In 2020, out of 7.75 billion people in the world, there were 3.8 billion active users of social media. It is now difficult for a restaurant to do without an online presence.

Social media presence has helped many restaurants gain brand awareness and attract new customers in recent years.

Even if these marketing actions seem compulsory nowadays, it is important to understand their return on investment, and to put in place a winning strategy to avoid wasting time--and sometimes even money.

1. Fill Out All of Your Company Profiles

If you are new to creating your social media presence, start first by filling out essential information. Make sure your contact details and schedules are filled in correctly. This is vital information for your customers and it should be accessible with just a few clicks.

Also consider adding links to your website and menu. Social media is a major source of traffic to your website and adding these backlinks will only strengthen the domain authority of your website.

For your restaurant's bio, be creative and have fun! You will have to find your positioning and be impactful to hook your visitors.

2. Create Value-added Posts

The hardest part when you start posting on social media is going to be finding the right balance between promotional posts and engaging posts . Promotional posts are useful for promoting your products, venue and events. However, you must make sure to involve your audience. If you just put your brand all the time, without really engaging your customers, they will get bored.

One of your main goals is to spark envy and curiosity in your followers. To do so, there is no secret, just work on your visuals! The higher the quality of a photo and its staging, the more people will be able to imagine themselves in your restaurant.

Consider varying the content of your posts. Ask your audience questions, share information on allergens, talk about your produce, communicate your vegetarian/vegan products, etc. The important thing is to vary the topics and deliver value to your audience .

3. Post As Often As Possible

Try to post once a day or at least a few times a week to let your customers know that you are there. Your posts will indicate to your customers that you are open and ready to serve them.

If you are not used to posting every day, it can be difficult to manage at first. Don't ask yourself too many questions. The key is to not think too much and to just post.

4. Respond to Comments

Reputation management is essential for a restaurant. A bad unanswered review can mean that countless potential customers will read it, and wonder if they should really come to your restaurant. Fortunately, 71% of users say they're more likely to recommend a business that responds quickly to them on social media.

So, if a customer has left a review about your restaurant, whether positive or negative, respond to them ASAP . If you respond quickly and politely to a negative comment, emphasizing that you have taken the comment into account, the negative review may be withdrawn by the user.

5. Find Influencers and Offer Them Exclusive Meals

The influencer community is vaste and it is often difficult for a layman to know who to work with. Imagine your ideal client, find an influencer who speaks directly to them, and start a collaboration. Depending on the influencer network, this can be as simple as a free meal or a discount on the bill.

Watch out for influencer accounts with lots of followers but little engagement. Some influencers virtually boost their number of followers, which you can get around by viewing the number of reactions on their posts.