Building An Engaging Social Media Calendar
Social media calendars are a great way to keep track of your content, highlight milestones, and promote features and special events at your restaurant. How often you post is your choice, but a social media calendar can help you stay organized and drive your restaurant’s sales. So what should be on your calendar?
Hashtag Holidays
Hashtag holidays are days that highlight a certain topic or group of people. For example, #NationalCookieDay is December 4th and #BlackHistoryMonth is February. There are a wide variety of hashtag holidays for food, with everything from #NationalSpinachDay (March 26) to #NationalMargaritaDay (February 22). By planning ahead and mapping these holidays out, you can promote certain food items on or leading up to their national day, and could even create specials or deals in celebration of that specific day, like Dunkin Donuts does for #NationalDonutDay. These posts are engaging because they allow you to highlight certain dishes and potentially create the urgency of a deal around them by running a special.
Highlighting Stories
Any time you can highlight a story, you should. Whether it’s a family milestone like your daughter graduating or a customer experience, stories create emotional connections. Sharing your story as the owner of how the restaurant came to be, where the recipes were created, and how they evolved into what they are today gives your customer a deeper understanding of you, and builds trust with your audience. Eating can often be emotional and nostalgic, and you can capitalize on those feelings.
You can also share customer stories. If you notice one of your regulars celebrating, ask them if you can highlight them. If you’re dog friendly, highlight dogs on your patio. As much as you are your brand, your customers are too. After all, you wouldn’t have the story of how your business came to be what it is today without them!
Promoting Specials and Deals
If you offer seasonal items or holiday menus, social media is an excellent way to help you promote your deals. Seasonal or limited-time menu offers are a great way to incentivize sales within a certain period of time. In the past, customers might not have known about specials until they were inside your restaurant. Now, with the power of social media, you can promote your delicious dishes to customers before they even step foot inside your establishment. This can also be a tool for boosting sales in an off season as well. For example, a restaurant at the beach is busiest in summer, but offers a Thanksgiving special they promote online to get more business in the fall.
If you’re looking for help with your restaurant’s social media presence - look no further! Sherane Chen LLC is here to help take your restaurant to the next level and create success. Contact us today or call (386) 627-3628 for a consultation!