Driving traffic into your restaurant doesn’t have to require a large, complex marketing campaign. Social media isn’t necessarily a quick fix for a restaurant’s marketing needs. But for the strapped-for-time restaurant owner, there’s a whole array of creative ways to capitalize on the digital audience – Easily.

Check out these 4 easy ways below!

Likes for Deals

This is one of my favorites. I first was exposed to this idea a few years ago at a sushi joint I used to frequent. All I had to do to get $2 off my purchase was to show the cashier that I had liked them on Instagram. I, and pretty much every single person I ever ate with at that restaurant took advantage of that deal – and we did it multiple times. I don’t even live in the same town as that restaurant anymore, but I still follow them on Instagram.

Needless to say, this is an excellent (and extremely easy) way to increase your restaurant’s social gravity. It’s cheap, and a it goes a long way towards creating loyal, repeat customers.

Hashtag Contests

People love contests – especially when there’s a prize on the line. Build that contest into social media and attach a unique hashtag, and suddenly you’ve got yourself instantaneous promotion with huge potential. Make contest participation involve something fairly low effort (like making a post with the hashtag) and you’re guaranteed to see results.

Pro Tip: If you make a habit of running these contests consistently, it’ll encourage people to keep following, just so that they don’t miss out on the next contest. They may not have won the first time, but by golly, they’re sure they’ll do it next time!

Feature Your Fans

Another “contest” tactic, this one is designed to take advantage of your most hardcore fans. Depending on your type of restaurant, you can get pretty creative with how you do this one. If you sell merchandise – even better.

Essentially, you’ll be running a “Fan of the Week (or Month)” promotion. Have your fans post a creative picture showing off their fandom for you on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or social media platform-of-choice. Make sure you provide a hashtag, and you’re good to go. Oh, and don’t forget to offer a free meal or reward to get the posts going.

All you’ll need to do is sit back, and watch how far your fans are willing to go to get featured.

CoGoBuzz

So easy, you’ll barely have to lift a finger, CoGoBuzz automatically builds your social media audience with followers, while simultaneously cluing you into their interests with crucial data.

Our service sets you up with a whole array of methods to drive traffic in your restaurant. With our in-store WiFi, SMS, and integrated Email solutions, we directly promote straight to the devices customers use the most – their mobile phones. We’ll keep your customers coming back over and over again with digital loyalty programs, personalized offers, and more! Check out the rest of our website for more!

What fun social media contests have you tried at your restaurant? Let us know in the comments!