Social media can help make or break the success of a business these days–restaurants are no exception. With a strong social media presence (along with delicious food, of course), a restaurant can become a local sensation overnight. However, getting your content out in front of the right eyes can be difficult, thanks to algorithm changes and paid advertisements. That’s where influencer marketing comes in.
An effective influencer marketing campaign can help a restaurant elevate its social media presence, connect with its target audience, and ultimately drive foot traffic and sales. That’s why we’re breaking down the world of influencer marketing for restaurants, touching on its benefits, how to find the right influencers, and giving you tips to ensure your campaign brings you the results you’re searching for.
Benefits of Influencer Marketing for Restaurants
Increased Social Media Presence
Consumers rely heavily on social media for dining recommendations, making social media vital for restaurants. While reviews are extremely important, they’re not going to look up your restaurant if they’ve never heard of it before. Cue influencer recommendations. Partnering with influencers allows restaurants to take advantage of their expansive reach and engaged audiences and amplify their visibility.
Authenticity and Credibility
Authenticity is crucial in influencer marketing, with most consumers gravitating towards influencers whose content is extremely transparent. Although we’ll touch on how to choose the right influencers later, by collaborating with influencers whose values align with your own, you can build trust and loyalty among your target audience.
Targeted Audience Reach
Unlike traditional forms of advertising that may not reach the right crowd, influencer marketing allows restaurants to hyper-focus their messaging towards specific demographics and communities. By partnering with influencers specializing in food and beverage content, restaurants can ensure their message reaches a receptive and relevant audience–one always searching for new culinary experiences.
Creative Content Creation
Creating captivating and visually appealing social media content is an art form in itself, and influencers have a proven track record of doing just that. Leveraging their creativity, influencers can boost a restaurant’s brand narrative, producing compelling content that showcases menu items and the overall dining experience in a way that will attract new customers.
Drive Foot Traffic and Sales
Ultimately, we understand that your number one goal as a restaurant is to bring in more foot traffic. When executed effectively, influencer marketing can make a drastic difference in foot traffic and sales. Just look at Keith Lee, for example. Using influencer partnerships to promote exclusive offers, seasonal specials, or signature dishes entices diners to visit your restaurant and see what it’s really all about.
How to Find the Right Influencers for Your Restaurant
Choosing the right influencers to collaborate with requires a strategic approach and an understanding of your restaurant. Here are some steps to guide your influencer search process:
Define Your Target Audience
Begin by outlining the demographic of your ideal patrons. Consider factors such as age, location, culinary preferences, and lifestyle attributes to better understand them. While this may seem silly, we promise it will help when it comes time to find influencers. The more their audience aligns with what you’re looking for, the higher the likelihood that the marketing campaign will be successful.
Conduct Thorough Research
Invest time in researching influencers within the food and beverage space. Explore social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and food blogging websites to identify influencers whose content aligns with your restaurant’s aesthetic and values. It’s also wise to think about what platforms you’re hoping to market on. For example, some influencers focus solely on Instagram, while others work strictly on TikTok. To maximize the success of the campaign, it may be wise to partner with different influencers on different platforms to expand your reach as much as possible.
Use Influencer Marketing Agencies
Influencer marketing agencies are your best friends when it comes to finding the right fit. Sway Group, for example, specializes in identifying, vetting, and connecting you with influencers in your niche. With over 45,000 influencers in our network, we do all the hard work of searching for you.
Focus on Engagement Metrics
Beyond superficial metrics such as follower count, prioritize influencers with high levels of engagement and authentic audience interactions. Carefully look at metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and saves to gauge an influencer’s efficacy in driving meaningful conversations. The last thing you want to do is throw money at an influencer only to have it fall into the laps of an unengaged audience just because they had a lot of followers. Trust us; we’ve seen it happen one too many times.
Assess Content Quality and Alignment
Lastly, though this may feel like common sense, look for influencers who genuinely love food and beverage. Ensure they possess the creative skillset to showcase your menu items in an enticing and visually compelling manner.
Crafting a Successful Restaurant Influencer Marketing Campaign
Now that you’ve picked out the influencers best suited for your restaurant, it’s time to focus on making the most out of your campaign. To yield the best results possible, take these steps:
Set Clear Campaign Objectives
Begin by jotting down the objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) that will define the success of your influencer campaigns. Whether your goal is to drive foot traffic, increase brand awareness, promote specific menu items, or boost sales during happy hour, having these goals outlined before you begin will make a world of a difference.
Create a Comprehensive Creative Brief
Collaborate closely with your influencer partners to develop a detailed creative brief that articulates the campaign’s goals, deliverables, messaging guidelines, aesthetic preferences, and any logistical considerations. However, it’s also important to give influencers the creative freedom to create content best suited for their audience.
Promote Exclusive Offers and Incentives
An influencer campaign is the perfect opportunity to promote exclusive offers or incentives to entice consumers to engage with your restaurant. Whether it’s a limited-time happy hour, a chef’s tasting menu, new seasonal items added, or a themed event, influencer campaigns can help build excitement and urgency.
Monitor and Optimize Campaign Performance
Monitor KPIs such as engagement rates, reach, impressions, website traffic, and conversion metrics throughout your influencer marketing campaign. We highly recommend using analytics tools and platform insights to gain insights into audience behavior, content performance, and campaign effectiveness. It’s also important to look at factors outside of the social media itself, such as an increase in reservations or sales.
Create Long-Term Relationships
Create long-term relationships with influencers by always having a line of open communication, expressing gratitude, and providing ongoing support and collaboration opportunities. Investing in long-term partnerships with influencers encourages continuity, authenticity, and brand advocacy over time.
Final Thoughts
Influencer marketing holds great potential for restaurants seeking to elevate their social media presence and create loyal, long-term customers. If your restaurant is looking to partner with influencers but you’re looking for a little help, look no further. Sway Group wants to help you succeed. We have countless influencers who are the right fit for your business. We’ve even worked with nationwide restaurant chains like Sonic and Buffalo Wild Wings. Ready to get started? Contact us today!
