How to Use Content Marketing to Attract Millennials to Your Restaurant

By Nancy P. Howard , Contributor

Understanding who your target audience is, and what they represent is the first key to properly reaching and engaging them. Millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996, and so are currently the largest generation in the US. They are immensely concerned about the worth of a product or service, and they favor values like happiness, passion, diversity, sharing, and discovery.

Millennials have substantial spending power and are interested in the process and not just the end-point. Due to this mindset and their numbers, it is crucial to create a great marketing strategy for profitable customer action. When their preferences, such as personalized services, are met, the rewards can be a ripple action spread over years, for the restaurant.

Content Marketing to Attract Millennials to Your Restaurant

In attracting Millennials to your restaurant, the first thing you must ensure is that your ads match the atmosphere. There is nothing they dislike more than a promise that does not go as planned. As you look to attract guests and potential customers, ensure that your restaurant stays in tune with the promises in your marketing strategy.

Tell Your Restaurant’s Unique Story

Millennials love a good story, especially when it is sincere, relevant, and engaging. They care about the mission and culture of your restaurant. While wanting to be part of unique experiences, they are interested in knowing what makes you different compared to your competitors.

In your content marketing, show your guests what initiatives you are taking or intentions to make a positive change to the environment. For instance, if your restaurant uses locally sourced, organic, and hormone-free products in your meals, your Millennial customers will be glad to know. Great ventures or stories for content marketing campaigns include:

• Offering diverse ethnic menus such as fusion cuisine

• Menu customization, such as portion size customization, elimination of certain ingredients, vegan options, and special diets.

• Supporting local charitable causes and promoting environmental concepts. Millennials love brands that care about the environment and give back to the community. But it has to be sincere.

• Sharing the milestones or giving information about the restaurant’s social causes and local events.

Utilize Technology

Millennials were raised with computers and mobile phones; hence they are tech-savvy. They love technology and anything that makes life easier. So, strive to employ accessible restaurant technology that makes the experience fun and less stressful. This strategy is sure to make them invite others. Ways to use technology include:

• Guest management platform that ensures that customer reservations are duly observed.

• Guest Wi-Fi

• Use of POS system to make payments easier

• Email and text message marketing: Advertise your restaurant through emails or by texting updates, newsletters, special promos, coupons, and discounts to your customers. Emails are preferable to Millennials compared to paper mailings and flyers. You can obtain the customer's email addresses from the guest management platform. Personalize your emails based on the customer. Create a personal atmosphere and try to keep in touch by celebrating customers on their special days either by text or in-person can be effective, as well.

• Self-service and ordering: Fewer Millennials visit or eat at restaurants in recent years. For effective content marketing, consider offers such as gourmet food trucks, online or food delivery services, as well as tableside orders and drive-through orders.

Reviews & Recommendations

When catering to Millennials, it is best to get feedback as this will help you improve your services or encourage you on what you are doing great. If they love you, your guests will recommend you to their friends and family, and it can go a long way in ensuring your restaurant’s success. So, encourage your customers to invite their friends by creating content they cannot forget to rave about.

An online presence with a website where customers can provide testimonials and reviews is a very effective means of attracting more customers. You can also encourage guests to post about their experience at your restaurant on their social media profiles. The reviews will expose your brand to others based on their influence and following.

Use Social Platforms

85% of Millennials own smartphones, and the majority of them are on social media. This reality makes social media a great medium to reach them. Understand, however, that different social platforms target different audiences. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter are popular platforms with great benefits for targeting Millennials.

Be sure to be sincere in your ads, as most Millennials tend to question them. Be very engaging with your social presence. Build campaigns and share your restaurant’s stories on your social media. The use of visual media such as videos, images, memes, and animated gifs is a sure way of attracting Millennials faster.

Offer a Loyalty Program

You can drive more sales if you offer loyalty programs as they tend to increase customers’ value and make them feel more in control of their choices, according to Software Advice. More guests will select to eat at or order food from a restaurant if they belong to its loyalty program. Since the idea is to appeal to Millennials, a digital loyalty program will go a long way compared to issuing out cards that can be lost. Going digital means the customer can keep track of his/her loyalty points on the phone.

Conclusion

Millennials are adventurous and always in search of new and healthy trends. By providing them with such in your restaurant, you will be keeping them as customers for a long while and attracting new guests. New trends your restaurant can provide include locally cured meats, Asian spices, sour flavors, Indian foods, sweet and savory combos, special diets. And remember to advertise from a realistic and transparent point of view that gives purpose to your marketing.

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About the Author
Nancy P. Howard has been working as a writing expert at writing services, where you can pay someone to write my paper or buy dissertation. She loves travelling, photography and is always welcome to meet new people.

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