With over a billion users as of today, Facebook stands as the most popular social networking website that will ever exist. It has now a galaxy of its’ own. Hence, not making use of this social media giant to further one’s business would be a display of complete ignorance on behalf of the marketer. Restaurants, in particular, should be more aware of Facebook as a platform which they can use to expand their business.

With almost the whole world leading their daily lives on a virtual level, it is apparent how Facebook has become indispensable to us. All leading business over the world are making use of this transition and exploiting social networking websites like Facebook to its’ optimum potential.

Gone are the days of old-school marketing and advertising. Today’s customer behaviour has been drastically changed due to technological advancements. It has become more of a social and interactive, online friendly experience than it was before. So why should restaurants be left behind?

Some tips and tricks that restaurant businesses can adopt to improve their Facebook marketing strategies are-

1. The ‘About’ section of a restaurant’s Facebook page is the most important thing. It is going to decide whether a Facebook user is going to like the page or not. Hence, restaurants with Facebook pages should include everything from contact information (phone number, website address, etc.), hours of availability of food, Facebook ordering for restaurants, food type, other services provided, price range, payment methods, other important description and unique features. This will help a customer to familiarize with the restaurant online and hence, sales shall boost.
2. Interacting with one’s fans as much as possible is one of the most important rules to be followed religiously. When a customer gives feedback, either positive or negative, restaurants can always respond and keep asking clients to give insightful feedback so as to improve their features like Facebook ordering or online payment facility. Useful criticism or timely complaints, both help!
3. Showing off one’s goods is the next step to be followed. Be it through giving out sneak-peeks from the kitchen or posting regular pictures of sought-after dishes, it plays a major role when a restaurant is trying to connect with its customers on an intimate level. It boosts Facebook ordering for restaurants as well!
4. Being ‘consistent’ online is another crucial tip that restaurants should follow because it’s very easy to open Facebook accounts but quite difficult to keep updating posts regularly. Pages can post interesting pictures of food or employees along with funny posts so as to connect more with the customers. Even posting simple statuses about the business can help in boosting sales or uncommon features like Facebook ordering for restaurants.
5. To bring in more fans and show loyalty to the already existing fans, restaurant pages on Facebook can announce their ‘specials’ and promotions on their pages to attract more people. Limited time Facebook offers are a way to thank them for availing one’s services or simply providing them with something to talk about. It can show a great impact on online sales due to Facebook ordering for restaurants.
6. Creating contests has been seen as one of the best ways to engage users on Facebook and promote one’s restaurant in the virtual world. It can be related to anything; just with an attractive incentive thrown in to lure customers to try it out. It can be a great help, indeed!

Used in an extremely creative manner and quite regularly, Facebook can turn out to be a great marketing tool for the restaurant business.

So…. what’s your Facebook story?

See how we at RestoLabs do this: How It Works