Learn Exactly How To Promote Your Restaurant Website

I’ve always talked about opening a restaurant website. For good reason, too. There’s no better place to advertise a business, a restaurant, than on the internet. Even when people are hungry and looking for a quick bite, they look it up online to see if there are any good places to dine around their area.

But here’s the next logical step – how do you promote your website? First and foremost you need to consider two things.

1. Is there anything special about your restaurant you can use as a marketing push?
2. Do you offer discounts on orders coming from the web?

Why do you need to figure out this “special” thing about your restaurant? Because you need it to use for your keyword.

A keyword is an essential element for negotiating with search engines. Let’s say you operate a restaurant with a Japanese theme. So the keyword you’re going to use is “Japanese restaurant” or “Japanese restaurant Ontario” to be more specific. This brings up your website every time someone enters those keywords on Google or Yahoo or any other search engine. Handy, isn’t it?

It must be noted that even on the internet, there’s going to be tough competition. How do you put your website on top of other restaurant websites with the same keywords—that is, “Japanese restaurant”? I know and you know that you aren’t the only owner of a Japanese restaurant who’s trying to advertise his or her business on the internet. This is where restaurant website optimization comes in.

Here are some tips.

• Make good use of H1 tags and putting the keyword “Japanese restaurant” in there. An H1 tag serves more or less as a heading on your website.
• Make sure your pages load quickly. No hungry person wants to wait while the website loads a dozen images and videos from the server.
• Create a specific page where you can abuse your keyword. For example, why not cook up a page on the history of Japanese restaurants?
• Find restaurant review websites. Submit yourself for a review in as many websites as possible.
• Establish a presence on social media. Make sure your forum signature includes a link going back to your website.
• Leave comments on relevant blogs mentioning your restaurant name and URL.

Check back on us next week for more online restaurant marketing tips.

Share your insights on restaurant website promotion by leaving a comment after this post.

A Guide To Reducing Advertising Costs For Restaurant Owners

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner. He runs a fairly popular restaurant in his local area. But thing is, 2009 left him with a small hole in his pocket, and now he’s interested in hearing ways how he could cut down on his advertising costs without compromising his restaurant brand awareness.

He used to enjoy advertising in food magazines, etc. But when those publications demanded higher fees, my friend knew he needed to look someplace else if he wanted to keep advertising.

I was lucky enough to talk to him one afternoon over coffee, and he happened to share his dilemma. I asked, “Have you tried marketing online?” He said, “No,” and shook his head. “You’re missing out on a lot,” I said. Those were my exact words.

Seriously, what restaurant owner wouldn’t advertise online and not miss out on a lot of good things? So I told him, “You should think about advertising on social media like Facebook and Twitter. That way you’ll reach a broader set of audience without feeling the expensive costs of print media.”

My advice to restaurant owners, start with the most popular social media websites around – Facebook, MySpace, Multiply, etc. Of course, Twitter. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, online restaurant marketing, then you can move on to deeper stuff like blogging. You could write for the blog yourself if you’ve got the time. Otherwise, you could hire a blogger or assign one of your chefs to blog on his or her spare time—of course, with proper compensation.

My friend was worried about the same thing. “I’m not a computer person,” he said. “I know my way around the kitchen, but I can’t tell one side of an iPod from the other. Isn’t hiring an online marketing company going to cost me more than what I used to spend on magazines?”

That’s a good question. But that’s also where online marketing shines. You don’t need to hire a company. You just need to hire someone—an internet-savvy person—to spend just a few minutes in front of a computer everyday to check your email, send newsletters, update your Twitter status. But here’s an even better solution: why not pay one of your servers to do just that for you? Unless you require your servers to be above the age of 60 and possess a senior citizen’s card, they should know how social media works and wouldn’t mind earning some extra income on the side.

More restaurant owners should recognize the power of online marketing on social media. It’s here, and it’s mostly free-of-charge. Why not use it to boost your restaurant business?

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

4 Simple Tips To Catapult Your Restaurant Brand Name On Facebook

Who hasn’t tried Facebook? Who doesn’t even know Facebook? I’d be hard pressed to find someone without a Restaurant City or Farmville account. Simply put, Facebook has become one of the most visited—or overcrowded—websites over the last couple years. A study shows that 6 billion minutes are spent every day on Facebook all over the world. The question: what does this mean for your restaurant?

Get that worried look off your face. If anything, Facebook brings a lot of blessings to your restaurant—or any business, for that matter. Facebook is a household name. It’s a place where millions of people hang out. Facebook is one of the most popular websites on the internet. Therefore Facebook is a marketing machine.

But take note there more than 700,000 other businesses are competing for people’s attention on Facebook. Your restaurant is just one of them. But what am I here for, right? Here are 4 effective strategies to advertise on Facebook and gain a loyal following.

1. Add, add, add friends
Facebook is a gem for business owners because it connects friends with friends and friends of friends of friends. The same goes for maintaining an active business page for your restaurant. Keep adding people to your friend list. Add as many as 5,000 friends, or more. Don’t stop adding until you hit that magic number.

2. Create a fan page for your restaurant
A fan page is where your fan and followers can post their ideas and suggestions about your brand name in an open forum. It encourages discussion and brand awareness. So as soon as you’ve created an account on Facebook, proceed to creating a Facebook fan page for your restaurant. And remember – keep the fan page updated as often as you can.

3. Keep the fan page active by publishing interesting content
After a brief biographical background of your restaurant, you need to keep updating your fan page with fresh, interesting content to keep it going. There’s no concrete rule on how many times a fan page requires an update. But a good rule to remember is at least twice a day, usually before the major meals – lunch and dinner. Add mouth-watering pictures of your delicious recipes and offerings. Who knows? You might just attract the taste buds of a hungry friend or two.

4. Find a partner
Two heads is better than one, right? Right.

Go around your neighborhood and search for businesses with a fan page on Facebook. Ask them that if they’d be kind enough to promote your business on their fan page, you’d happily do the same on yours. The more partners you have, the better. This way you could still market your restaurant to people outside your market range without looking like an outsider.

Follow these tips when creating your Facebook fan page, and update me with your results.

Tell me what you think by leaving a message after this post.

3 Action Ideas To Make Your Restaurant Staff Happy To Work For You

These are hard times. Tough economic times for businesses, hard times for restaurants. But even so, this is no excuse not to invest some time and money on your restaurant staff. Take it from me. When a person loves his work, he works harder and provides better service to customers. The customers will love and remember the experience and keep coming back. It’s a snowball that began all the way back with a single, happy server.

Here are three ways to invest in your restaurant staff.

1. Recognize their efforts
Are you familiar with The One Minute Manager? It’s a popular book on business management, and one of its teachings is One Minute Praisings. In other words, praise your restaurant staff as soon as you catch him or her doing something right. Recognize his or her efforts. Salary isn’t everything. There is a special feeling of contentment when your boss at work commends you for a job well done.

2. Stir friendly competition by rewarding your staff
Nothing motivates a bored staff better than a little friendly competition. Most people are willing to work when they’re gunning for something in the long run.

The trick is to stay away from clichés like “Employee of the Month”. Who cares if you’re employee of the month? Instead you should stick to basic and concrete facts, such as the employee who made the most sales, the employee with the least absences, etc.

3. Get together once in a while
Call it a team building event, [insert restaurant name here] Employee’s Day, etc. Do this at least once a year with your restaurant staff to help further strengthen the bond with employees and yourself, the restaurant owner. Working every single day can be very stressful. You should know that. So planning this kind of event once in a while is a great way to say “Thank You” to your hardworking staff.

Sometimes we have too many problems coming in the front door all at once that we forget the most important thing that holds a successful company together – satisfied employees. So invest in your restaurant staff. Make them happy. You won’t be disappointed.

Share your tips on how to make your restaurant staff happy by leaving a comment below.

Discover How You Can Accommodate Tweetup Dates In Your Restaurant

A lot of people are getting into this digital matchmaking thing these days. I could name at least a couple friends – or friends of a friend – who met their significant other while chatting online or else browsing a social media website. Twitter is quickly becoming a household name when it comes to meeting someone online. And you know, where there’s Twitter, there should be your restaurant.

The term is Tweetup. Tweetup, according to its online definition, is wordplay between “tweet” and “meet up”. People organize tweetups on Twitter. As a restaurant owner, this is a perfect opportunity to market your restaurant and serve as the rendezvous spot for these folks. You get to be the generous restaurateur who provides them a good place to talk and chill as they get to know each other a little better – one coffee cup at a time.

Here are some tips.

1. Designating a secluded area for tweetups doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t have to be a private room. Think of it as a smoking area versus a non-smoking area. Just make it so your tweetup clientele doesn’t have to put up with your other noisy customers.

2. Design simple nametags for your tweetup customers. Remember these people know each other by their online names. Wearing nametags make it ten times easier to find someone you just met online, compliments of your restaurant.

3. Don’t be a snob. As a restaurant owner, come out and greet your tweetup clientele – say a few words about your restaurant’s history, what type of food you specialize in, introduce your head chef, things like that, etc. Trust me, it makes a big difference.

4. Spare them a dedicated waiter, if you could afford it.

5. Offer them special menu pricing. In other words, discounted prices. You could also tempt them to come back a second time by offering them discounted coupons for future visits.

6. Treat them a free dessert or a glass of wine. I’m sure they’d be surprised, and will remember it when they share their tweetup experience on Twitter the next day. This is free online marketing for your restaurant, for the cost of two glasses of wine. It’s a fine idea, don’t you think?

The thing is to make sure they have a splendid tweetup experience at your restaurant. Afterwards, they’ll keep coming back, and maybe even spread the word about your establishment on Twitter. You know the value of positive word-of-mouth as a restaurant owner, right? So for the sake of all things online, put your best foot forward when tending to your tweetup clientele.

Share your insights on restaurant marketing via Twitter by leaving a message below.

If You Don’t Market Your Restaurant To Appeal To Food Bloggers Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Take away the customers, and you’ve got basically nothing going for your restaurant business. So how do you attract more customers? Referrals. It’s the name of the game, which is something that came to mind while I was watching TV the other day.

A few days ago I was watching National Geographic in my living room. I couldn’t sleep. So I turned on the TV and found this Nat Geo program where they featured food bloggers from different parts of the world. The Food Lover’s Guide to the Planet – I think that was the name of the show. In the program there was this food blogger from Vietnam who stalked the night streets of Hanoi in search of authentic Vietnamese-style noodles called Pho, this Hong Kong blogger who led a double life—an office worker during weekdays and sick female steamed crab lover and blogger on weekends. Then there was also this blogger who moved all the way to France to rediscover the country’s distinctive taste for desserts. Then they would come home and write about their food experience on their blogs over a good ol’ cup of coffee.

An idea suddenly hit me. These good folks are out looking for food to write on their blogs. As a restaurant owner, why can’t you be the one who gives them something to write about?

In fact it sounds like a pretty good idea.

Make time to sit down at your computer and search for popular food bloggers in your area. Blogging is mainstream these days. Especially if you live in a big city, there should be at least one or two food bloggers residing in your area. Then send them a personal message inviting them to stop by your restaurant for a free lunch or dinner. Being food enthusiasts, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind entertaining your invitation.

When they arrive, come out and offer them a personal greeting. If it isn’t a busy night, have your head chef chat with them while your waiters serve the appetizers. It’s always a nice touch to have them offer food advice to your head chef, and vice versa. Afterwards serve the main course and make sure everything is done right. Designate a dedicated server to your guest if possible.

As I said earlier, one way to attract more business is through referrals. What better way to do just that than to get in the good graces of a food blogger? One of the bloggers I mentioned earlier, the one who lives in France, his website gets around five to seven thousand hits a day. If you could get a similar blogger like him to write positively about your restaurant, isn’t that worth the price of a free meal?

Get the Internet talking about your restaurant by appealing to food bloggers in your area.

Share your tips on how to attract more business online by leaving a comment after this post.

3 Sure-Fire Tips To Promote Your Restaurant Brand Without Spending A Fortune

Tough competition has forced restaurants to advertise. There are more restaurants than most customers could afford dine in, especially in major cities. So what’s a restaurant owner to do? Advertise, of course, to get the lion’s share of the market. But when restaurant owners think of advertising they think about getting an effective message out and mass appeal. Then they think about expenses, expenses, expenses.

There are simpler, cost-effective ways to market your restaurant. You don’t always have to spend millions to advertise on Super Bowl. Sometimes all you need is a little creativity and a techie friend working at your side.

Here are some tips.

1.    Distribute business cards and leaflets
The restaurant owner must work “on” the restaurant, not “in” it. While your waiters are busy serving tables, you should be monitoring your restaurant and figuring out who your target customers are. In time you’ll form a better picture of your regular clients. These are who should focus on. Reach out to them by distributing menu fliers, leaflets and sample cards.

2.    Stay in the public eye for all the right reasons
It’s important to have locals talking about you, but make sure it’s for all the right reasons. Do this by promoting your restaurant locally. Offer discounts, coupons, and even sponsor charity events. Make sure your restaurant’s presence is heard during festive seasons.

3.    Get into social networking
This is where your techie friend comes in. Social networking is advertising on the 21st century. And the best thing about it is, it’s FREE – or mostly free. Get your restaurant’s name out through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or by blogging, what KogiBBQ did for its franchise. Social networking is the best way to get your name out without spending a fortune.

Tell me what you think about these cost-effective means of marketing your restaurant by leaving a comment below.

What Every Restaurant Operator Ought To Know About Restaurant Week

In the US, January 25 holds a special place in the hearts of restaurant owners. It is winter, and it is the season when most people like to go out and enjoy a steak or lobster at their favorite restaurant. Still doesn’t ring a bell? January 25 is the start of Restaurant Week in many key cities in the US, including New York City. Yes, you got that right, restaurant week.

Restaurant week in the US began in 1992. It formed from an idea by Tim Zagat, founder of Zagat Survey, and Joe Baum, a restaurant owner. The duo aims to promote both local and national restaurants on a worldwide scale, and so restaurant week was born.

During restaurant week, participating restaurants offer special discounts, coupons and other events you don’t normally see at any other time of the year. Zagat and Baum thought, what they’ll lose in check averages, they’ll get back through sheer sales volume. It was a risk that paid off well – restaurant week is still going strong every year and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

You can organize and start your own restaurant week, even if you don’t live in the US. Here are some tips how.

• Get in touch with your local restaurant operators organization and ask them about starting a restaurant week.

• Get as many local restaurants as possible to participate.

• Plan it so your restaurant week coincides with the slowest time of the year. Restaurant week in New York runs for two weeks in January and then another two weeks in July.

• Show consistency. Participating restaurants should follow the same regulations and guidelines. Agree on a specific price range.

• Last but not the least, offer your best food.

A restaurant week in your local area is good for your business. Don’t miss out on the fun.

Share your insights on restaurant week by leaving a message after this post.

Do You Struggle With Direct Mail Marketing For Your Restaurant?

I remember doing an article on direct restaurant marketing a few weeks ago. I had good things to say about the method. Direct mail marketing is the future of restaurant marketing, and its only a matter of time before big-name franchises starts joining the bandwagon as well, if they haven’t already.

But according to an article in The Wall Street Journal, some businesses are eschewing direct mail marketing in favor of the good ol’ ways of snail mail marketing. The article goes,

“Spending about $20,000 on the personally signed letters, which offered customers a discount on early orders, seemed indulgent for Per Annum Inc., which sells city diaries, albums, and planners in the struggling corporate gift market. But after swapping snail mail for email last year, Ms. Settle saw a 25% drop in early orders compared with the same period the previous year.

‘We realized we had made a huge mistake,’ says Ms. Settle, president of the New York firm.“

The problem with most restaurant operators–or most business owners—is that they hear about a new and effective marketing approach and quickly see it as an easy way to attract more customers. Let me get one thing straight: there’s no such thing as an “easy way” in the foodservice industry. While direct mail marketing is more costly and expensive than email marketing, it is also much more effective, when done right.

For example, direct mail marketing research firm Mintel Comperemedia tracked nearly 5.2 billion direct mails sent out during the third quarter of 2009, down 27% from 7.1 billion in 2008. How do these business owners expect to reap more sales when they’re sending out fewer advertisements? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where the problem lies, and I’m pretty sure the method itself—direct mail marketing—is not at fault here.

Here are some tips to improve your direct mail marketing endeavors.

1. Please, personalize your pieces. The best way to grab a customer’s attention is to make them feel special.

2. Mass distributing of fliers and coupons isn’t very effective. It’ll also drain your budget faster than you think.

3. Find a way to balance your snail mail marketing and direct mail marketing efforts. There’s no need to abandon either. Figure out the perfect mixture of the two that works best for your restaurant business.

Even Ms. Settle concluded the same thing. “Ms. Settle, for instance, plans to use e-marketing to complement the hand-signed direct-mail piece, not replace it.”

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

The Untold Secrets To Running A Restaurant Business Like A Real Pro

Managing a restaurant is no walk in the park. Even before you declare your restaurant “open for business”, there are a lot of things that needs to be done and needs to be taken care of. There’s no denying that restaurant owners are hardworking and very knowledgeable individuals.

But any successful restaurant owner will tell you that knowing how to manage a restaurant isn’t enough. Thing is, most restaurant owners have no idea what their role is in running a restaurant business.

Here are some tips from a master restaurant entrepreneur, Ray Kroc, creator of the McDonald’s empire.

1. Work “on” the business and not “in” it
The problem with most restaurant owners is they work “in” the business and not “on” it. They confuse participation with good management. Just because you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty doesn’t mean you’re doing a good job managing the business.

Fact is you’re doing the opposite.

The primary role of a restaurant owner is to take a step back and analyze. Think. Figure out what needs to be done to improve operations, to hasten speed of service, to improve the menu, etc. If you’re working “in” the restaurant, there’s no way you’ll accomplish any of these.

2. Success is in the system
Anyone who’s ever lived in the 20th century will tell you that McDonald’s is the biggest fast food chain in the world. How did Ray Kroc manage to build thousands of restaurants around the world exactly the same way?

It’s in the system, Ray believes. Ray believes, restaurants can’t afford extraordinary people, but they can make ordinary people produce extraordinary results with the help of an excellent system. He also believes consistent quality is only possible with a good system.

You may or may not be thinking about starting a franchise restaurant business. But you definitely need a good system to run your restaurant. Take my word for it. Take Ray’s word for it.

The full article can be found here.

Check back on Online Marketing for Restaurants next week for more restaurant marketing tips.

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