Local restaurant marketing can be intimidating if you don’t know where to start. The tactics that larger companies take often won’t apply quite as well toward smaller businesses in your local neck of the woods, meaning you’ll need to adapt. While that can be challenging at first, once you have the hang of things, it’ll become second nature. In this blog we’ll discuss local marketing ideas for restaurants and, importantly, how to implement them effectively.
Why Local Marketing Matters for Restaurants
Local restaurant marketing is important for a number of reasons, but the largest of them is the simple fact that it gets more people through your doors. While not every guest will become a regular, the more people you bring in, the better. With that in mind, the first step to understanding how to market your restaurant is to understand your local market and target audience.
Understanding Your Local Market and Audience
By conducting market research and taking the time to learn about your local audience, you’ll find that just about every aspect of local restaurant marketing becomes easier once you know who you’re marketing to. You’ll be able to place what strategies have worked for others in the same area, which haven’t, and identify who in your community is most likely to engage with your efforts. From there, you can build a strategy to engage with the most people possible in your community while avoiding the pitfalls that others have found in the past.
Community Engagement and Partnership Ideas
When it comes to local restaurant marketing, community engagement and partnership is incredibly important to your success. What does that mean, exactly, you may ask? Put simply, it means involving your community (both customers and other businesses, when possible) in events. This creates a sense of community and, importantly, allows you to highlight things in your community that matter to you.
Collaborating with Local Businesses
One of the easiest ways to get local eyes on your business is through restaurant partnerships. While this will require some time and effort, it’s often quite a beneficial strategy for restaurants. By finding businesses that align with your goals and partnering with them, whether that’s through special deals or simply highlighting each others’ work, it can help bring a bit of spotlight to each of you.
Sponsoring or Participating in Local Events
Local events are, by their very nature, community-based things. They involve the people in your community, whether it’s through sports, art, or food, and that means that you should be involved in as many as possible. Some restaurants do this by sponsoring local little league games or professional sports leagues in the area, while others show up to local farmer’s markets, art shows, and local conferences.
No matter how you choose to do it, sponsoring a local event (or participating in one) is an excellent way to get involved in local restaurant marketing while building a name for your business as one that stands with your community.
Hosting Community-Focused Events at Your Restaurant
Hosting community-focused events is a great way to establish your restaurant as a local hub and build strong connections with your neighborhood. Consider organizing events such as local charity fundraisers, seasonal festivals, or collaborations with nearby businesses. These types of events not only bring people together but also create a sense of belonging, encouraging guests to return regularly. By positioning your restaurant as a venue for meaningful community gatherings, you’ll foster goodwill and increase foot traffic from customers who appreciate your commitment to the area.
Social Media Strategies for Local Outreach
Utilizing Location-Based Social Media Ads
If you’re at the point where you feel comfortable paying for social media ads, it’s important to remember to localize them. Obviously, if you run a national chain, this doesn’t apply, but in the world of local restaurant marketing, it’s vital.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to target ads by location, ensuring that only people within a specific radius of your restaurant see them. By narrowing your audience to local diners, you can create ads that speak directly to the community’s preferences and needs, promoting limited-time offers, special events, or new menu items.
Engaging with Local Influencers and Bloggers
Partnering with local restaurant influencers and bloggers is a highly effective way to amplify your restaurant’s visibility in the community. By collaborating with individuals who already have a strong following in your area, you can reach potential customers through trusted voices they already engage with. Offer complimentary meals, host exclusive events, or create special promotions in exchange for reviews or social media mentions. This approach not only increases your exposure but also builds credibility through authentic endorsements. Be sure to choose influencers whose audience aligns with your target market to maximize the impact of your local outreach efforts.
Creating Geo-Targeted Social Media Content
When developing content for your social media channels, geo-targeting allows you to focus your efforts on people in your immediate area. Use location tags, city-specific hashtags, and check-ins to highlight your restaurant’s presence in the community. Share updates on relevant local events, partnerships with nearby businesses, or neighborhood news to make your content feel relevant and timely.
Traditional Local Marketing Tactics
Now that we’ve talked about the more modern side of marketing, let’s discuss the more traditional avenues you can take for local restaurant marketing.
Distributing Flyers and Posters in High-Traffic Areas
Flyers and posters are a time-honored tradition, and for good reason. When placed in high-traffic areas such as bulletin boards, major intersections, and common gathering areas like pubs and cafes, you’ll find that you get more natural foot traffic as people find your posters. With that said, always get permission to post them (either from the business/property owner or the city) and post responsibly — don’t litter your city with posters and flyers.
Offering Special Discounts and Promotions to Local Residents
A fantastic way to encourage local foot traffic is to encourage a local discount. Whether that takes the form of a student discount with an ID from your local college or high school or a coupon sent by snail mail, give your locals some love. You’ll find that they return the favor and may become loyal customers of your restaurant.
Running a Direct Mail Campaign
Running a direct mail campaign is a time-tested local marketing tactic that can still deliver great results for restaurants. By sending out physical mailers, such as postcards or flyers, to homes and businesses in your area, you can promote special offers, seasonal menus, or upcoming events. To maximize effectiveness, consider including a limited-time discount or a coupon to encourage recipients to visit your restaurant.
Creative Local Marketing Ideas
Organizing a Restaurant Scavenger Hunt or Local Contest
Local contests are an excellent way to engage in local restaurant marketing. Whether it’s a costume contest, karaoke competition, art show, or scavenger hunt, people are (by their very nature) competitive — so lean into it. This is where posters, flyers, and yes, social media ads come into play.
By advertising something that forces guests not only to come in, but to potentially invite their friends and family, you’re getting more return on investment from the same marketing efforts.
Creating a Loyalty Program for Local Customers
Loyalty programs are a time-honored tradition in local restaurant marketing, and for good reason. Something as simple as a punch card can have people more willing to swing through for a snack or drink. After all, who doesn’t love a good discount?
The simple act of offering a “buy nine, get the tenth free” deal can often be the slight push toward your business that a potential customer needs. So, offer a loyalty program for locals — you’d be surprised how much they love it.
Partnering with Local Charities or Nonprofits
For our last point about local restaurant marketing, it’s time to bring things back around to local events and partnerships. Chances are that the charities in your area need support; whether that comes in the form of money, time (via volunteers), or visibility, you should take the opportunity to get involved. Often, local restaurants offer event nights where proceeds (or a part of them) go toward a local charity.
This allows you to market your restaurant, get a bit of good word of mouth, and help a local charity in need. Whether you do it as a recurring event every week or month, or as a one-time thing, those who run the charity will certainly be thankful, and your guests will likely respect your business all the more for it.
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