9 Ways Restaurants Can Use Facebook

Should your restaurant be on Facebook? Well, Facebook has over 400 million users, and it claims that 50% of its active users log in at least once per day. It’s a great way to promote your restaurant and its going on and best of all, it’s free. So the question is really why you wouldn’t be on Facebook. To help get you started or to help you get the most out of your restaurant’s current Facebook page, we bring you 9 ways restaurants can use Facebook.

1.Create a Facebook Page
This one seems obvious. Creating a Facebook page is simple: Just sign up and fill out the basic information about your business. Click here to sign your restaurant up for its own business page. You can also designate yourself as a local restaurant under the “Local” option. Many smaller restaurants have abandoned their own website in favor of their Facebook page. Some restaurants have both and link them together.

2.Use Updates to Convert Fans to Your Marketing Goals
Posting simple status updates about your business — or really, anything you think is relevant — will be seen by users in their homepage news feeds. This is a great way to keep your “fans” updated with your goings on as well as to stay top of mind when your fans are thinking about dining out.

3.Interact with Your Fans as Much as Possible
When a customer approaches you in real life to tell you what they think of your business, you’ll listen. So why not on Facebook? You might hear some useful criticism, or some timely compliments. Also, when you respond, you’re more likely to get them to respond — this additional activity further increases the chance your fans’ friends will see and learn about you.

4.Create and promote events online and offline
Let people know about a special Mother’s Day brunch or a regular Friday Happy Hour by sending invitations and ask people to RSVP on Facebook. This can be a great way to increase viral marketing as information about Facebook Events travels through news feeds from your network of friends and family outwards to create a greater social media footprint.

5.Use Multimedia to Show Off your Food and Dining Experiences
Photos and videos say a lot about food, if not the overall style of your establishment. Make sure to let your fans see what you offer by posting your latest or most prized dishes. Also, photos and videos of events and happy hours can be great PR.

6.Integrate Your Page with Other Marketing Efforts
Are you also running some sort of contest or special on another site? Make sure your Facebook fans know about it. Integrate all your marketing channels. The more touch points you have with your customers and potential customers the better chance of success you have.

7.Use Existing Applications to Promote Your Story
Polls, quizzes and other types of applications are readily available within the admin section for page owners, and they just take a few clicks to install. Start off modestly, try a few, and see what works.

8.Make your Page engaging with applications
Show your restaurant’s great ratings by displaying the Zagat application or add a reservations widget through Open Table on your main page; display a video of the chefs making the house’s special; allow users to click through an interactive menu. The possibilities are endless.

9.Create an App Just for Facebook Fans
A little more advanced and this is for restaurants with larger marketing budgets, but it’s worth exploring whether or not an app would make sense for your users.