January 28, 2022
Digital marketing has become one of the fastest-growing tools for modern businesses. One of the easiest and most budget-friendly ways for restaurants to make their presence known to new and old customers is using Facebook (Meta). In fact, an astounding 67 percent of marketing professionals find Facebook to be the most important social media outlet. If you are looking for tips on creating successful restaurant advertisements and promoting your brand via Facebook, this guide will help get you started.
Starter Guide to Facebook Advertising for Restaurants
69 percent of U.S. adults use Facebook. That’s a massive pool of potential customers to draw to your restaurant. But, before you dive headfirst into digital marketing, there are a few key components to consider:
- Determine your budget: The cost of Facebook ads can vary from $0.05 to $3.50+ per click. Figure out how much you can spend on advertisements.
- Identify your goals: Facebook’s ads are far-reaching and have many marketing opportunities. Set specific goals that are easily quantifiable. This will help you design your overall campaign.
- Design success metrics: Decide how you will analyze your data to measure the success of your marketing campaigns - for example, monitoring sales data or online traffic.
At this stage of the process, it’s important to create realistic marketing goals to set your business up for success. These can and should change over time as you gather information and data on what tactics are working and what has room for improvement. Once you have your initial goals defined, it’s time to build your marketing strategy.
Set Up Your Business Page on Facebook
To begin advertising on Facebook, the first step is to create your restaurants’ profile by getting a Facebook Business Account. Your restaurant account will need to be linked to a personal profile for it to be a valid business account. If you are new to setting up profiles, there are a few resources that can help break down the process.
Build Your Facebook Ad Campaign
When creating your campaign, you will discover a wealth of objectives you can select in order to start your marketing plan. These objectives are the primary goal of your overall ad campaign. Many of them may not be suited to your needs, so it’s important to choose your Ad Campaign goals based on the overall marketing goals you set above. Some of the most effective ones for restaurants are:
- Store Traffic: This is the most common goal selected by restaurant owners. It’s specifically designed to steer more traffic to your site.
- Traffic: The Traffic objective drives as many potential customers as possible directly to your website. If you are running a promotion or unveiling a new menu, this option can help.
- Brand Awareness: While this goal doesn’t direct any consumers to your in-store traffic, it is great for increasing general awareness for your restaurant and ensuring your brand connects with customers.
- Reach: Perhaps one of the most expansive objectives available, Reach is designed to connect with as many of your target consumers as possible.
Choose Your Target Audience
To take full advantage of Facebook’s ad targeting, it’s imperative to consider what demographic you will create your ads for. Targeting “everyone” can be costly and inefficient. Choosing a target audience allows you to create ads specific to your most important customers. There are a few strategies that can assist you in getting the most positive and profitable results.
- Market to your current clients first: A customer list is when you provide Facebook with information about existing customers such as an e-mail address or phone number. When you upload a customer list into Facebook’s Ads Manager you can find which of your diners are on social media. With this method, you can create ads that feature promotions, new menus, or specials to increase your loyal customer base.
- Reach out to consumers most likely to dine at your establishment: Develop a “warm audience” group: people who have interacted with your ads or your business page in general. They’ve shown interest, so generate ad copy that speaks to them directly. Maybe you might offer a new customer discount or highlight your professional staff. Make sure you have set up Facebook’s Custom Audiences feature to take full advantage of this feature.
- Seek out new customers: The final set of ads you should create target new customers. Promote free events, showcase inviting images, and drive home your brand.
Strengthen Your Business with Tools from US Foods CHEF’STORE
CHEF’STORE is known for its exceptional products from fresh produce to eco-friendly packaging options to wholesale meat and seafood. That’s one of the reasons we are leaders in the restaurant industry. However, CHEF’STORE goes the extra mile and provides valuable business resources to help you market your business, train staff, and more. Visit one of our convenient locations near you or contact us to learn more about all we have to offer.