By Katherine Rundell, Contributor
As any operator in the restaurant industry knows, bringing people through the doors of your restaurant can be a non-stop challenge. On top of great tasting food and the perfect ambience, a well-thought out and concrete marketing strategy is essential for engaging guests new and old. A blog should be part of this overall strategy to generate buzz, engage with your local community, and boost your restaurant’s SEO value. All of this will put your business in the forefront of your customers' minds and top of search engines.
Coming up with great ideas for your restaurant’s blog whilst running the business can feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Read on for tips on running a restaurant blog that’ll help your sales climb.
Show the World Your Fav Recipes
We’ve shared this idea in other recent blog posts, specifically in terms of restaurant video marketing. However, even if video isn’t your cup of tea, you can still utilize the idea for your restaurant’s blog.
Cooking is a creative business and people are always looking for new inspiration for what to cook. In your time running a restaurant you’ll have developed a huge back catalogue of dishes from creative meals to homey classics. Your blog is the perfect place to share some of these recipes. You’ll be promoting your restaurant’s flavors as well as sharing some knowledge that people will genuinely value.
If you prefer not sharing your restaurant’s recipe secrets, ask your kitchen staff to write up their favorite meals to cook at home for friends and family. Not only are you providing useful content to your guests & followers, but you’re allowing them to make a personal connection with your staff, and therefor your restaurant.
Introduce Your Restaurant’s Employees
Speaking of connecting your staff with your guests…
A friendly vibe is something that any restaurant can benefit from, so it’s a fantastic idea to introduce your staff to the world through your blog. Whether it’s the serving team, or the chefs hidden away in the back, regular visitors to your restaurant will enjoy learning about your employee’s culinary adventures.
what are their favorite things to eat from your restaurant’s menu? What was the journey that brought them to be working in your restaurant? What do they enjoy doing during their off-time?
While this provides a personality to your team for your regulars, new customers who find your restaurant via your blog will feel more comfortable making a visit once they know the staff. Who doesn’t like to recognize a familiar face?
Cover Frequently Asked Questions
Running a business in any industry will reveal that there are certain questions you hear over and over – and restaurants are no exception. Whether you’re getting emails, phone calls, or tags on social channels, tracking these queries will give you an insight into what customers want to know. They also make perfect fodder for a restaurant blog post.
Answering the most popular questions in one place creates a valuable blog that will generate loads of traffic to your site. Be sure to link to the post in your website’s footer or even navigation bar menu to make it easier for your visitors to find.
Promote Your Restaurant’s Events
Running events in your restaurant can be a great way to generate a buzz around your business and to attract new guests who may not have had you on their radar. Keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your town, so you can run a blog post about the best things to do that weekend - of course, one of those things just happens to be your event! Make a night of it!
Keep It Local
If your restaurant’s blog covers all things local then it will become a pillar of your wider community. Covering local interests -- whether its culture, cuisine, events or traditions -- gives your guests an insight into what makes your area special and it’s going to ensure you stand out. So, take pride in your community and use your blog as a vehicle for that pride.
Promote Your Restaurant’s Menu(s)
Coming up with new dishes for your menu? This never-ending task is one of the toughest creative challenges of running a restaurant. The good news is you can actually get your creative juices flowing by blogging about your ideas and inspirations.
When you introduce a new dish, inaugurated it on your blog to celebrate it. Talk about how you came up with the idea, any cultural or historical significance of the dish, and why your guests should come in and give it a try. And be sure to have some high-quality food-porn images of the new meal. If you’re not a great photographer yourself, hiring a professional is always a good investment.
The right mix of images, description, and background will have guests old and new will be tempted to come and give it a try.
Feature Interviews on Your Blog
As a restauranteur, you’ll have plenty of connections to people in the food industry, whether they’re suppliers, nutritionists, or other chefs. People love reading about the wider world of cuisine, so interviewing some of these characters on your blog will drive up traffic and get people to your site.
People are especially interested in food supply chains and environmental practices these days. Interviews with your suppliers can demystify these practices for guests and reassure them that your business has ethical practices that are good for the environment.
Bon Appetit!
Some people struggle when it comes time to start producing blog content - after all, your creative energy goes into producing new, exciting, and flavorful dishes to serve to your customers. The key to creating great content for your blog is to produce something your audience will find valuable, and as an expert in your industry you have so much to share. Serve up some great content on your blog with these top tips for an engaging blog.
About the Author
Katherine Rundell is a blog writer at OX Essays and State Of Writing services and an editor at Bigassignments.com. She is a keen amateur chef and a digital marketing specialist.
