TripAdvisor. The very name used to send shudders down the spine of the average restaurant owner or marketing manager. Simply no longer, surely. These days, online consumer reviews are mostly an accepted office of the landscape. Instead of stressing about what to do afterward a bad review, restaurants should actively become out and use social media marketing to grow, proceeds publicity and, crucially, get more bookings.

ICYMI: How to deal with TripAdvisor

Over the years, plenty of social media marketing manufactures have looked at how restaurants tin can deal with the miracle of client reviews. In Case You lot Missed Information technology, here are a few height tips:

Claim the proficient

Consumer reviews are powerful. They are trusted. A recent study showed that 70% of consumers trust online reviews. Many restaurants contain their TripAdvisor reviews or ratings into their websites, as well as displaying them at their premises. Highlighting skilful reviews by previous customers is an effective fashion of winning new customers.

Bodega restaurant with TripAdvisor

Address the bad

Review sites similar TripAdvisor are public, which means any criticism of you is out at that place for the globe to run into. Instead of ignoring negative reviews, respond to them where appropriate. If it's factually incorrect, prepare the record directly in a calm and not-confrontational way. If mistakes were fabricated, apologise. Look at this as an opportunity to show anybody how good you lot are at customer service.

Exercise what you do best

At the end of the 24-hour interval, it's great food and great service that makes a great eating place. Continuing to evangelize these will only result in happy customers. Naggers and naysayers even so, this should mean amend online reviews.

How should restaurants use social media?

Before we go onto social media marketing, here are a few practical examples of how social media can help:

Customer service

Many customers will ask about the carte, or other things, via Twitter or Facebook. Dealing with questions online frees up the phone for bookings, which of course can also be made via social media if y'all like.

Filling up seats on 'wearisome days'

Big table simply cancelled? No problem - put out the word on Twitter that yous have seats available. No ane at the bar on Tuesday night? Announce an impromptu Happy Hour to tempt people in. Perhaps offer a gratis drink to the first five people who come in and prove the post on their smartphone. Social media marketing allows you to be flexible and react to the needs of the business instantly.

Recruiting the right staff

Using your social media marketing channels you tin can put out the word about a new position cheaply and easily. Yous can too proactively target people with the right skills for higher level jobs. LinkedIn, the 'professional network,' is particularly useful for researching potential candidates.

Social media marketing for restaurants

NOMA restaurant social media marketing

Food and beverage is a Large talking point online. Instagram lonely has over 27 million nutrient photos posted every day, and trends like the popularity of craft beer are fuelled and encouraged by social media. As a restaurant, bar or buffet, y'all are serving up exactly what the Internet loves. Here'due south how to make the most of information technology via social media:

  1. It's all nigh images

Nutrient photos might exist even more pop than cat videos. Y'all can't sign into Facebook or Instagram without seeing a photograph of someone'due south meal. Pinterest is a network entirely dedicated to saving beautiful images. Customers love to see and share pictures of appetising food. Restaurants should be pumping out enticing, shareable images of what's on the menu to tempt customers in. And many of them are.

  1. Don't broadcast, interact

The difference between traditional media and social media marketing is simple. Erstwhile media was all about broadcasting - putting your message out at that place with no response. Retrieve of a TV advertising or a affiche - y'all make it, you whack it out in that location and you promise something happens. But these days, y'all tin can be more intelligent. Communicating via social media marketing allows you to showtime conversations, become customer feedback and valuable business organisation data. And so don't just constantly tweet that information technology'south 2 for One Tuesday, seek opinions and ideas. Get talking to your customers to observe out what they require, and what makes them tick. Social media can be a gratis market place research tool.

  1. Give away your secrets

The Hand and Flowers tweet ingredients

Not the important ones - not your PIN number, or the secret spice mix that makes your chipotle special. But social media users love insight. This is an opportunity to give them glimpses into behind-the-scenes action: perhaps a glimpse of your fresh ingredients, or a shot of the defended chef at work. If you take a large project going on, like a refurbishment or a new opening, why non drip-feed teaser photos to get people intrigued and anticipating? Remember of social media marketing as a quicker, more agile mode of staying in touch with your customers and getting new ones interested.

  1. Get people doing your marketing for FREE

At present this is the Holy Grail of social media marketing. It takes time, just if you build a loyal, engaged community of followers on social media, you will outset to see great dividends. People will repost and reshare your photos, help yous spread your news via their ain networks, and dilate your activities. It's non simply a question of numbers; it's nearly sharing cracking content over time, getting to know your audience and building that special bond over time.

Take Abroad

And then all in all, there is plenty of scope in social media marketing for restaurants. There's no longer any alibi to fret nigh the Cyberspace, or to hang back from social media. Instead, it's time to swoop in with both anxiety! Don't get hung upwards almost how to react to a bad TripAdvisor review - get proactive and offset using social media to fill your seats and make your eating house famous.