By this point, whether you’re just opening your restaurant or you’ve had yours open for decades, you probably know you need an online presence. You’ve been told over and over again that you need to be on social media. You know you only have time for one social media account, so which do you pick?
You might initially want to grab Facebook, as it’s the oldest and widest used social media platform. It’s not a bad idea; billions of people use Facebook, and you won’t go wrong on it if you use it, as long as you pay attention to comments and post regularly – advice that applies to whatever social media platform you eventually pick.
You may want to go with Instagram, which lends itself nicely to beautiful pictures of your delicious food. You can likely garner a lot of attention just from posting those images or videos; plated entrees, behind-the-scenes views of food preparation, smiling faces, and brilliantly designed desserts are just a few of the ways you can find success on Instagram.
We’d recommend skipping Twitter and LinkedIn unless you have specific and unique clientele that are limited in scope. YouTube is still a giant (it’s the largest video platform), but people are going there more to find out how to make a recipe than where to eat. So what does that leave us? It’s no surprise; it’s in the headline of this page, after all.
TikTok.
It’s likely common knowledge that TikTok is most popular with younger audiences; 25% of users are 19 or younger. However, that means a full 75% are older, and are making their own food decisions. These Gen Zers and Millennials are the audiences you need to attract.
And here’s a startling statistic straight from TikTok itself: users open the app around 19 times every day, with an average of almost 90 minutes of use per day. That’s a lot of opportunities for you to catch their attention!
In fact, 38% of TikTok users have visited a restaurant – or ordered food, at least – after seeing it on TikTok. For the record, that’s almost 52 million people.
Even better, TikTok is becoming well-known for restaurant reviews, and we’re not just talking about famous influencers telling people whether a location’s food is good or bad. We’re talking about reviews from “average” people, with videos of them eating and their reactions to the food. This is one of the most powerful methods of marketing your restaurant. And according to an Upserve study, 77% of people trust peer reviews over critics.
Don’t believe us? Check out what happened to a Vegas restaurant after an honest TikTok review.
Obviously, not everyone is going to find the same results as Frankensons, but even a small boost in customers can help, and it’s worth it to try. We recommend creating an account and making sure your restaurant is on TikTok! If that isn’t going to work for you, try to get an influencer to post about your restaurant, which can give a temporary boost in sales.
