your existing customers to provide referrals to their friends and family. They can promote your page, website, or even walk-ins. Make sure to provide something in return.

Incentives are excellent motivators. Provide small rewards to customers who bring in more referrals. They can earn a little cash-back or free goodies, while you get more paying customers. One way to do this is to offer a free appetiser or a small discount for every 10 different posts where they tag you.

This will motivate them to participate more, which means your restaurant is always on their timeline. Have them post about the rewards for their referrals as well. This will inspire other customers to participate too.

6. Post Daily For Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India

Stay in touch with your customers and followers. Post pictures and videos on your page every day. You can also upload stories with offers. This puts you in front of the customer whenever they open their social media accounts. They are then reminded of your restaurant and begin to crave your offerings.

You can upload short videos of events such as customers enjoying a cricket match together or singing karaoke. It creates a sense of fun and entertainment. Customers know that they will enjoy the ambience at your outlet and they won’t be able to wait to visit.

7. Digital Marketing for Restaurants: Boosted Posts

Advertising may seem a little expensive. That is why digital marketing for restaurants is such a beneficial plan. Do you know you can select particular posts to boost your page?

Yes! Facebook and Instagram charge nominal rates for boosting individual posts. You can choose one that you know will work well with customers and boost it. The social media networks will use data algorithms to target audiences in a particular area or by preferences.

For example, let’s say you hold a ladies’ night where the restaurant is exclusively serving women looking for a place to hang out with their female friends. You can create a post and boost it with particular parameters for your target audience. The algorithm will then go ahead and target female users from all over the area, or even the city. Your post will pop-up on their news feed like any other profile post. They may not be followers or even have common friends who visit your restaurant. Nevertheless, they are now aware of it.

This is an excellent way to reach out to non-related customers. After all, your regulars can only inspire their circle. But a boosted post reaches a much larger audience than you anticipated.

Digital marketing for restaurants can be the best investment as you reach more people with very little effort at negligible costs.

8. Call to Action For Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India

This technique of digital marketing for restaurants is a great way to engage your customers and followers. Create appealing posts, then end them with a question or statement that encourages people to participate.

For example, you can post about holding a game night at your restaurant. Next, add a call-to-action feature asking them to hit the button to reserve a table. You can even ask a question and have them choose the game you host by creating options such as “Watch Football vs Cricket” or “Play Pool vs Ping-Pong.”

Digital marketing for restaurants with this method provides multiple benefits:

1. The customers get to choose the activity.
2. It makes them feel like they are part of a community.
3. It makes them want to visit your establishment to participate in the activity.
4. It encourages them to invite more people who they know will enjoy such an event. They may even invite those with whom they would like to share the experience.
5. Associate your restaurant with fun and enjoyment.

Call to action is one of the best practices to enhance digital marketing for restaurants. They induce the customers’ sense of belonging and make them feel heard.

9. Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India: Ratings and Reviews

Nearly every customer checks reviews and ratings for things they plan to invest their hard-earned money on. They rely on reviews from strangers to know if it’s worth purchasing. You can turn this trend in your favour by asking happy customers to share their opinions on your website, social media pages, or in directories like Yelp, Zomato, Dine-Out, etc. Positive reviews and ratings boost the image of your restaurant. The more reviews you have, the better as the highest-rated restaurants experience the most foot traffic.

Digital Marketing for Restaurants in India

Reviews are a great method of promoting using digital marketing for restaurants. People who want to order-in will also choose your establishment if it has good ratings and reviews. You can also ask customers to share real-time pictures of the food, ambience, and décor.

Digital marketing for restaurants is a revolutionary phenomenon. People drool when they see good food, which is the hook. Then you reel them in with exciting offers or events that they will enjoy. And, bam! Your restaurant starts making huge profits. That’s the secret that puts you ahead of the competition. While your competitors are trying to draw in more customers with physical means, you can mobilize your social media community to help you spread the word.
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Reach more customers across your city in an efficient and trustworthy fashion. Keep up with the technological era with digital marketing for restaurants. It’s a boon that everyone can use to boost their sales and profits.