Nowadays, digital marketing and social media communication is vital for all businesses regardless of their industry. According to the research conducted by The Hartman Group, 49% of social media users follow and search for food & beverage related topics, a rate unparalleled by many other industries.
Social media users do not only view recipes or follow trends but they also follow their favorite restaurants and cafes to stay informed about special offers and campaigns. They want to discover new places and continue their ‘frequenting’ tendency on social media.
Businesses should be visible and accessible on social media and the Internet but their postings on social media are also very important. Being able to interact and increase the number of followers is one of the fastest ways for restaurants and cafes to reach potential customers. We have compiled several suggestions that will act as a guide for you to immediately start using social media more effectively.
Create an effective social media account
Your potential customers should be able to easily find your business on every social media platform therefore you should choose a username matching your business name. Your followers should be able to access your phone number, e-mail address and your business address through your social media profiles. Instagram and Facebook offer great opportunities in this regard. Your business’s Instagram and Facebook profiles have an address tab that can be used for showing your location on the map and providing directions through GPS services. Your mobile users should also be able to call you when they click on your phone number on Instagram and Facebook. Your customers should be able to reach your business via social media, e-mail or direct message. Customer satisfaction is significantly improved each time you immediately respond to inquiries coming from social media users.
Choose images carefully
The visuals you share on social media should be special because each image becomes another reason for your followers to keep following you. The quality, design and content of the images are very important especially for platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest. You can produce designs and visuals in line with the identity of your business using many paid and free programs and mobile applications. One of the most popular apps is Canva. Videos are the newest form of communication in social media.
Interact with your followers
Interact with users who follow or do not follow you on social media. You can respond to their comments on your posts. Keep in mind that It is critical to be positive even when dealing with negative comments.
Organize small competitions
If you can, organize competitions on social media. You can offer attractive discount coupons and gifts. It will help new followers and potential customers to discover you and increase your interaction rates.
Remember that emoji work
Even if they are claimed to be unprofessional, we have to admit that emojis have become a big hit in the social media language. Using a reasonable number of emojis in your posts helps attract the attention of your followers or potential followers who will find you more friendly.
Post ‘behind the scenes’
Try sharing posts from your business’s kitchen. According to Sprout Social, social media users care about transparency. The most striking result of Sprout Social’s research is that 56% of social media users think that videos are more transparent. For example, it will be very effective if you share a video of how your customers’ favorite products are produced or served.
Bring criticism together
Criticism can help you improve your business. Therefore, you should take all platforms where users make positive and negative comments about your businesses equally seriously. Make sure to regularly gather these comments together and analyze them to seize any opportunity to improve yourself. Respond to all comments if possible but be careful to always remain balanced. Internet users take comments seriously and shape their consumption behavior according to these comments.
Don’t forget to use hashtags
Hashtag use is critical for increasing your interaction rates, especially on platforms like Instagram. Keep in mind that it is essential to use hashtags, especially for your Instagram posts. According to Sprout Social, the interaction rate increased by 12.6% when at least one hashtag was used.
However, when using hashtags, you should make choices based on the content of your post. Hashtags that are unrelated with the content of your post will not bring you interactions, they will only create a crowded post. There are many paid and free online tools that can help you to identify the related hashtags for your share. Hashtag Planner is one of them.
Check your sharing times
To get more visibility and interaction on your social media activities, you should have an idea about times of the day your followers or potential followers are most active on social media. Instagram offers information such as the gender, city based location and active hours of your followers. You can start by making use of this valuable information to increase your interaction rate.
Pay attention to your loyalty practice
Loyalty practices have become a necessity for businesses. We strongly encourage you to try Simpra Loyalty to have a loyalty app using which you can receive orders, offer special discounts and create campaigns. Use your loyalty app to make an impact on social media. Conversely, you can announce and promote your loyalty app through your social media accounts.