Social media restaurant statistics can help you make informed decisions about how you should be using online platforms to reach existing and potential customers.
Everyone has limited time and resources, so in order to be successful with a minimum of effort, you should:
- Use funny restaurant Facebook posts to attract new customers.
- Create profiles on all social media platforms or stick to a few of the most popular options.
- Take photos that will influence your customers’ food choices.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the most important social media restaurant statistics and give you some recommendations that will help you build social media marketing ideas that work!
Social Media Restaurant Statistics Every Restaurant Owner Should Know
You may know the restaurant failure rate statistics that say 90% of restaurants fail within their first year of operation. In reality, about 17% of restaurants close in the first year. The lower failure rate doesn’t mean that your restaurant has a greater chance of success, though. You still need to do everything possible to attract customers and boost sales. Otherwise, your competitors will put you out of business.
The Most Popular Social Media Platforms
Ideally, your restaurant would use every social media platform to reach as many people as possible. In reality, you have to concentrate your efforts on a few platforms. You have to focus your efforts on the most popular social media sites. That means posting to:
- Facebook (2.35 billion active users)
- YouTube (2 billion active users)
- Instagram (1 billion active users)
- Twitter (330 million active users)
And as it turns out, social media and restaurant industry go hand-in-hand. How does social media influence food choices? Let’s find out by taking a look at the following infographic.
Why do restaurants need social media?
Related: Restaurant Industry Statistics
Customers Use Social Media When Choosing Businesses
In fact, social media has become one of the most effective ways for restaurants to communicate with and influence their fans. Generally speaking, 71% of social media users who have a good experience with a brand on social media will recommend that brand to a friend. That’s a more than enough reason to create your own business account and start engaging with your customers.
Core benefits of using social media:
- use it as a communication grounds for your customers
- share user-generated content that attracts other customers
Facebook statistics show that 72% of consumers use Facebook to help them decide which restaurants they visit. Potential customers will visit your Facebook page to see your menu, learn about your location, and read reviews written by people who have visited your restaurant.
Related: Restaurants using social media successfully
Twitter also plays a significant role in how people interact with restaurants. Polls show that food and drink brands account for about a third of mentions on Twitter. Even if your restaurant doesn’t post on Twitter, other people are talking about you.
If you don’t maintain a presence on Twitter, then you lose control of the conversation.
Instagram doesn’t have nearly as many active users as Facebook, but the people using the platform often follow businesses. About 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business.
Perhaps even more importantly, Instagram has a 2.2% per-follower interaction rate. Facebook only has a 0.22% interaction rate.
Related: Instagram best practices for restaurants
Customer Reviews Matter A LOT!
You can control most of the content on your social media profiles. Other sites, however, give more power to customers.
About a quarter of consumers say that they go online before choosing a restaurant. More often than not, customers turn to sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and OpenTable.
You can respond to reviews posted on these sites, but you can’t delete or promote them. In this situation, providing excellent food and service are the best ways to control what people say about you online.
Using Social Media Statistics to Improve Your Restaurant Marketing
Restaurant social media statistics give you a view into how people think and how you can use platforms to grow your business.
Make the Most of Every Post
The types of content that you include in your social media posts can also influence how many people you reach.
According to social media statistics, you should focus on:
- Posting to Facebook between 1 and 3 p.m., when the site experiences the most traffic.
- Including images in your post to increase the likeliness that people will like and share them.
- Responding to people when they like, share, or comment on your posts.
- Including photos in your comments as well as your primary posts.
- Boosting audience engagement by including a call-to-action (CTA) in your posts.
- Involving your brand’s personality in the posts you write.
Dealing With Negative Reviews
No matter how hard you work, some of your customers won’t enjoy their experiences at your restaurant. You can’t please everyone!
Don’t see negative reviews as a pest that will damage your business. Instead, use them as a bridge to:
- connect with your customers
- learn more about how you can improve your restaurant
- and to attract more people to your location
Surprisingly, only 23% of restaurants reach out directly to customers that leave positive or negative reviews. So, when you see social media reviews for your restaurant, always:
- Reach out to say “thank you” or get more information about what made them unhappy.
- Offer a solution that will get unhappy customers to try your restaurant again.
- Explain to those reading your replies how you plan to prevent disappointments in the future.
Every restaurant gets negative reviews. How you respond to them determines what people think about your business.
Restaurant Social Media Marketing Ideas
Now that you’ve learned some important social media restaurant statistics and how they affect your business, let’s explore some of the best ways that can boost your business.
Optimize Your Social Media Pages
Start by optimizing all of your social media pages by including information about your:
- Location
- Hours of operation
- Food and drinks menu
- Phone number
The best restaurant Facebook pages give all of the info that your potential customers need. You can even include links that let visitors order food from your restaurant directly through your Facebook profile.
You also need to update your information when anything changes. If your Facebook restaurant menu is outdated, customers will feel disappointed when they don’t see the items they wanted to order and this may steer them straight toward your competitors.
Research the Best Posts for Restaurants
You don’t need to develop a restaurant social media strategy from scratch. You can learn a lot by looking at the best Facebook posts for restaurants as well as posts on Twitter, Instagram, and other sites.
A quick Google search will show you some of the best social media for restaurants. Some examples include:
- YO! Sushi, which uses breaking news and beautiful pictures of its food to get attention.
- Hodad’s, a San Diego eatery that advertises special events and has a Facebook restaurant menu example worth imitating. You can get your own from here.
- The Good Batch Bakery, which uses amazing photography to entice Brooklyn residents to buy their sweets.
Of course, you should also look at the posts from your local competitors. You may learn a few things about how they attract more people to their business.
As long as you pay attention to the latest trends and social media restaurant statistics, you should find that your posts help your business thrive.
Until next time.
