2018 Trends Social Media Landscape For Restaurant Managers & Owners

Long-Standing & New Emerging Trends of Social Media Landscape For Restaurant Managers & Owners: How to market to the different audiences on Social Media. Demographic data from Pew Research Center 2018 Report. 

The two social media platforms which dominate use by adults in the U.S. are… you probably guessed it, Facebook & YouTube. There are also new emerging trends of social media use which your restaurant can use to cater your marketing to. 

Here is statistical information about the demographics using various social media platforms along with industry advice from Main Goes Big Restaurant Digital Marketing professionals of how to best utilize the most popular social media platforms.

Those young adults are dominating a new set of social media platforms & catering to their taste will go a long way in your restaurant’s social media posts & ads. 

78% of 18-24 year olds now use Snapchat.

71% of young adults visit Snapchat multiple times a day. 

71% of the 18-24 crowd are using Instagram. 

Almost half of the amount of users on Instagram are Twitter users (41%). 

Instagram Tip: One of the restaurant owners & managers I work with had really great results posting a sign by the entrance which lets people know their restaurant’s hashtag (#yourrestaurant) & asks patrons to post a picture on Instagram. Offering an incentive for posts with pictures featuring the hashtag encourages regular postings.

“Facebook is still the primary platform for most Americans.” (Pew Research Center 2018 Report). The reach of Facebook never ceases to amaze me, and the success of social media campaigns on Facebook have been quite impressive. We utilize Instagram with Facebook and have received great results.

68% of adults in the U.S. actively use Facebook.

A majority of Facebook users use the platform daily.

YouTube is a great social media platform which every restaurant owner should be taking advantage of. Get some fun videos, they don’t have to be standard commercials, think outside of the box for fun videos on your community, events, the kind of food you serve, and just fun inspirational videos you find.

YouTube, the notorious video-sharing social media platform, is used by three-quarters of U.S. adults.

94% of young adults in the 18-24 category use YouTube!

The average American consumer uses at least 3 of the major platforms! It’s a great way to get your restaurant brand out there in front of people multiple times throughout their day without spamming anyone. Multiple platforms is the name of the game when it comes to restaurant Social Media marketing strategies.

If you are just starting to really take advantage of social media for your restaurant, or need guidance on getting better results here are some important tips to keep in mind:

Facebook - Showcase your brand with videos and images. Videos of local events, funny, or inspiring imagery creates content people want to see. Include your business name and the city with every post. Share your customers postings from other sites on Facebook.

YouTube - Come across a funny or interesting video? Share it on YouTube! Be sure to include your restaurants full business name & website in the posting text. Keywords & supporting keywords are good to include too but in a sentence structure. For example “Does this make you want some good fresh Italian food? Stop in to (your restaurant) where the food is hot & the beer is cold.” OK, a little much but you get the idea. The type of food & your restaurant name are the keywords, the fresh, food, hot, cold, beer, good, are all examples of supporting keywords. They help define what you are all about and help people find you.

Instagram - This is a great platform because you can share on multiple social media platforms from Instagram. Reach out to influencers to share their postings and include your hashtags & theirs. Give shoutouts to other local businesses & organizations. Include postings of fun & inspiring images which support your restaurants image.

Twitter - We incorporate Twitter with all our promotions so messages are posted to the feed at the same time they are promoted by text & email. This allows for people to see the promotions on multiple channels without spamming.

Pinterest - Don’t limit yourself to sharing images of your restaurant & food. Share images & websites of local things to do. Share quotes and inspiring photographs. Set up a recipe board to share food for the following popular categories: Entertaining, Drinks, Desserts, Vegetarian, Vegan. These posting will help build your audience and expand your reach when you post pictures of your restaurant.

Snapchat - Yes, Snapchat is worth the time investment. Set up your profile & check in weekly to share & keep up with your customers.

Yelp - Yelp integrates with Apple’s search, so it is good to have your Yelp page optimized with details of your address, phone number, website, business hours, pictures, and any special promotions you offer. Take the time to respond to reviews & reach out to people who review a lot of restaurants and have a lot of followers. Their audience can be reached by simply offering a free meal next time they are in the area.

Google - Local SEO practices are good to keep up with. In a recent conversation with a Google My Business representative they emphasized the importance of logging into the GMB account & selecting the option for “Post” (on the lefthand side when you log in). In the GMB Post use your business name, those keywords & supporting keywords. Be sure to include a nice picture of smiling people &/or yummy food pictures along with your website link (under “Add Button” option).

More about Google & Local SEO practices: Blog Post, Local SEO Best Practices For Businesses.

Love those creative social media campaigns! Hope this helps to inspire & direct you restaurant social media marketers to reach a larger audience with your restaurant marketing campaigns!

Main Goes Big Restaurant Digital Marketing Specialists are here to help with any restaurant digital marketing needs:

info@maingoesbig.com 

Sources:

http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-social-media-demographics-report-2017-8