How to use Facebook Ads to reach Restaurant Visitors

Let me start by asking you a question: How often do you find yourself reading a leaflet that has arrived through the mail or perusing the adverts in a local magazine or newspaper? As time goes on, we turn less and less to printed materials and more and more to the internet for knowledge. People can now get information so easily on their phones and computers that traditional forms of advertising are beginning to lose ground. Whilst papers are still sold, radio stations still make money from advertising and businesses still put menus through letterboxes, social media is a great way to get more people into your restaurant, because almost everyone is on Facebook.

Printed articles in magazines, newspapers, and flyers were quite successful in the past. They are currently being left behind by the information era. The typical person spends more than an hour every day on Facebook, which is one of the many reasons why it has become a game-changer for the restaurant owners that use it.

One of the social media behemoths, Facebook has over 2.7 billion active monthly users, or almost a third of the world’s population. Due to the size of its audience and the way its advertising algorithms operate, Facebook has become a crucial component of advertising, and even now with platforms like TikTok springing up and gaining a lot of success, it’s the algorithms and advertising tools that Facebook utilizes that keep them ahead in the game.

How can I make the Most out of Advertising My Restaurant on Facebook?

Many business owners are frequently uncertain of how to maximize the effectiveness of their Facebook advertising. Navigation via the abundance of tabs and the appearance of the ad tools and statistics can be daunting and can be a headache, especially if you’re not into analytics. If this is the case, your rivals may have an edge over you – especially if they have a marketing team of their own. As a long time Facebook marketer, I can promise you that it is not hard to use Facebook ads to benefit restaurants and takeaways. They are two of the few businesses that can succeed with little to no knowledge of how the adverts actually work, due to the fact that almost everyone frequents restaurants and takeaways at some point.

If you’re not using Facebook to push your restaurant forwards, you need to be aware of one thing: You are missing out! Your competitors can simply contact potential customers with Facebook Ads. They may quickly reach local residents with information about their website, menu, and exclusive promotional offers. You can do this easily!

There are Three things to remember when using Facebook Ads as a Restaurant or Takeaway Owner!
  • Local targeting within the shortest acceptable range is the only targeting you need. This is because Facebook’s algorithm for ads may prioritize people who like to eat out, but you are putting a lot more money into getting results, and potentially hitting the wrong targets if you don’t have a lot of experience with advertising. What we want is maximum coverage for minimum pay out. The reasoning is simple! Most people love restaurants, dining out and spending time with friends. You don’t need to home in on a specific audience like some companies actively have to, as almost everyone you will reach will either enjoy dining out or know someone who does.
  • Picture quality matters, but not in the way you might think. Everyone is used to false advertising. We’ve all seen what McDonalds burgers look like and know the sad truth behind the reality. People have learned that images that are set up to look beautiful, perfectly lit and edited to perfection are not reality. Real pictures of real food have done more for every single one of my clients than stock photos or professionally taken images, because customers know what reality looks like. You’re running a restaurant not making a marvel movie, and the food is your product. Be proud of it! Another issue with using stock or edited images is that if the first bite is with the eye, and your food doesn’t measure up to the perfection customers expect, you are not going to get reviews that will benefit you as often as you will by showing reality.
  • Whilst advertising is expensive, the lifetime value of a customer can equate to thousands of pounds if you are providing an excellent service. Even if you spend £100.00 to get a regular in, just ask yourself the question: “How many people dine alone?” It is almost impossible to fail with Facebook ads.

All you need to do is to set up a simple advert, targeting the local area, with a few pictures you’ve taken on your phone or camera, getting people to like your page. As the likes on the page increase, so will interactions on all your posts over time. This will increase your natural reach, and restaurants and takeaways are two of the few companies that can use this effectively. Once people like your page, they’ll start to see the quality of your product, friends will get tagged, and people will start coming in. You only need to do a post every few days as well. I like posting between 3 to 5 pm to hit the most people when posting on days the restaurants are serving.

If you ever find yourself struggling with Facebook Ads and you want to make them work, you can always contact us. We are highly experienced at using them and have many tools we can use to grow your restaurant business.

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