5 Social Media Trends Your Restaurant Needs to Follow in 2019

Social media is an important tool for any business to utilize. But when it comes to places to dine or have a drink with friends, it's absolutely crucial. It is now imperative for restaurants to be on social media in 2019. The use of social media continues to increase more and more with every passing year. This platform provides a unique opportunity to stay laser focused on your target audience and connect with your customers in real time. Social media allows your customers to connect with you and your business on a more personal level. People who feel a personal connection to your restaurant will be your most loyal customers and establishing personal connections will go a long way in helping you generate buzz for your restaurant. You could have the best bowl of pho, pizza, or fish and chips in the game, but if only a handful of people are coming in each day to order them - you're failing. This is why it's essential to strike the perfect balance between your product, service, and marketing. Your restaurant's social media game needs to be just as good as your food, atmosphere, and service. According to Social Media Monthly, 75% of consumers have used Facebook to decide which restaurant they'll eat at. This is consistent with numbers across several other social media channels. The influence of social media on purchasing and dining decisions is only rising higher with every passing day. Now that we've established the importance of social media for your restaurant, let's delve into the importance of knowing who your target market exactly is before you start marketing. Take the time to laser focus on the demographics of people you have coming into your establishment, the people you WANT to come in, and their interests. You want to make sure you're connecting with the right audience.

Effective Strategies to Utilize for Your Restaurant

Overall, when you're creating content for your social media get creative and have fun with it. This creativity should reflect on all your social media pages and help you stand out from the clutter. There are several proven strategies to increase engagement on your posts and get more people to come to your restaurant. These strategies help you to effectively utilize social media and have more time for what is important - running your restaurant. Let's take a look at some strategies to utilize going into 2019 that will boost your sales and social media following. We'll also check out some restaurants that have successfully used these tactics. Strategy

After creating your content, use an Instagram scheduling and analytics tool like Hopper to schedule your posts for the week. It is much more effective for you as a restaurant owner to spend one-hour planning and strategically scheduling your posts for the upcoming week versus spending an hour a day in between other tasks to try and figure out a quick post for that day. - Who Does It Well? - Botolino Gelato Botolino Gelato in Dallas, TX has mastered their social media marketing. They combine a creative mix of Instagram posts that contain pictures of their new flavors and specials, but also user-generated content. This routinely drives in higher levels of engagement for their brand.

Strategy

- Who Does It Well? - Iota Brew Cafe Iota Brew Cafe in Los Angeles consistently gets great interaction and responses on their social media accounts. Anytime they have new offerings on their menu, or announcements to make, they have a great-looking social media post to go along with it. Iota sticks with a vintage look for their menu design and people absolutely love it. Strategy

Wrapping It All Up

With 2019 fast approaching, this is the perfect time to step back and evaluate the new opportunities for your restaurant's social media marketing. Take the time to see where you currently lack and how, with just a couple of tweaks, you can kick up the creativity. Social media is the first place diners turn to when deciding where to eat and what places they should be raving about. A negative review on social media can break your restaurant, and a positive review can up your game like nothing else. You can set your restaurant up for success by staying consistent in your posting, using stunning visual displays, showing off your great looking menu, and interacting with your followers on a continual basis. Build your stack of social media marketing tools to include Poster My Wall, Hopper, and Mention, and you'll cover all the bases you need to help fill your restaurant in 2019!