27 Jan Outsource Your Restaurant Website & Social Media to Pros in 2022
As 2022 kicks off, operators that wish to stay competitive must upgrade their website and social media presence to keep up with the changing restaurant world. finding the time to do so while actually running a quality restaurant is virtually impossible.
With supply chain disruptions, the labor shortage, increased competition on 3rd party marketplaces, ill-tempered patrons, and staff sick days, there is barely time for anything else (let alone reading this last sentence).
While it’s meant to make our lives easier, restaurant technology can still be time consuming and increasingly complex. The time and skill set required to keep all your social media channels, website, POS and scheduling systems and other tech tools up to date and effective is becoming harder.
The solution is outsourcing. Many digital marketing agencies provide website design and maintenance, engaging social media content, and online interaction with patrons. Having all these services under one roof is essential for maximizing the impact of every morsel of content, and every dollar spent.
What to Look for When Upgrading Your Restaurant Website
Outsourcing the design, development and maintenance of a restaurant’s new website should not be taken lightly. Operators should make sure they are getting a premium package with the latest features.
Key features to look for include:
- Design – Professional graphics, hi-resolution images, and captivating animations that reflect the restaurant’s vibe and level of service.
- Compatibility – The site should be compatible with all mobile devices, even the older ones.
- Maintenance – Web hosting, software updates, and the latest virus protection are critical.
- Essential modules – Restaurants today need career and popup announcement features to support different events, promos, and open positions.
- Digital menu – An interactive digital menu and on-table QR codes allow dine-in customers to review the menu comfortably on their own devices without concerns for hygiene.
- Online ordering – Connecting a restaurant’s website to the other digital systems, like POS management and 3rd party delivery apps, makes it easy for patrons to order and reserve, thus driving profits.
- Embedded social media – Live feeds help bring all social media efforts to the main website. This could be user-generated TikTok videos from inside the restaurant or Instagram photos of the dishes. It can also be a live feed from the restaurant’s Facebook page. These keep the website fresh while giving an extra push to likes and shares which drive interest and orders.
- Multiple locations – Restaurants with multiple locations should inquire about how each venue’s web presence can be managed individually.
- Turnaround time – 2-4 weeks is a reasonable period in which to get a new website up and running.
- Support – Responsive customer service will ensure that all features are optimized to drive sales and that the website is constantly up to date.
Professional Social Media Management for Restaurants
To effectively manage all the social media outlets, restaurants need professional marketers using industrial level social media tools.
Look out for these key features when outsourcing a restaurant’s social media:
- Gain control of your online content – Control of the restaurant’s critical details across all relevant platforms – like Facebook, Instagram, Google MyBusiness, TripAdvisor and Yelp – is crucial for driving sales.
- Monthly content plan – A planned monthly array of engaging content will get the message out about specials, events, happy-hours, promo deals, and open positions. Creating at least 5 posts a week should be your target.
- Quality Design and copywriting – Captivating imagery, witty slogans, and clear messaging are the core of social media posts. Choose a supplier that creates high quality and engaging posts on a regular basis.
- Control – In all cases, restaurant operators should retain full control of the posts so no message goes live without approval.
- Tracking Metrics – Tracking performance on social media with quantitative metrics is the only way to make sure every piece of content (and dollar) spent is making an impact and driving sales. Things that aren’t working should be analyzed and adjusted on-the-go.
Leveraging Online Reviews
An important and frequently overlooked part of social media marketing is managing and generating online reviews. Keeping track and replying to lots of great reviews is hard enough, but when there is a bad review, operators must know immediately.
That’s where professional agencies come in. They leave no review unattended and provide strategic answers that can turn unhappy customers into return customers.
3 Services Under 1 Roof for Maximum Impact
240Group is a full-service website design and social media management solution that has just been added to the Cheetah coalition of carefully vetted suppliers. The Cheetah Coalition is a group of hand-selected business services we curate to help your restaurant thrive.
240Group have worked with hundreds of restaurants since 2015, and have developed a deep understanding of what great food-service marketing requires.
When it comes to menus, 240Group will reconstruct your menu using interactive drop-downs and adaptive fonts for easy navigation and ordering. They will also handle Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and generate a careers page with online application forms to aid the recruiting efforts, at no extra charge.
240Group’s websites integrate with most POS and 3rd party delivery systems. And for those who don’t have direct online ordering, 24oGroup provides the online ordering system so your customers can place the orders for your restaurant. This offer has no set-setup fee, no-contract, no-monthly, and no-minimum.
One of our favorite things about 240Group is their fleet of marketing managers. They will reply to an unlimited amount of online reviews every month, and connect with the internal marketing team to share shining reviews on other sites, as well as the restaurant’s main website.
Cheetah Discount to Get Started With 240 Group
Just like Cheetah, 240Group considers transparency a core value. A breath of fresh air in the current industry climate where major broadliners treat smaller restaurants unfairly.
That’s why 240Group’s pricing is clearly posted online, plus they have a NO CONTRACTS policy – a major benefit for restaurants. They are basically saying: “If you’re not satisfied, and we can’t make it better, let’s part ways as friends”. It promises they will constantly be improving and outperforming themselves.
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