Social media is well known to be the most influential media channel for restaurant business promotion.
However, despite the effectiveness of all the social media platforms, during these times of COVID-19 restrictions, the power of video marketing has become a top priority for restaurant promotion.
Therefore, it should be no surprise that TikTok has emerged as a leading social media platform for restaurants to promote their brand to an online audience.
It requires no fancy editing or directing skills to create brief and engaging videos. On top of that TikTok provides easy access to one of the world’s fastest-growing audiences.
TikTok continues to evolve and present new and enhanced opportunities on a near-daily basis.
To stand out from the crowd on TikTok, new restaurants need to get the word out about their new profile with the help of different means like their website, social media platforms, email signature, and other channels they can nudge people to follow them.
Share your TikTok profile through other channels
TikTok is known to have one of the most aggressive algorithms in social media, with the platform pushing engagement above all else. This helps to keep users entertained like never before and lets the platform grow at an impressive rate. But at the same time, TikTok’s algorithm can make it hard to get noticed.
Here are a few ideas on how to get the most out of your TikTok account when promoting a restaurant, gaining new followers, and giving your profile a jump start.
Website
If you already have a website, then it can be a perfect place to promote your new TikTok profile.
Add the TikTok logo and a link to your profile alongside your Instagram and Facebook links on your website. To push things a little further you could also do an introductory post in your news section about what you’re planning to do on TikTok.
For ongoing promotion, you could do round-ups of the best food-related TikTok content, including your own, in a blog post every month.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Each social media platform has its own unique user demographics. However, many people have accounts across a number of platforms and if they follow you already on one, then they may want to follow you on another.
And due to the fact that TikTok is a relatively new platform, your account may be one of the first these people will follow when they sign up, which would be great for engagement – that potentially can push your profile up the rankings.
Email signatures
Email is one of the most powerful marketing channels. Apart from sending out numerous marketing emails, there is one more important detail with a significant marketing potential that is often overlooked – email signature.
Many people pay particular attention to their email subject lines and body copy, while these email signature examples vividly demonstrate the most powerful part of the email.
The fundamental advantage of an email signature is the possibility to incorporate links to your profiles and the website to drive extra traffic.
Share recipes and teach your audience food culture
Finding your target audience is essential to making your TikTok restaurant profile a success. If your content is engaging and liked by other users, you’ll be able to appeal to wider audiences.
Therefore, do not limit yourself to posting videos of your venue, menu, food preparation, or drinks.
Instead, consider making your content more diverse and engaging by adding some food and culture video content.
Growing your audience by posting some food recipes and traditional food culture reviews will be a piece of cake for you, while the effect will be striking.
Create a hashtag challenge
A TikTok hashtag challenge is a viral activity that results in high engagement on the platform and can drive traffic from it as well.
By participating in your branded hashtag challenge, your followers will create content for you and bring new followers at a scale that will be hard to comprehend due to network viral effects.
Besides, creating and launching a successful hashtag challenge requires only a few simple actions:
- Research the past successful hashtag challenges;
- Come up with a memorable and share-worthy hashtag;
- Keep focused on your restaurant blog;
- Select distinctive and unique audio;
- Lay down simple rules for the followers;
- Promote your challenge.
If a TikTok hashtag challenge is a success, it can become viral and have swept its way across the world within days.
Collaborate with local influencers
For many brands sponsoring influencer content appears to be the most cost-effective way to increase brand awareness.
To work effectively with influencers on TikTok, you need to:
- Set yourself a clear goal;
- Research your audience;
- Choose the influencers for cooperation carefully.
Restaurants are among the brands that are easy to promote on platforms like TikTok. Businesses sponsor meals out for influencers and their friends in return for having their restaurant, location, and menu promoted to their followers.
If your restaurant has a unique way of making cocktails, preparing food, or a fancy new dessert, then the influencers could create great content for TikTok and this could be a win-win situation for both parties.
Make your chef a guide for backstage
We all love to learn new things and are often intrigued to see the life behind the scenes. Therefore, posting videos showing the real life of the restaurant staff, some of your cooking secrets, and tips and tricks to make better food at home can help to go viral on TikTok.
A guided tour backstage or some insight from your chef or bartender will do nothing but good for the overall reputation of your restaurant.
Conclusion
Incorporating TikTok into your restaurant’s marketing strategy is all about having fun and showing the pieces of real life to your followers.
The upbeat mood of the platform makes it a perfect channel for sharing stunning menu items and unique ingredients. Such content has proved to perform well.
If you are looking for a new marketing angle for your restaurant – maybe TikTok is it?
Photograph by Solen Feyissa