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The Honest Social Media Marketing Guide For Restaurants To Get More Orders

Let’s be frank! As a restaurateur, the mounting pressure of trying to stand out in a crowd can really weigh you down; now more so than ever, with restaurants continuing to witness a complete overhaul in the way they function.

The changing patterns in customer behavior have left restaurants with real challenges on navigating an uncharted territory. Going in with a solid plan dedicated to social media marketing for your restaurant could be a real gamechanger.

The Truth About Social Media Marketing For Restaurants You Need To Know

When the pandemic first hit, most restaurants struggled to build an online presence and eventually realized the importance of being on digital platforms. In the digital age, it is a necessity to integrate social media marketing for your restaurant business. But the advent of social media marketing for restaurants is a tale we’ve all heard before.

To ensure that your restaurant prospers in a cut-throat environment can be a daunting task. Juggling between the need to grow your customer base while simultaneously trying to get more orders is quite the balancing act; one that you may find is worth your time and effort.   

In a study conducted on the restaurants of the future, 64% consumers said that they don’t anticipate returning to their pre-pandemic habits of dining in restaurants anytime soon. 

Consumers are now choosing convenience and frictionless experiences prompted by their safety concerns. With online ordering replacing the traditional dining experience for the most part, the need to make your voice heard where your customers are, becomes critical. 

What you really need to know when it comes to the social media marketing plan for your restaurant is that consumer psychology has spun on its own axis. The next step is to understand how your customers think and build a meaningful relationship with them, wherever they are. 

Which Social Media Platforms Could Work For Your Restaurant

For your restaurant to make a mark on social media, it is crucial that you understand and define who your customers are, where they are present and how you can gain their trust by coming across as a genuine brand. That being said, there are social media platforms that could potentially work for your restaurant, based solely on the magnitude of their impact. 

Facebook 

Anyone would tell you that Facebook has etched its way into every digital user’s screen space over the last decade. Almost 15 years after it went live, Facebook has transcended customer expectations and continues to constantly evolve with the changing technological landscape. Today, everyone we know is on Facebook and it’s no wonder that Facebook has earned a reputation as the most popular social media platform with over 2.91 billion active users! 

If you’re still doubting whether Facebook would be the right fit for your restaurant, these whopping numbers should give you the assurance that it is the most sought after social platform there is! 

Instagram 

If you mull over how clean the entire user experience and visually driven Instagram is, you will conclude that Instagram is the kind of niche platform that your restaurant is cut out for. Moreover, Instagram is easy to explore and discoverability is definitely one of its unique selling points. All this considered, you as a restaurant owner, would be wise to build a social media presence on Instagram because it offers an incredibly cost-effective way to advertise.

Again, much like Facebook, Instagram too has over a billion users which makes it a great channel for your restaurant’s customer engagement. And the odds of your target audience being on Instagram are extremely high! 

WhatsApp

Although many would consider WhatsApp to be an instant messaging platform, it qualifies as a social media platform because it checks all the boxes of a social channel including the ability to communicate, share audio plus video files, and social networking.  

Coming to the prospect of WhatsApp being a top contender for restaurants, it follows through by offering what other platforms may not. The very essence of engaging customers is to know them and get their data. By the virtue of being an instant messaging and social media channel, WhatsApp adds immense value to your business by giving you direct access to your customer data. As soon as you receive a message from your customers, you have their name and number. This makes WhatsApp the reigning king of social media and is a must for your restaurant! 

While these are the default platforms for most restaurants, you will have to deep dive into your customer profile and figure out where your customers are scrolling. Let’s say your customers are into video content, then you may want to look at YouTube as an option. If your customers are consuming bite-sized content pieces, you may consider TikTok. 

The thing to remember here is that there is no one-size-fits-all rule that applies to choosing the right channel for your restaurant! So don’t be afraid to experiment with platforms and see what best suits you.

What Restaurants With Great Social Media Marketing Ideas Have Taught Us

A single compelling picture of your food can certainly help you widen your reach. However, when it comes to social media marketing ideas for your restaurant, there’s a lot more than just fancy food pictures that you’ll need to make it work for your business. Thankfully, there’s much to learn from restaurants that continue to push the boundaries on social media marketing. 

Along the way, we have gained some key insights on the different nuances of social media marketing from restaurants who seem to have discovered the mantra to their success. 

We have seen restaurants using social media marketing ideas in an ingenious way, allowing them to acquire new customers and increase their order volume. Let’s detail out the lessons that we have learnt from other restaurants:

1. Social Selling Is The Future

Until recently, social media was a way to communicate with people across the globe. On the surface, businesses were making use of social media to connect with their customers so far. Enter social selling and now the entire customer journey gets clubbed on social media – right from discovery to sale, social commerce offers a wholesome shopping experience and ensures authentic connections between customers and the brands they interact with. 

As a restaurateur, you’ll be happy to know that enhanced audience ad profiling, targeting, better customer understanding, and deeper insights have presented a tremendous opportunity on social media. And this can be attributed to the rise of social commerce. 

When executed with perfection, social selling strengthens a brand among existing customers and lets businesses acquire new customers that are keen on innovative social shopping formats and experiences.

Social commerce is expected to grow three times as fast as traditional commerce to $1.2 trillion by 2025. This is great news for restaurant owners who can now utilize social media not only to reach out to their customers but also elevate their entire ordering experience by letting them make a purchase wherever they are.

2. Performance Marketing Is An Investment Not An Expense

Restaurant owners have always been conflicted on whether to take the organic path to marketing or allot a budget towards their paid marketing. However, there’s a lot more than meets the eye here. 

Truth be told, while organic marketing may appear to be the ideal option, it can actually limit your growth as a restaurant; so much so that you may just end up lagging far behind. This may be the reason behind some of the best restaurants relying on performance marketing and not just on their organic marketing.  

Performance marketing leverages the paid social media marketing strategy for your restaurant based on your relevant business objectives and intended results. The conversions that you would pay for, typically fulfill objectives like downloads, leads, purchases or clicks. But the great news for you as a restaurant owner is that you only pay when you get the desired action and if you don’t, you can optimize your ad campaigns further in the future, without losing a penny! 

Using the right performance marketing channels can scale your marketing to meet the needs of your restaurant and not drain you monetarily. However, looking at performance marketing as an investment and not an expense, is the shift in perspective you need because there is no doubt that it can get you a lot more traffic and orders than you are hoping for. 

Since you can specifically target audiences, instead of waiting for them to stumble upon your restaurant, performance marketing is one of those social media marketing ideas for your restaurant that will become the beginning of your own masterstroke.

3. High Engagement = High Recall Value

Engagement is proof that your audience is invested enough to make a positive action. And it is clear as day that engagement is directly correlated to conversions.You can garner high engagement by using interactive content, or asking questions and creating polls – something that most marketers would agree has reusable value and plays a key role in ensuring repeat visitors. Although, this is not the full stop to customer engagement. 

There are restaurants who have shown us, time and again, that meaningful engagement could prove fruitful in leaving a lasting impression on customers.

By diving into more sensitive issues such as mental health, Nando’s is engaging their audience on a deeper level, while coming across as a brand that can positively contribute to the progressing dialogue on such topics. 

The advantages of running a campaign like this are multifold – first, it shows us that customers are seeking relatable experiences that strike a chord with them and makes them feel cared for. Secondly, they are bound to remember such campaigns that go beyond the stereotypical conversations used by brands to wow customers. Also, they make a statement that reverberates with a large segment of their audience, giving them the confidence that this brand is really listening to them.

Earning your customers’ trust and support can take your restaurant places. It can also occupy space in your customers’ minds and truly build a sincere relationship with them. When customers are happy with the experience you create, they are likely to refer friends and family, and those friends and family members will in turn bring you more customers. So start interacting with your social media followers if you hope to get more customers for your restaurant. 

4. Customers Are Everything

Customers are the essence of every business. We’ve heard it all – “Customer is God”, “Customer is king”, “Customers are always right” and this is because your restaurant wouldn’t be a talking point at all if it wasn’t for your customers. 

Everything that you do on social media or for that matter, even your restaurant business, is undeniably for your customers. Customers give your brand meaning and a reason to improve your experience on the whole. 

There is a competitive edge in seeing the world through the customer’s eyes. 

We have all seen and love restaurants that go the extra mile to please their customers. The lesson we learn from such restaurants is that great customer service echoes the type of deep-rooted culture that takes years to build, and then it just feeds itself. Being a restaurant owner gives you the means to dig into your customers’ preferences by starting a conversation with them and really listening to what they want. 

A Social Media Marketing Plan For Restaurants That Spells Success

Social media has not only impacted how we communicate with each other but it has also changed the way restaurants connect with their customers. This is a clear opportunity for restaurants to take charge of how they interact with customers and earn their trust.

Not leveraging social media for all it offers, is bound to hamper the growth of your business!

For restaurants, conceptualizing a social media marketing plan can be rather tricky because you’re always trying to figure out how you can stay ahead of the competition and still come across as a reliable brand to your customers. But social media marketing for your restaurant business can go a long way in realizing both these goals. In fact, as a restaurant owner, you may just find yourself propelled into gaining new customers and getting more orders. 

Social media marketing amplifies reach and building a social strategy that hinges on customer centricity is vital to the success of your business. That’s why your restaurant’s social media marketing plan must consider placing customers first. If your restaurant has to succeed, taking a route that is authentic and highlights your journey, would certainly put you in a favorable position with your customers and widen your influence. 

How Radyes Can Support Your Restaurant

As a restaurant owner, you’re obviously wondering how to get started. Engaging customers on social media is one thing but trying to convince your customers to make a purchase from you on social media is another. But fret not! This is where we come into the picture. 

Radyes works seamlessly on all social media channels and enables you to sell directly to your customers, absolutely anywhere. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp you want to sell on, Radyes works on a plug-and-play basis which means you can quite simply add it to any social media platform and get started with your direct ordering journey. Furthermore, the social media strategy for your restaurant business can be amped up with end-to-end solutions that we offer. 
We can lead the way as you crack the code to successful social media marketing for your restaurant and write your own success story!

What The New-Age Customers Expect From Brands

The customers of today are flooded with choices. But what they are truly seeking is a more wholesome and seamless experience in the digital world. 

In the post-pandemic world, customer experience must be recalibrated with transforming customer expectations. In fact, research reveals dramatic shifts in customer preferences and expectations which boil down to the overall experience they receive from a brand. 

In this day and age, how customers choose to shop has pivoted and brands must now be agile enough to reflect these changing patterns in customer behavior. 

There is a trend amongst consumers who are more inclined towards interacting and transacting with D2C brands. A whopping 88% of consumers prefer to buy directly from a brand! The result of these morphing customer expectations for brands is to stay ahead of the curve. Brands must step up their D2C game; even more so now with customers gravitating towards brands who are going direct. 

It’s no more a secret that the modern-day consumer is more than willing to go the extra mile and buy their favorite products directly from brands. 

For this reason, “It is no longer enough for organizations to sell a product or service they need to win the client’s heart. Consumers are demanding more… they want to be part of something greater than just buying a product or a service.”

Brands must be willing to build close-to-perfect shopping experiences to meet the needs of their customers.  

Embracing the leap 

The need of the hour for brands is to adopt an omnichannel strategy and D2C approach. By not providing your customers a direct channel, you are making it easier for middle men to get in the way and stunting your own brand engagement and loyalty. 

Even though it may seem like the long haul to take the D2C route and actually make it count, there is also enormous scope to improve your brand’s standing by disrupting the status quo and delivering on the expectations, values and experiences that the modern shopper desires. 

It so happens that customer loyalty is synonymous with the experience that you stitch for your customers. Going direct to your consumers is a sure shot way of being in control of your brand message and consumer engagement. 

D2C channels become an ideal platform for brands to articulate their values in driving higher demand. 

One of the most effective paths to standing out in the crowd is to share what makes your brand unique. Consumers find that when they buy directly from brands, they can make choices that align with their personal values based on the brand’s values. 

Another research conducted states that values such as “convenience” and “ease of use” top the list of benefits that a D2C brand has, with 94% of customers choosing at least one of these as a reason to opt for a D2C brand.  

With this D2C trend making the headlines, the door of opportunity is wide open for numerous brands out there. But the trick is to create a brand that customers feel connected to.

As a brand who is looking to tap into the D2C movement, you must have a lot of questions on how it all works. The good news, we’ve got you. At RadYes, we have empowered hundreds of brands to take charge of their direct ordering journey and cater to their customers’ expectations. 

Reach out to us today and let’s discuss the best way for your brand to seamlessly transcend the dynamic and ever-changing needs of the modern-day consumer.

How Social Selling is Transforming the Salon Industry

Innovation in the Salon Industry

On a global scale, the salon industry is one of those sectors to have encountered firsthand the hindrances and challenges that lockdown and social distancing brought along with it. To say that the epidemic shook up this industry would be an understatement. For a while, the salon industry was stunted with beauty and care taking a backseat in the minds of customers and health and safety becoming their primary concern. Although any woman would agree that their beauty and care regime is an indispensable part of life, one that is impossible to disassociate with. In light of this continued demand, a lot of salons found their ray of hope. 

One of the biggest takeaways that came out of this market disruption for all of us was that customer expectations have transcended and the only way to survive is by exploring the resilient path of innovating and staying in touch with customer expectations. Even before the pandemic, brands had faced the pressure to meet rising customer expectations and overhaul their innovation pipeline but this time, the deal was sealed. There was no running away from the inevitable; following where the customers were headed became the only way to survive. If the customers aren’t coming to you, you go to the customers. 

A sizable segment of the target audience is surfing social media channels for a considerable part of their day. Direct ordering and social selling is emerging as a trend that is catching up with salons who were so far counting on customers to visit their physical store. But now with COVID-19 restrictions and whatnot, customers are treating social media channels as more than just a social network; they are perceiving social media platforms as a marketspace where they can buy their favourite products or engage with brands that they haven’t yet experienced. 

Today, having a digital brand presence is rudimentary to your brand’s journey and there is no other way around it. 

Leading by Example

With the epidemic looming, the road ahead seemed rocky and uncertain but we quickly turned this opportunity in our favour and found our own path to success. In a bid to empower brands as they treaded on their direct online journey, we left our mark across the entire lifestyle spectrum. 

When the pandemic first hit, a lot of salon businesses were dislodged and some had to even shut shop overnight. But soon after, brands found themselves entering the digital playground and strategizing their game plan from an innovative stance. 

One such brand that we added to our thriving network from the beauty and salon industry was Kérastase Institute Dubai. At the beginning of what was established as a long-term collaboration, we dipped our toes into the salon industry and found these prominent gaps:

  1. There was a growing demand for do-it-yourself beauty and hair-care products, now that customers were unable to visit physical retail stores and salons and brands were grappling with the creation of a direct selling platform between themselves and the customers. 
  1. With dependency on in-store engagement, beauty brands and salons were unable to generate growth and revenue without a solid social strategy. 
  1. In the digital arena, there was a lot of ground to cover and most beauty and care brands were seeking support to navigate effortlessly in the absence of physical interactions. 
  1. Chalking out a good customer experience for customers meant that beauty and salon brands had to be on top of all the touchpoints across the customer journey and with little data to leverage, this was proving to be a challenge in the industry.

By recalibrating the pace of their innovation through quicker response to market stimuli, our team at Radyes triggered social selling success for Kérastase Institute Dubai. Based on our learnings and understanding of the market, we built a solid transactional experience, enhanced cataloguing, top-notch fulfillment logistics and systematic workflows to fill in the blanks that eventually underlined their social selling and direct ordering victory.

In the current day scenario, salons are readily inclining themselves towards customer expectations by walking down the social selling route. 

At Radyes, we have mobilized a number of brands across a multitude of industries on their digital journey by reimagining how they sell directly to their customers and continue to grow our footprint in the social selling landscape. 

A Guide for Grocers Going Direct

If you own a grocery business, in all likelihood, the year 2020 didn’t end on a high note for you. Not only did the pandemic bring unwanted change but it also swept up the market in a wave of uncertainty. Ultimately, it came down to how brands met customer expectations. 

Reshaping consumer demand

At the onset of the epidemic, with the spotlight turning on a breed of direct-to-consumer grocery brands, it became evident that they were gaining popularity among consumers. 

Meanwhile, customers were on the lookout for brands that provided a personalized and reliable shopping experience. Their expectations were impacted by safety interests, convenience, ease of use, and the continued demand for essential goods. Some brands were just fast enough to read the shift in consumer behavior and keep up with their dynamic needs.

But how are you, as a grocery brand, ensuring that your customers’ expectations are being met? The way customers shop is not the same and how a brand sells must also shape up to suit these changing patterns. No longer are consumers keen on stepping outside the comfort of their homes and risking physical contact amidst the pandemic. 

More than half (51%) of millennials said they would rather place an order digitally versus visiting a physical location in person. Shopping on digital has surfaced as the go-to choice for consumers who are now relying on digital convenience to satisfy their needs. 

Moving forward as an independent player can enable a grocery brand to drive decisions based on owned data and target new customer segments that would have otherwise remained untapped.  

Take note – going direct is a necessity in today’s times! 

However, it takes a lot more than merely launching a D2C channel to ensure success in the grocery segment.

What this means for grocery brands

As a grocery business, you may have a bit of trouble balancing a large inventory of products, while catering to what the consumer expects. 

We completely understand the pain that goes behind meeting customer demands with huge inventories to manage and fulfilling last-mile logistic requirements.

So that we could truly grasp how a grocery brand can still thrive with these limitations, we attempted to dig deeper:

  1. Turns out 87% of consumers depend on digital channels for their shopping needs. 
  2. Values such as ‘convenience’ and ‘ease of use’ top the list of reasons for shopping with direct-to-consumer brands; 94% of shoppers chose at least one of these.
  3. While groceries are still relatively new to the digital space, consumers are not. Naturally, when they are shopping their reasons for shopping would be consistent across all needs. 
  4. These values could give you an upper hand being a grocery brand. Even more so because you’re already committed to delivering the aspect of convenience with a wide range of products and consumer goods to sell.
  5. A study conducted by Forbes took the pulse of the modern-day consumer and discovered that two-thirds of shoppers in a 6000-respondent survey use social media to fulfill their shopping needs. 

By tracking down where customers are choosing to shop and building a wholesome and valuable experience around it, we wrote our direct ordering success story. Embracing an omnichannel strategy and creating tighter ties with customers allowed us to refine the experience that we had built for brands we work with. 

Ever since we have helped various brands crack the code to their own direct ordering wins. 

With Radyes your brand too can reach its fullest potential while effortlessly managing customer demands.  

Taking charge of the situation 

It took the global outbreak for the grocery retail market to accept digital transformation and recognize the critical need for complete transparency in their overall supply chain and inventory. Eventually, it’s also why brands decided to go directly to their customers so they could stitch a seamless experience all the way. 

Advancing forward, grocery brands that are digitally equipped and invest in their own online footprint will be armed against future market disruptors like COVID-19. Let’s not forget that the outcome of direct selling lies in the hands of customers, making the customer experience all the more significant.

With every touchpoint across the customer journey in mind, Radyes is equipped with a host of benefits like loyalty, multiple payment methods, marketing tools, and the ability to get you orders from anywhere – WhatsApp, Google, Facebook, Instagram, and even your own website. You also get access to a dashboard for easier inventory management and consumer insights so staying atop the customer experience is now a possibility for your grocery brand. All you need to do is plug into a fully functional, thriving ecosystem that will help your brand grow and exceed customer expectations. 

Start your free trial with us to know more about how Radyes can add value to your grocery business. Our team is here to guide you.  

Why Choosing The Right Partner Is Critical To Your Brand Growth

The constantly-evolving world of technology has revolutionized how brands are flourishing and adapting in today’s dynamic market environment. Right from marketing to the sale itself, brands are falling back on technology to enable their business transformation and elevate their customer experience.

Technology plays a massive role in helping your business function efficiently and even though it gives you the much-needed nudge, technology alone can’t drive your brand forward. It takes a lot more to refocus the lens towards the brand and the customer. 

As a brand, you need to have various partners and people underpinning every business process of yours. Finding the right partner can not only help you level up your business but also lend your brand a solid support system to thrive, and ultimately leave you with happy and satisfied customers. 

Imagine depending on a delivery partner and having them bail on you at a crucial moment! That’s one less customer for you. Or worse, your payment gateway crashes and your business comes to a sudden halt. And there goes another customer or two! Let’s not forget, one bad review is all it takes to turn years of hard work to dust. The point is why put all your eggs in one basket? 

Fortunately, you do not have to live every brand owner’s worst nightmare and potentially risk losing your loyal customers. 

Radyes is built to ensure that you can leave all the headaches and challenges associated with running a full-fledged business behind you and instead, turn the spotlight on building your brand.

With access to over 50000 delivery partners, the ability to simplify payments for all your customers with prominent payment gateways and leveraging the power of the best Point-of-Sale integrations in the industry, Radyes offers you multidimensional solutions to most of your business problems. 

Walk into a fully-equipped, growing and robust ecosystem of 130+ partners; seamlessly manage all the components of your business like logistics, payments, point of sale, middleware, marketing and communications. Select one of our trusted partners using the Radyes SmartStore, just plug in the apps and systems you need or are already using and you’re all set within a few minutes! 

You can count on Radyes to open the pathway to a world of trusted brand partners and scale up your business. Want to know more about our massive network of partners? Get in touch, our team at Radyes is always here to help! 

Start selling smarter. Start with Radyes.Let’s Talk