A Step-By-Step Guide To Creating Your Restaurant’s Fan Page On Facebook

Facebook is a social media website and it needs no introduction. A couple years from now, I won’t be surprised if Facebook is named the most visited and most popular website in the world. Look around you. The Facebook buzz is in the air.

Which is why I’m writing this article. restaurant owners can – and should – no longer ignore the advertising opportunities that Facebook offers. So in this article we’ll go through the process of creating a Facebook Fan Page for your restaurant, step-by-step.

Here goes.

Step #1. Sign in your Facebook account
First things first, you need to sign up for a Facebook account. Once you got that taken care of, you need to log in using that account to be able to create a Facebook Fan Page.

Type your username and password to log in.

Step #2. Navigate to Facebook Fan Page section
You’ve logged in your account and opened your Facebook homepage. Now scroll down and find the link “Advertising” at the bottom of the page. Click it.

On the next page you’ll see the link “Pages” with an orange flag icon beside it. Click that link and it will take you to another page – the Facebook Pages section. Click the “Create a Page” button. This is where you begin constructing your restaurant’s Facebook Fan Page.

Step #3. Create a Facebook Fan Page
The first thing Facebook will ask you is to choose a category. Select “Local” and then choose “Restaurant” as the sub category.

Next you need to provide the name of your restaurant. You know what goes here. But be careful. You can’t change the name of the restaurant once you’ve confirmed it. Make sure the name is search engine-friendly as well. I suggest you include the name of your town or city following the restaurant’s name, so it’s easily indexed by major search engines.

Finally check the box that asks you as an authorized person for the creation of the page. Type your complete name, and then click the “Create Page” button.

Voila! Your restaurant has a Facebook Fan Page.

Step #4. Fill in required information
Facebook will prompt you to provide a few details about your restaurant. Fill this up, making sure everything is correct and accurate. You can also upload a logo of your restaurant, which I recommend. It helps give your restaurant and brand a recognizable image while the page itself serves as your digital home.

Invest some time to make the page look more professional. You could do this yourself, or you could hire someone to decorate and update the page from time to time if you’re too busy managing the restaurant. In any case, you can use your Facebook Fan Page to share insider information with your fans, exchange recipes, hold contests, or simply update them about incoming events.

That’s the basic idea – use the Facebook Fan Page to bring in even more fans.

Step #5. Publish
Click “Publish this Page” to complete the procedure. Once the page is online, click “Become a Fan” and become the first ever fan of your restaurant!

Five simple steps go a long way into opening doors for your restaurant to establishing a stronger online presence. Every restaurant owner wants internet visibility for their restaurant. Facebook has it. The only thing standing in the way is your initiative to take advantage of it.

Comments? Feedback? Leave a comment after this post.

Put Yourself In Their Shoes: Why You Should Become A Customer In Your Own Restaurant

For some reason, the title of a short story I read a long time ago called “Put Yourself In My Shoes” came to me as I sat down to write this article.

Last month I came across an article by Rohit Bhargava on the internet. The article had an interesting title, “Forget Eating Your Own Dog Food - Just Try Buying it…” Rohit believes the best way to understand the customer is to experience your own product and services yourself – from the initial awareness up to the purchase period. That means every single step of the way.

It makes sense. If you put yourself in your customer’s shoes, you’d see things from their perspective. It might explain why your restaurant business is booming, or being unprofitable.

So how do you put this into practice?

The first step is to create a portrait of your ideal diner. What is her social status? Has she eaten at your restaurant or is this her first time? Is she a local or an out-of-town visitor? Is she here to conduct a business meeting or is the meal purely for leisure?

Answering these questions will help you put together an image of your prospective client.

Next stop is establishing a visible online presence. A successful restaurant internet marketing plan is when your restaurant is visible no matter what the ideal client is looking for. If your restaurant is only visible to those looking for it, then you need to reconsider your online marketing mix.

Search for restaurants in your city using Yahoo!, Google, Ask—any other popular search engines. Are you in the Top 20 list of local restaurants? Too bad if you’re not – your online visibility is minimal. If you’re in it, are the descriptions about your restaurant accurate and appealing to first-time diners?

Also look for your restaurant on Facebook and Twitter to check the social media community for fans and detractors.

Last but not the least, it’s time to check your website’s usability first-hand. Pretend you’re a potential diner looking for a place to eat and came across your restaurant’s website.

• Is the address, phone number and email address clearly visible on every page of the website?
• Do you have a dedicated page showing directions to your restaurant’s location?
• Is the menu available online? Is it in an easy-to-read format?
• Can you order online?

It’s probably going to take a while to get all of this done, but believe me, and Rohit Bhargava, it’s worth every ounce of effort and penny you put into it. The idea is to thrust your restaurant’s name out there on the World Wide Web, and eliminate every obstacle that stands between the ideal diner and your front door.

Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. You might just find something useful – a new marketing idea or opportunity – you didn’t know was there from the beginning.

Do You Struggle With The Idea Of Whether Your Restaurant Really Needs A Website?

I’m a business coach, and it’s a part of my job to talk with and act as advisor to all of my small business owner clients. That’s what I get paid for – to give people a straight answer. Period.

But here is the thing. Did you know that more than half my clients, in this modern era, were still hesitant about building their own restaurant website before I took them under my wing and showed them the real thing?

Simply put, not everyone is convinced, yet. So now I’ll tell you what I told my clients – right here, I’ll give you a straight answer. Does your restaurant really need a website?

1.    Yes, because a restaurant website helps you get to know your customers. There’s no better way to learn more about your customers than through a restaurant website. Construct a simple survey and ask visitors to your website or when they sign up – to get that free newsletter or dessert coupon. When visitors sign up, they leave their email addresses and phone numbers behind. To a small business owner, this information is gold.

2.    Yes, because a restaurant website lets you communicate with your fanbase. A restaurant website lets you to talk directly with your customers about promotions and stuff, at the same time it allows you to address service-related questions and concerns right away. A successful business is first and foremost a good friend.

3.    Yes, because a restaurant website is a marketing tool. This type of information lets you forward promotions and various deals to customers before they even walk in to your restaurant. Then measure your success, what I keep talking about in my previous posts. Observe which campaigns excite customers the most, change or improve the mechanics a little, and then launch it again on your website after a few months or so.

4.    Yes, because it is simply that. A decent website can never hurt your business and marketing efforts. Building a website is cheap, and it’s got the potential to take off and attract hundreds of curious customers into your restaurant when done right. Read my previous posts to check out the things you can do for your business with this so-called “internet presence”.

I hope I’ve given a straight answer, and the message should be clear. Your restaurant needs a website. Not every restaurant needs one, but that’s neither here nor there. Like I said earlier, a decent website can never hurt your business. A restaurant website is low-cost. So there’s absolutely no excuse—that is, unless you live out in the country and you’re Amish.

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