Invest in Your Operation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt starts with the right mindset about what marketing for your restaurant can mean,\u201d Back of House Head of Marketing Hilary Young<\/a> explains. \u201cYou need to think about it as an investment in the future of your business. When you nail your marketing, you\u2019ll see a return on the investment that results in traffic and sales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the goal of this article isn\u2019t to tell you exactly how much you should spend on your restaurant marketing strategy. (Back of House has a helpful tipsheet<\/a> to help create a restaurant marketing budget.) The goal of this article is to highlight the things you absolutely must do to market your restaurant, regardless of your budget.<\/p>\n<\/div> \u201cSome independent operators make the mistake of thinking they can\u2019t afford to invest fully in their marketing efforts,\u201d Back of House Operations Expert Dan Durkin<\/a> observes. \u201cBut the reality is that you can\u2019t afford not to invest<\/em> in certain basic marketing essentials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you work for a national chain or you own an independent business, marketing your restaurant depends on doing the following things, and doing them well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your website<\/a> is the first thing a lot of your customers will see. Make a good impression. Your website should look clean, professional, and consistent with your brand image. Your food photographs should be crisp, appetizing, and high resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour website needs to capture the same feeling you want people to have when they walk through the front door of your restaurant,\u201d Hilary explains. \u201cAnd of course, it should also be functional and easy to use. After all, what good is a pretty website if no one can figure out how to find what they need on it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means your website should be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour website should be easy to find, easy to use, and easy on the eyes,\u201d Dan adds. \u201dIf that\u2019s not something you can do in-house, think about working with an experienced website builder. I usually recommend something like ChowNow<\/a> or Owner<\/a> for independent operators.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Social media<\/a> is another cornerstone of digital marketing for restaurants. An active social media presence is an absolutely mandatory part of an effective restaurant marketing strategy today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a recent survey from Deloitte<\/a>, 90% of operators view social media as \u201cvery or extremely important\u201d to digital marketing for restaurants. It\u2019s easy to understand why. In 2024, surveyed operators saw a 9.9% increase in consumer-driven revenue \u201cas a direct result of their social media strategy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour restaurant needs to be visible on social media channels like Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a> and even Facebook<\/a>, because that\u2019s where your customers are,\u201d Hilary explains. \u201cIf you really want to connect and engage with your community, you need to be active, responsive, and consistently posting fresh, interesting content.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Producing all of that content takes time, energy, and creativity. It helps to have a social media manager on staff. But other support services and tools can help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of our favorite social media management vendors include SocialPilot<\/a> and SproutSocial<\/a>. You might also want to try our totally free, fresh-out-of-the-box social media post generator<\/a>, where you can upload your own photos and get unique, instantly generated, post-ready captions for your pics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may have access to all kinds of advanced technology, but there are still few strategies that work better than direct digital marketing for restaurants<\/a>. Emails and SMS texts<\/a> get results, plain and simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n An article<\/a> from ChowNow says the email open-rate for restaurants is a healthy 20-30% and that those who open are often the most engaged customers. ChowNow also points out that 90% of the time, your text recipients will read your message within 3 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a pretty amazing return on a relatively modest investment. Restaurants today have access to affordable services that can help craft and automate these direct digital marketing campaigns. Vendors like Missive<\/a> and Seated<\/a> can also help turn your customer data into targeted and personalized outreach.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe big takeaway here is that customer contact information is easily one of your most valuable assets,\u201d Dan tells us. \u201cThere are different benefits to using each of these channels<\/a> but you need to have both email and texting in your marketing mix. These are low-cost, high-reward forms of outreach that definitely work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cObviously your restaurant\u2019s online visibility is important, but it\u2019s also important for this visibility to create a positive impression,\u201d says Dan. \u201cNegative online reviews can really damage your reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n High ratings can be a boon for your business. Negative customer feedback can be crushing. According to ChowNow<\/a>, 84% of consumers value online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. There\u2019s a lot riding on your restaurant\u2019s rating on sites like Google<\/a>, Tripadvisor,<\/a> and Yelp<\/a>, so it\u2019s important to stay on top of your reviews. But it can be a lot to keep track of.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why a lot of restaurants work with reputation management<\/a> vendors. A reputation manager can help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reputation management vendors like Benbria<\/a> and Libro<\/a> can track all online mentions of your restaurant, help generate positive reviews, and even provide automated responses to your customers. Paytronix<\/a> can do the same but is generally best for multi-unit operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also use all the valuable data and feedback you\u2019ll gather through your reputation management platform to improve the customer experience, strengthen loyalty, and drive more repeat <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cObviously, a lot of your marketing efforts are going to be online these days,\u201d Hilary points out. \u201cBut there\u2019s also real value in having actual real-life interactions in your local community. If you\u2019re an independent restaurant, your presence in your neighborhood is about a lot more than just serving food.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Local restaurants also serve a natural role in their communities \u2014 places where friends and family gather, where staff members know their customers, where regulars come for their favorite dish. Connecting with your community is a great way to cultivate that local neighborhood feel in and around your restaurant. There are a lot of ways to get involved, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGetting involved in the community is a great way to put your brand out there, and to bring the community into your space,\u201d Hilary points out. \u201cBut in order for this type of community engagement to work as a marketing effort, it has to be genuine. The more time you spend in the community, the easier it should be to know how to show up authentically and in a way that resonates with people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your community-based initiatives may be happening out there in the real world, but you still have to post about them on social media. After all, digital marketing is still your best bet for bringing awareness to your restaurant and the causes you care about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, that\u2019s why all of the priorities above are essential to your restaurant marketing strategy. You need all of these pieces to work together in order for your marketing strategy to work. Fortunately, there are all kinds of tools, tech, and services that can help you pull it all together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re looking for a cost-effective place to start, check out our totally free, brand-new social media post generator<\/a> and get a helping hand as you create those all-important social media posts. For all the rest, reach out today and schedule your personalized, one-on-one consultation<\/a> with one of our in-house restaurant tech experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back of House helps restaurant operators discover, evaluate, and implement technology solutions that improve operations and profitability. Through expert resources, industry insights, and technology guidance, Back of House connects restaurants with the tools they need to build smarter, more efficient businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" National restaurant chains invest handsomely in marketing. They build powerful websites and intuitive mobile apps, and have large followings on social media. They spend massive amounts of money to create visibility, engagement, and brand awareness. National chains spend big on restaurant marketing both because it works and because they can afford it. Restaurant marketing is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":46046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,131,110,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Restaurant](\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Marketing-Your-Restaurant.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n5 Things Your Restaurant Must Do To Market Effectively<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Build a Great Website<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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2. Use Social Media to Its Fullest Potential<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Build Your Contact List<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Manage Your Reputation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Tabletop](\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Google-Business-Reviews.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>5. Get Involved With Your Community<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Putting All The Marketing Pieces Together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
About Back of House<\/h4>\n\n\n\n