What Makes Digital Marketing Agencies For Restaurants Unique?

Digital marketing agencies for restaurants particularly service clients from the hospitality sector. So, they have unique insights into the industry that allows them to:

  • Fast-track performance: Thanks to their expertise and relevant domain knowledge, these companies can accelerate project delivery and bring quicker results.
  • Gain deeper insights: Their experience with clients from the hospitality sector allows them to pose the right questions, understand your needs better and interpret the key data contextually for a more accurate analysis.
  • Use tested tactics: Every digital marketing agency for restaurants has tested different strategies so they know what works and what doesn’t. What’s more, they are always on top of industry trends which gives you another fast-pass to your desired results.
Digital marketers discussing project strategies
McDonald’s spent $624 million on advertising in 2019

What Do Digital Marketing Agencies For Restaurants Do?

Digital marketing agencies for restaurants help restaurants and other hospitality businesses foster growth by developing tailored strategies and using proven tactics across various channels.

Some of the services they offer include:

Service #1: Social Media

68% of restaurant operators use Facebook to promote their business, while 24% use Instagram. (Hubspot)

Digital marketing experts monitor the shifts in their “native” landscape, such as Facebook‘s increasing prioritization of friend and family relationships at the expense of brand-customer ones, as well the rise of Instagram’s location-based searches.

Social media is a diverse ecosystem. To make the most of it, your digital marketing partner will help you:

  • Identify the right channels
  • Employ organic and paid tactics to grow brand exposure
  • Create unique and engaging content
  • Foster customer relationships
  • Interact with qualified leads

Service #2: Content Creation

The best digital marketing agencies for restaurants develop high-quality content for all market segments and stages of the customer journey.

The most effective types of content for hospitality businesses are:

  • Social media and video content build interest and desire
  • Blog optimizes your rankings on search
  • Digital PR improves brand awareness and perception
  • Web content informs your audiences of your offering and rates
  • The mix of these boosts your local SEO
  • And more

Service #3: Paid Advertising

McDonald’s spent $624 million on advertising in 2019. (Statista)

Paid search and social media advertising are effective ways of encountering your prospective clients in their restaurant research journey.

Carefully targeted paid campaigns allow you to attract highly qualified leads identified by:

  • Age and gender
  • Location
  • Interests
  • And more
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Service #4: Email Marketing

Email marketing is a useful relationship building and maintenance channel for restaurants and other hospitality businesses.

Your digital marketing partner will use it to:

  • Communicate promotions to your leads
  • Send rewards to loyal customers
  • Announce events and corporate updates
  • Promote your digital content
  • And more

Service #5: Review Platforms

Through carefully devised strategies, a digital marketing agency for restaurants will improve client reviews and visibility on the independent ranking and review platforms.

The benefits of optimizing online feedback and third-party recognition include:

  • Improvement of the local SEO
  • Increase in brand awareness
  • Improvement in brand perception
  • And more

Digital marketing agencies for restaurants: the number of guests who check out a restaurant online before dining.

How Much Does Digital Marketing For Restaurants Cost?

The cost of digital marketing for restaurants will vary among agencies and will mostly depend on:

  • The company location
  • The company size and seniority
  • Your requirements
  • The project complexity

These companies may also offer various pricing structures including:

  • A result-based fee
  • A Fee per hour
  • A flat fee

The fee per hour is one of the most common billing options and it approximately ranges between $50 and $150.

Submitting a restaurant review
The cost of digital marketing for restaurants approximately ranges between $50 and $150 per hour

Why Invest In Digital Marketing For Restaurants?

90% of guests check out a restaurant online before dining. (Upserve)

With the rise of local search, review platforms and image-driven social media like Instagram and TikTok, restaurants have more channels and opportunities to reach their audiences than ever.

However, as the digital marketing landscape evolves, so does the competition. This is why hospitality businesses are outsourcing their digital marketing efforts to professionals.

Besides enjoying the professional services, outsourcing your digital marketing efforts brings several business benefits:

  • It allows your teams to focus on their main line of work
  • You don’t have to employ and commit to new resources
  • You work with a team of specialists rather than with a few generalists
  • You get access to expensive digital marketing tools
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How To Choose The Right Digital Marketing Agency For Restaurants?

To find the right digital marketing agency for restaurants for your business, focus on the agencies that demonstrate a deep understanding of your ecosystem and local business marketing.

Here are a few tips to help you in your search:

  • Scan the market: If you are unaware of the skills and services available to you, start by learning about the agencies, their offering, average rates, past clients and more. Our ranking list is a great place to start.
  • Focus on location-based marketing expertise: Brick and mortar businesses enjoy different online opportunities from digital ones. Not only do search engines recognize local search intent, but your searches are much more likely to convert. This is why you need experts in promoting local businesses online.
  • Look for industry experience: Not a decisive factor, but surely a helpful one. Aware of your unique business ecosystem, agencies with previous hospitality experience are more likely to show results faster and develop more efficient strategies.
  • Assess project portfolios: Visit the agencies’ websites and request samples of their past work to find a partner who can represent your business, supporting your vision and maintaining your standards.
  • Assess their awareness and compliance with the relevant laws: Whether it is web accessibility or user data protection, look for partners who take all the necessary measures to respect and protect your users, as well as your business.

Digital marketing agencies for restaurants: the percentage of restaurant operators who use Facebook to promote their business, while 24% use Instagram.

10 Questions To Ask Digital Marketing Agencies Before You Hire One

  1. Which of your location-based marketing projects would you highlight and why?
  2. Who are your past clients in the hospitality industry?
  3. Which digital marketing channels and tactics do you specialize in and why?
  4. How do you incorporate online reputation management into your digital marketing strategy?
  5. How do you stay on top of the latest industry developments?
  6. Which platforms do you use for project management and marketing automation?
  7. How would we be able to monitor your performance?
  8. When could we expect to see the results?
  9. Which digital marketing budget would help us reach our business goals?
  10. Who would be our main points of contact at your organization?

Found A Digital Marketing Agency For Restaurants? Take This One Last Step Before Signing The Contract

Before committing to your digital marketing agency for restaurants, be sure to clearly define your roles and responsibilities in terms of:

  • Cost
  • Payment terms and methods
  • Deliverables
  • User data protection
  • Contingencies

Your contract or agreement should reflect all these points to ensure transparency and to protect your business in case of unforeseeable events.

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