The holidays are here, but is your restaurant ready? As you begin to plan for hosting diners this festive season, make sure to get the word out on social media with these tips …
Plan ahead. Don’t wait until the last minute. Diners and party organisers begin planning the holiday season in early Autumn. Promote your private rooms and floor plans early enough and regularly. While food is one of the top priorities, if you’re marketing private dining or events, remember to share your photos of event space along with booking details.
- Accentuate what’s special. Does your restaurant really deck the halls with boughs of holly? Does your chef do a special croquembouche? Do you have a family-friendly Christmas? Is your New Year’s Eve over-the-top? Be sure to add this little something your diners will remember for next year.
- Regram when you can. Are there pictures of travellers and private events from last year posted by past patrons on Instagram or Twitter? A retweet or regram of the post could do the trick, such as ‘Remembering the spectacular Christmas party that @XYZ threw in our private dining room last year. There’s still time to book your holiday meal. Contact us.’
- Use the right tags. Using the best possible hashtags and geotags when promoting your events will make your posts more noticeable. Geotag the location, your restaurant name, and include the hashtag for the particular holiday, your city + top food hashtags: #food #foodporn #foodie #instafood #foodgasm #foodstagram #foodpics #yummy #delicious #foodlover
- Promote your location’s proximity to anything holiday-related. Are you near Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park? Mention these locations or holiday-related events (and their hashtags) that are happening near your restaurant to attract diners attending these events and seeking out meals before or afterward.
- Invite an influencer ahead of time. Find a small group of influencers who will visit your restaurant to promote your holiday dinners, events or private dining areas in advance of the holidays. Try to form relationships with these influencers. Let them gather with some friends who will post and tag your restaurant on social media in exchange for a fun dining experience.
- Let’s go to the video. Videos tend to draw attention on social media. Use this to your advantage by increasing your number of photo-driven posts with video on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X. 15 seconds or less of delicious dishes and drinks is all it takes.
- Showcase holiday dishes and drinks on TikTok. By now, TikTok is an established part of the social media family. But if you haven’t yet got on the bandwagon, the festive season is a great time to start. Create engaging, holiday-themed TikTok videos that showcase your restaurant’s festive menu items, seasonal cocktails, decorations and more. Use relevant holiday hashtags and sounds to increase discoverability and get people excited to visit for your holiday offerings.
- Consider promotion. If budget allows, look into creating a promoted Instagram or Facebook post to target diners in your city. The self-serve tools on these platforms are easy to use. You can also view Facebook and Instagram business pages for help.
- Partner with local businesses on cross-promotions. Explore co-marketing opportunities by partnering with complementary local businesses like retailers, hotels or event venues. Create joint social media promotions where you both offer discounts or packages to reach broader holiday celebration audiences.
- Monitor social media conversations. Use social media monitoring tools to track online mentions of your restaurant name in real-time. People might be asking the question about whether your spot offers festive menus, and with social media monitoring you can keep on top potential diners expressing interest in holiday dining, respond quickly to comments and questions and even discover influencer marketing opportunities by finding people already raving about your seasonal offerings.
- Engage the community through events and activities. Get involved with local festive events, charities and initiatives happening in your community. Sponsor a holiday market booth, host a festive storytime or ornament-making workshop for kids or create your own social media event or promotion. Find creative ways to share your restaurant’s seasonal spirit while participating in community happenings.
- Boost your posts with social media ads. While organic social media promotion is important, paid advertising can help your most compelling holiday content get in front of the right local audiences. Use paid ad tools on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to boost your top-performing holiday posts, videos and promotions with targeted campaigns reaching potential diners based on interests and locations.
- Go behind the scenes at Christmas and New Year. Give your followers a peek behind-the-curtain by sharing behind-the-scenes moments and anecdotes as you prepare for the festive season. Highlight your team decking the halls, prepping seasonal dishes, crafting holiday cocktails and more. This type of behind-the-scenes content helps humanise your restaurant and build relationships, making guests more likely to celebrate with you.
