From Start to Finish: How to Run a Social Media Advertising Campaign for Your Restaurant

Targetable
May 24, 2019 7:30:00 AM

How to Run a Social Media Advertising Campaign for Your Restaurant

Are you looking to run a social media advertising campaign for your restaurant? Read on to learn how it's done.

Today's 700,000 restaurants bring in nearly 800 billion US dollars every year. If you're a restaurant owner looking to boost your annual income, a social media advertising campaign can help you reach your goals. 

How do you run a successful social media campaign? Which platforms are best for increasing your restaurant's exposure? Read on to discover tips and tricks to running a successful social media campaign for your restaurant. 

Social Media Marketing for Restaurants

The biggest step in any kind of marketing is to know your customer. For a social media marketing campaign, you need to focus on your audience's preferred platform. 

Your campaign will yield different results on each platform. How do you know which one to put the most focus on?

The biggest social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Here's how each platform can widen your restaurant's exposure. 

Facebook Marketing

Facebook has over two billion users who use the platform to find great places to eat. You can use the platform to boost your audience and connect with customers. 

To get the most out of your restaurant's Facebook campaign, make sure you have an established page on the site. Upload a cover image and update your establishment's contact information. You can also use tabs to entice customers to explore your restaurant's page. 

To boost engagement on your Facebook campaign, use contests to get customers interacting with your ads. You can also share exclusive deals to encourage people to try your restaurant's great food.

Instagram Marketing

Instagram is a trending platform that's focused on visual media. It's also the preferred platform for 70% of today's under-35 audience. If you're focusing your social media campaign on Instagram, you'll want high-quality photos that speak to a younger audience. 

To boost the success of your Instagram campaign, use trending hashtags to increase its exposure. The more niche your hashtags are, the more focused your ad will be on your target audience.

Stick with your restaurant's brand while sharing photos of your chef, menu, or seating space. Customers will be more likely to try out your restaurant when they connect with the voice of your brand. 

Twitter Marketing

Twitter is a great platform for the shareable parts of your ad campaign. Its 300 million users can share your restaurant's Tweets, which multiply your ad's exposure. 

Remember that each of your Twitter posts is limited to 280 characters. This means your Twitter copy will need to be precise to make the most impact. You're not limited to Tweets though. An easy way to boost your restaurant exposure is to regularly send out short messages about new menu items or special deals. 

Running a Successful Social Media Advertising Campaign

Running a successful ad campaign can help you boost your restaurant's exposure and increase daily traffic. It's important to know the best steps for a campaign so that you can enjoy a high ROI. As you begin your social media advertising campaign, follow these key steps. 

1. Choose Your Goal

Before you begin, focus on your SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. You'll want to focus your campaign on these specific goals for the biggest ROI. 

2. Specify Your Target

You need to know the demographics of your intended audience. Know their age, geographic location, gender, and preferred social media platform. 

Having this data will give you insight into your business and optimize your marketing. For example, an audience of millennials might prefer content on Instagram. But if you're a B2B company targeting older entrepreneurs, you might focus on a platform like Facebook. 

3. Set Your Budget

Paid media can come with a hefty price tag if you don't know how to use it. Know your budget before you begin your campaign so that you can choose the best timeline for your posts.

When you're setting up your campaign, each social media platform will ask you to select a budget amount for each ad. The longer it runs, the more expensive it will be. 

4. Choose Your Ad Schedule

Once you know your budget, you'll be able to decide how long you can run your ad. Social media platforms are handy because they allow you to set a specific start date and end date when you're uploading content. 

This makes it more convenient for busy restaurant managers who don't have a lot of time to set aside for marketing tasks. It's also convenient for time-sensitive campaigns for promoting new products or special events. 

5. Prep Your Content

This is a vital step in your ad campaign. When you know your target audience, budget, and schedule, you need to choose the perfect media to post online. Prep your content to check that photos are high-quality and targeted toward your audience. 

Remember that each platform has different specifications for the size and shape of your media. You may also have word limitations, which means you'll need to make the most impact with few words. 

6. Review Results

Once your ad is up and running, you'll be able to check up on logistics that the platform collects on your social media ad campaign. This will tell you which ad is doing well and if any need tweaks. 

If you're doing this step on your own, try comparing the results of different ads to see which one performed better. You can also hire a team of marketing experts to help you look at your logistics and create better campaigns. 

Get More Customers to Your Door

A social media advertising campaign is a powerful way to boost your restaurant's exposure and get new customers. Using social media platforms makes it easy to share beautiful photos of your food, which is the most effective way to impress your audience. 

Before you begin your restaurant's campaign, know which social media platform will yield the best results. When you know the tricks to ad campaigns, you'll optimize each post's success. 

Want to get the most out of your social media campaign? Try out our free beta program to advertise smarter and see better results. 

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