The food sector is one of the most competitive industries. To succeed, you must strive to build a memorable restaurant presence. A good restaurant image increases the chances of attracting more customers. You can also increase repeat customers and, better yet, get referrals.
This is where public relations (PR) can help you. Following PR restaurant trends can help you ensure a positive restaurant image before the public. This guide will teach you how to build a memorable presence with an effective restaurant PR campaign based on the latest trends.
What is Restaurant PR?
Restaurant public relations (PR) refers to managing how the world sees and feels about your brand. The objective of restaurant PR is to create a story that shines a positive light on your restaurant both offline (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV) and online (social media, review sites). When crafting your PR materials, using clear and professional business English can enhance your brand’s image and credibility.
5 Restaurant PR Trends to Follow in 2022
1. Have a personalized story
People love stories. With a brand story, you can inspire people. These are the kinds of topics journalists, and influencers like to write about.
You may want to focus on how your restaurant started, for instance. Maybe your grandma set up your restaurant in the late 1940s. Since then, the restaurant has been managed by members of your family.
Or you may want to focus on the structure that houses your restaurant. Maybe the structure played a critical role in the history of your city.
The key is to see what aspects of your restaurant will tug at people’s heartstrings. These are the stories that can attract customers. Display your brand story strategically. You may use it as your restaurant’s wall decor or display it online on one of your restaurant landing pages.
You can also use the “About” section of GloriaFood’s sales optimized website to display your brand story. Here is an example of how it could look:
All brands have some kind of brand story. All you need to do is look closely to determine what your restaurant’s actually is.
If you are struggling to identify that story, you can seek the help of a company specializing in PR for the food sector. They can help you craft an eloquent and remarkable story that will truly resonate with your target customers and make them book a table with you.
2. Strategize your social media channels
Your restaurant’s social media outlets serve as the digital front of your establishment. That’s why PR for restaurants also covers social media. When the press looks for information about a brand, they also look at your social media platforms.
That means your social media efforts must be consistent with the brand image you’re trying to portray.
Perform a social media audit to see if everything you post aligns with your brand story. Check your social media profiles. Assess your social media posts and social media marketing campaigns.
Consistency in brand messaging is crucial. The restaurant brand story you have on your website should also be visible on your social media. That’s how you build trust with your customers.
Brand consistency also means using the same font, font sizes, and brand voice across all platforms. Follow your brand guidelines. If you don’t have any, you have to create them. That’s an essential online marketing practice for restaurants and businesses in general.
3. Use influencers to attract more customers
Get influencers on your good side, and use them to your advantage.
It might be challenging to reach out to macro-influencers just yet, so to start, it’s best to tap micro-influencers and ask them to feature you on their content.
However, be careful when choosing influencers. Their values and public image should align with your brand values. For example, reaching out to micro-influencers who practice the vegan lifestyle is an excellent idea if you’re a vegan cafe.
Create a list of influencers that best meet your needs. Consider budget, branding, and target audience when selecting your influencers. Once you have your list, create a proposal for each. Never copy-paste your proposals.
Learn more: Restaurant Influencer Marketing Guide: How to Do It and Why
Reach out to influencers via email or through social media. You might want to offer them a free lunch in exchange for a bit of publicity.
Others, though, will require monetary compensation in addition to dining in your restaurant. You need to be ready for this as not everyone will write about you for a free meal.
You can build a memorable restaurant presence with the kind of social proof influencers can generate for you. Influencers can sway public opinions. You’d be missing out if you didn’t leverage the sort of power they have.
4. Leverage other partnerships
According to the latest restaurant PR trends, there are other vital partnerships you can leverage to build a memorable restaurant presence. Celebrities and traditional media, for instance, can help promote your brand.
You can also engage the help of the local government unit, which sometimes posts articles on places to visit on its official website for potential tourists. Here’s a screenshot of the official website of the borough of Conshohocken in Pennsylvania as an example:
You can send pitches for collaboration. But before you send these to them, make sure you have at least interacted with them in the past. It’s best if you already did something nice for them before you make the pitch.
Don’t pitch cold – it will most likely fall flat, and I am talking from experience on this one. This is about relationships so try to build them first.
For instance, you might have expressed support for a specific celebrity’s upcoming movie and announced on social media that you gave some of your lucky customers free movie tickets to watch it.
Or you may have tweeted a picture of your customers watching a program on a specific channel. Or that you volunteered in your local government’s feeding program.
When you pitch, mention what you did for these potential partners. Then, highlight how your collaboration can benefit both of you – mutual value. They need good content, and you need a little publicity.
5. Grow an online community
Create community pages where loyal customers can gather and discuss your restaurant. A community will help generate brand engagement. Your customers can interact with representatives of your brand, who can share relevant information about your restaurant.
That’s value for your customers. More value for your customers translates to a better reputation for your restaurant.
Additionally, a community will give you more insight into what people think of your brand. It’s an effective instrument for market research.
You can create your online community on popular community platforms such as Facebook and Reddit.
Olive Garden, which serves Albanian food, follows this approach. Create engaging content in your community. Allow members to share humorous content or delicious food photos. When shared, these posts can reach a wider audience, giving you more brand visibility.
To grow your online community, ask your most engaged customers to join through targeted ads, organic social media posts, or personal invites.
Make sure you also have community moderators who can enforce group rules. You may also have members’ posts go through an approval process to prevent spam.
With your online community in place, you won’t just build a memorable restaurant presence for members of your community. You’ll also boost brand loyalty. These are the same people who will talk about your restaurant with other people in a good way.
In closing
There’s more to a successful restaurant than good food and a great location. Your restaurant must have a strong reputation. In other words, your restaurant needs a clear and clever PR strategy.
After reading this article, you can build your own strategy based on the latest restaurant PR trends and ensure your restaurant commands a memorable presence.
Identify your brand story. Then make your social media content align with this story. Collaborate with influencers that appeal to your target audience. Leverage other partnerships, too. Finally, grow a strong online community.
The right public relations for restaurants can help ensure people remember you in a positive light. That can ultimately translate into new and repeat customers for you. Good luck!
This article is a guest post.
Author bio:
Chris Norton, Founder of insight-led PR agency Prohibition, former University lecturer, author of “Share This Too,” and listed in the UK’s top 10 PR and social media bloggers.
