If you have a website for your restaurant, you should also have a blog. And here’s why.
Restaurant blogs are beneficial for many reasons. Most importantly, blog articles can generate local traffic to your website. With more people at home now more than ever, they are spending a lot of time surfing the web. They may be Googling to find restaurants that are open and offering takeout or delivery in their local area. Google tends to like websites that are updated frequently with fresh, relevant content. By posting to your blog, it can send a signal to the search engines that you have new information to share with readers and it may increase your search engine rankings. By publishing a new article on your restaurant blog, it gives you something to post about that will keep your social media profiles or email list current. Have a new menu offering such as a family meal deal? Blog about it. Offering a discount on gift cards? Blog about it. Want to communicate how to order from you with social distancing in mind? Blog about it. Then link to that blog article on your social media profiles or email newsletter to drive traffic to your restaurant website. Customers will be happy to see that you’re being proactive in communicating with them. By publishing your own content, you control the narrative. Use the blog as your storytelling platform. Show customers that you are in tune with what is going on in the world and in your local community. Perhaps you can share what steps you’re taking to ensure safety or feature an employee who is working hard through this challenging time. Restaurants are going to be some of the hardest hit during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to connect with your customers on a human level. While times are challenging enough, it may seem daunting to add blog writing to the list of things you need to do in order to stay afloat. It might seem like it will take a lot to work to maintain a blog. Keep in mind that blog articles can be brief and you can get right to the point. Uploading photos and graphics can take up a bit of space with a few lines of text. Maybe, just maybe, you can upload a video to your blog. Video content may grab people’s attention more and it will keep them on the website longer. No matter what you blog about, keep your audience in mind. This is an opportunity to build relationships with new customers and nurture relationships with current customers. It’s a time to put your best foot forward and demonstrate what makes you unique and sets you apart from others. Showcase the things that make your restaurant great and inspiring. Take this time to tell customers why they should support you right now. Connect with them and give them a reason to trust you. Just this simple act will help you gain or maintain a loyal following now and well into the future. Need help with your restaurant blog? Contact me!
2 Comments
As a small food-based business, you're overwhelmed right now. You're unsure of what the future holds during this unprecedented time. Frankly, you're worried if your business will survive at all. My heart hurts for what you are going through right now.
Marketing & PR is the least of your worries and getting pitched any new services right now would turn you right off. I promise, that's not what I'm doing by wanting to offer you a 30 minute FREE consultation. I want to help you as best I can in your time of need without you feeling any pressure to have to pay for it. I've got some extra time on my hands right now and want to do something productive with it. If you need some advice on how to handle your social media through the COVID-19 crisis or if you have any other social media questions, please contact me. If you have 30 minutes to spare on the phone or even through email, I'm happy to take a look at what you're currently doing and give you some tips on what to do right now and moving forward. It is the LEAST I can do! Let me know how I can help you during this challenging time. The restaurant business is in bad shape right now. As a restaurant owner or food-based business, you already know this, and you're feeling the pressure and pain of what is happening in the world more than most. You're experiencing a significant reduction in business, or you had to close altogether temporarily. Frankly, you're not sure if you're going to weather this storm. It's a rough time and nobody has a crystal ball - the future seems so very bleak right now. I completely understand, and my heart is hurting for you and your employees.
Just because things are bad right now and you're not sure what the future holds, you still have a business to run. It's challenging in good times, downright brutal in bad times. I commend you for busting your hump and trying to remain calm through the madness. With that said, there are some essential marketing and PR things you need to keep doing regardless of how crazy it is right now. Even if you've temporarily closed your restaurant, consider these things...
Whatever you do, don't panic. Stay calm. This too shall pass. We're going to get through this together. Let me know if you need anything from me! |
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April 2020
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