Gastro marketing or digital marketing for restaurants
The restaurant and gastronomy sector is, to say the least, a bit conservative. It is difficult for it to adopt certain strategies as modern as digital marketing for restaurants. However, we have to make it understood that gastro marketing will serve to attract customers to your restaurant.
In reality, everything a company does to attract the public is marketing and nowadays it must be digital marketing. In a restaurant, it is very important not only how you promote it but also the experience you offer to customers. From the way the customer is received to the way the dishes are presented or the way the bill is brought… everything is marketing and user experience.
The idea is to gain customers for my restaurant, why would there be a marketing strategy for a clothing shop or a car dealership and none for restaurants? You have to try to forget old ideas and embrace online marketing for restaurants as a new opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors. We need the restaurant industry to fully embrace the digital age, as customers are already immersed in it.
What is gastronomy marketing or online marketing for restaurants?
Carving out or finding a market niche is increasingly challenging. It’s not enough for an idea to be merely good or interesting; understanding how to sell it is crucial, or it may fail before it even gets a chance. This issue is especially prevalent in the restaurant industry, where even well-conceived business models with promising menus can vanish before customers have the opportunity to try their dishes. To succeed, you must ensure that customers know about your presence; without effective marketing, the future can look very bleak.
Here comes gastro marketing
We could start by giving a rough definition and say that gastro marketing is a combination of techniques aimed at achieving the objectives I have set myself. It is not enough to have a picture of the dishes on the menu displayed on the door to succeed in a world with such fierce competition and so many important players.
Gastro marketing comes to take advantage of the tools that online marketing puts in the hands of restaurateurs and make the most of it. Obviously, it is necessary to define a strategy and know very well what you want to achieve with the actions you undertake.
How to promote my restaurant on the digital channel and win customers for my restaurant?
It is crucial to first define the business situation and clearly establish our primary objective, whether it is to enter the market, attract new customers, build loyalty among existing ones, or launch a new menu proposal. Once we have pinpointed our goals, we need to develop a strategic plan to achieve them. Content marketing can be highly effective in helping users find us online, making it a valuable tool for market entry and customer acquisition. While we can’t directly entice customers to taste our dishes online, we can stimulate their interest by describing the dining experience and creating a desire to try our offerings.
When it comes to promoting a restaurant specifically, the strategy may differ but should remain complementary. Building a strong brand goes beyond just offering great food; it involves conveying a vision of gastronomy, values, and community involvement. The brand should be etched in the minds of potential customers. Leveraging social media, especially visually-oriented platforms like Instagram, is essential. Instagram is a hotspot for food enthusiasts searching for the trendiest restaurants, the most original dishes, or enticing promotions. Utilize these platforms to their fullest to enhance your restaurant’s marketing efforts and attract attention. Below we highlight some digital marketing strategies for restaurants:
Have a responsive or mobile first website
Any digital marketing strategy for restaurants should be based on the use of a responsive website that looks great on mobile devices as it will be your main conversion channel. Think of the website as your online store open 24 hours a day and make it as useful as possible. That is to say, don’t just keep the basic information about your restaurant (location, opening hours…).
Integrate a module so that your customers can book a table through the web, communicate with you and even choose the dishes they are going to eat. The use of a nice website will create the impression that your restaurant is modern and cares about offering a good experience in the digital channel, which is of vital importance for future generations.
Invest in SEO positioning with a blog
No matter how beautiful your website is, internet users are not going to reach it on their own. The best way to attract visitors to a website is by working on organic positioning through a good content marketing strategy or, in other words, a blog with valuable content. Web positioning (known as SEO) consists of positioning yourself at the top of Google so that the searches that most interest your restaurant find you easily (for example, “tapas restaurant in Barcelona”).
Register your restaurant on Google My Business
Maybe the name doesn’t tell you anything, but this is Google’s platform for businesses that gives you visibility in the search engine and on Google Maps. Although it is not very popular among users, nowadays it is essential for restaurants to have a presence here. The reason is that having a profile on Google Business ensures that your restaurant stands out on Google Maps and people can locate you on the map.
You can sign up here for free:
https://www.google.com/intl/es/business/
Generate relationships with influencers
So-called foodies or gastronomic influencers are people who, for one reason or another, have a community of thousands of followers and have become true food critics in the digital era. On the internet there are relevant instagrammers, bloggers and youtubers who you can invite to try your restaurant’s dishes in exchange for their opinion. Such a simple promotion can give you great visibility and bring new customers to your business.
Promote your restaurant on social media
Sites like Instagram, Facebook and X are excellent promotional channels for restaurants. They allow you to create a community of followers, interact with them, run sweepstakes and promotions and generally make yourself known to a large audience. All of this for free, although you can also invest in paid advertising to reach more people. What is vitally important is that social media should always attract users to your website, as that is where the conversion that would be a call or a reservation through the booking module of your website will take place.
Gastro marketing: the answer your business needs
Embracing digital marketing (gastro marketing) is no longer optional, but essential. While traditional methods have their place, leveraging digital tools offers a transformative advantage in attracting and retaining customers. A well-crafted digital marketing strategy not only helps in boosting visibility and driving customer engagement but also in building a robust online presence that reflects the restaurant’s brand and values.
To thrive in this competitive landscape, restaurants must integrate several key strategies: maintain a responsive and user-friendly website, invest in SEO through valuable content, register on Google My Business for better visibility, collaborate with food influencers to expand reach, and actively promote on social media platforms. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in creating a comprehensive digital footprint, ensuring that your restaurant stands out and captures the attention of potential diners. By embracing these modern marketing practices, restaurants can bridge the gap between traditional hospitality and digital innovation, positioning themselves for sustained success in today’s digital-first world.
At Cronuts Digital, we want to help your restaurant succeed by using the power of digital marketing and data-driven strategies. Our approach combines targeted social media campaigns, effective SEO practices, and engaging content marketing to enhance your online presence and attract more customers. Contact us now so we can start working together and take your restaurant to the top of the search results, elevate your brand visibility, and drive significant growth.
