We get it, the internet can be a scary place. Between QR code menus where the font is too tiny, inspirational memes your mom sends (seriously, where is she finding them?) or not being able to tell which tab that music is coming from, being online can quickly become overwhelming.
If that wasn’t stressful enough, for today’s restaurant operators, navigating your online reputation can have real impacts on your business. Think of building your digital reputation like baking bread; the steps you take can help your business rise to the top, or fall flat.
With 74% of people using social media to decide where to eat, it’s safe to say your digital footprint has an impact on more than just the algorithm. Think of the last time you were trying to decide where to go for dinner. Did you ask a friend? Browse Yelp? Maybe you Googled “best empanadas near me” (okay, maybe that was just us). Even when it comes to booking reservations, 65% of people go directly to a restaurant’s website to book as opposed to booking on third-party booking sites.
While the days of Yellow Pages, phoning a friend or strolling through the neighborhood in hopes of finding a gem aren’t completely extinct, it’s safe to say new digital alternatives have taken precedence. And with AI on the rise, being technologically savvy can have an even bigger impact on your business.
A recent study found that restaurants that invest in digital marketing experience an average revenue growth 2.8x than those that don’t. Effective digital marketing leads to a larger audience and improved awareness of your business. This awareness translates into more customers, resulting in increased sales.
How can restaurant operators utilize AI-powered digital marketing tools to increase revenue, appeal to a wider audience and boost customer morale? Why is it important to understand changing trends and the algorithmic tips and tricks that make up the internet? And where can we find more of those funny dog videos?
Before we get into the best practices for establishing your digital marketing presence (and where AI can help), let’s go over the basics as a refresher. Why does a restaurant need a digital marketing presence to begin with?
Now that we know why restaurants need a digital marketing presence, let’s go over how exactly we can achieve that. How can we mix AI with digital marketing strategies to create an organic (and delicious) recipe for growing our digital platform? Let’s take a look at a few tips, tricks and potential outcomes of a well-executed strategy.
Using AI-powered social media management apps, create and schedule social media posts in advance, maintain a content library, track post performance across different platforms and auto-generate captions.
With AI-powered trend trackers, find trends relevant to your restaurant, get a better grasp on local market and consumer habits and receive tailored insights and recommendations based on your preferences. Pair this with free resources like Google Trends to get a holistic picture of what’s trending on a personal and large scale.
Lastly, make sure to take advantage of Instagram and Facebook AI-powered ad tools, which use tools like automated ad creation and personalized targeting to connect with new (and stay in touch with regular) customers. Built-in tools like these can take your social media from undercooked to just right.
In case you’re not familiar with SEO (aka: search engine optimization), it’s the process of making sure your content shows up as close to the top of search engine results as possible. This is pretty important, with research showing that 91.5% of people never click on the second page of Google. So, how do you show up at the top of those “food near me” searches? We spy with our “AI” a way to make things simpler.
You’re probably already familiar with one of the most important tools in your SEO toolkit: your Google Business profile. This is an excellent place to consolidate information like hours, location, menu and customer reviews. In fact, restaurants get 7x more views on their Google Business profile than on their website. Using AI-powered Google Business profile optimization, upgrade your profile by improving your visibility on Google Maps, managing customer reviews and linking social media.
Using AI-powered SEO platforms, explore keyword research to bring more traffic to your website and social media, generate content ideas, optimize your site for local searches and see how you stack up against your competitors. You can also use AI-powered tools to locate backlink opportunities (where your website or social media is linked on another website or blog, like this example, which builds SEO credibility).
Bonus✨: Check out this Google keyword planner to help you pick the best words when creating ads for your business.
Now that you’re an SEO pro, it’s time to touch on another important part of building your digital marketing presence: your website. Using AI-powered website builder tools, update, customize and promote your business.
Moderate your website health (how easy it is to use and navigate your site) using AI-powered website health tools that can scan your site for bugs and suggest improvements. When it comes to customizing your website content or brainstorming design ideas, AI design sites can simplify the process.
Lastly, proofread your web content with proofreading tools to take the stress out of using all the right words. Remember, the best websites are informative, authentic to your brand and easy to navigate.
With your website, social media and Google Business profile up and running, it’s time to invest in a reputation management software. Increase customer engagement by bulk-sending and diversifying review requests. Focusing exclusively on local search, advertise your restaurant to customers closest to you.
Use AI-powered review insights tools to track and automate responses to customer reviews and create plans for troubleshooting negative reviews. This also plays a role in your SEO, as customer reviews are a local search ranking factor.
The beautiful thing about enhancing your digital marketing presence is the opportunity to tell a story. Think of it as a new avenue to showcase the “why” behind your restaurant.
Whether your restaurant is paying homage to a culture or tradition, has served as the setting for many special occasions and firsts or is all about menu items inspired by your grandmother’s recipes, all the little pieces and intricacies of your restaurant deserve a platform (and a hungry audience) to share them with.
A digital marketing presence not only promotes your restaurant and expands your potential customer reach, but it’s also an effective way to boost customer loyalty and brand recognition. Building your online brand doesn’t have to be intimidating. With the help of AI, it’s easier than before to set the digital stage and share the many reasons behind your “why”. After all, everyone loves a good story.