Imagine a world without social media! How different and hard things would be especially for businesses who found an exciting yet fruitful marketing tool to promote their brand and increase their market share.

With all the technology and market evolution that restaurants have witnessed, social media platforms remain the easiest and most convenient marketing tool that you can use to increase your revenues and turn viewers and followers into regular customers.

However, not all restaurants are able to capitalize on social media enough.

You could have the most innovative and delicious recipes, the most delightful ambience and the best customer service and still lack the game of social media. 

Having a page and posting every now and then isn’t enough to master your presence on social media.

Restaurants make mistakes using social media that affect their overall marketing strategy, their reputation and revenues.

What are common social media mistakes that you can avoid?

Restrict sharing to promotional content

You are going to be posting and sharing many promotional content that is related to your services and menu. But, never restrict your sharing to menu related posts.

Your audience needs to be more connected to you, they want to learn more about you, your story and your behind the scene actions.

Information like your story, how it all started, arising social issues, entertaining content and many other posts that make your audience more familiar with you and closer to you.

Share fun and engaging information about your staff including the chefs. 

Mishandling social media interactions with followers 

Customers expect you to interact with them as they tag you in their stories or write a comment, a question or a review. 

Failure to respond to customers’ posts and questions is a big mistake that harms your business and your reputation.

Do not limit your social media page to posting promotional content. Rather, make it an opportunity to know your customers’ preferences and tastes through their queries and even complaints. 

It’s not enough that you respond and deal with negative comments. You should show some appreciation to those who give you positive feedback. 

Using unprofessional photos 

Pictures are crucial in your restaurant business. Using unprofessional photos turns away potential customers and makes you lose leads.

Plates you’re using, background and the lighting should be perfect and clear. Use a very good quality camera and don’t hesitate to hire a professional photographer for winning pictures.

Food should be appetizing to drag customers into your restaurant but at the same time should be similar to the platters you offer. 

Take fresh pictures that are full of life. Include your customers, waiters and chefs in the pictures along with your food. 

Use editing apps to enhance the quality of your pictures and use natural light instead of a flash.

Using inconsistent voice

Your brand should stand out and your social media platforms should clearly and loudly say your name every single time. 

Your identity should appear in all your posts and shared content.

Your language should be consistent throughout your sharings so customers can recognize you among endless posts in their newsfeed. 

Don’t confuse your customers with different voices and languages. 

Hashtags misuse

Using only one hashtag increases your chances of a greater reach and exposes you to a larger audience by 12%. 

Use descriptive hashtags that refer to your cuisine and generic hashtags that are popular and often searched especially on Instagram.  

Let your hashtags be more specific for better chances of being found like #ginbasil # instead of #cocktail #

Check insights of your posts and find the section of “impressions” to see how people have found your posts and there is a specific section for hashtags that helps you find out how exactly people found you through the hashtags. 

11 hashtags is the optimal number but you should test what suits your restaurant. 

Lack of monitoring and control

There are always general guidelines for social media but you should still evaluate the effectiveness of your posts, sharings and overall social media strategy. 

Each restaurant has a specific target audience requiring different and more specific strategies so make sure to constantly evaluate your content according to the leads, interactions and customers it gets you. 

You have endless opportunities when it comes to social media. Always stay updated with the most trendy platforms and take your social media game seriously.