Social Media Has Become Free Marketing For Restaurants

By on July 3, 2019 0 756Views

There is a new trend in the restaurant world. Social media has become a hot marketing tool for those choosing a new restaurant. To help get consumers in the door, some restaurants are utilizing this free marketing. Oftentimes, a picture of the inside of the restaurant sparks an interest and leads the guest to visit the restaurant.

It’s a trend that has been taking over world: someone will visit a restaurant, take a photo, and then upload it to social media. Restaurants are even setting up Instagram worthy picture backgrounds to help promote their business. The aesthetics shared in an image helps makes the restaurant a little more desirable and sparks an interest in future business.. Now, restaurants have moved into the direction of free marketing to get more people to dine-in.

“To people coming, take a picture with the mural, and have a little piece of the restaurant with them wherever they go, Instagram or Facebook,” said artist Gennaro Garcia.

When social media first became popular, restaurant guests began taking photos of their food. “I think everyone’s timeline got full of food,” said Forbes Shannon from the Tempe Public Market. “We take a lot of care on how we plate our food, because people love to Instagram their food. So, the next renovation step, we want to make sure that the restaurant was beautiful as well.”

It’s not about the food now; it’s about the atmosphere. At Tempe Public Market, they are renovating the building to include murals and aesthetics; it gives guests a place where they can take a photo.

“Everywhere they go in the restaurant, to have a place where they can take a picture,” said Garcia. “What we wanted to do was build a restaurant, an actual building that had different or unique places that you can see, ‘oh hey, I’ve been there, I’ve seen that wall, mural, and by the way, the food was so good,” said Shannon.

Quite a few restaurants have benefited from the free marketing, including Brat Haus in Downtown Scottsdale. “In the restaurant industry, we have to do more than just provide good food and service, and we have to step in with the atmosphere,” said Chad Black from Brat Haus. The addition of a large mural has increased the number of times the restaurant is tagged on social media.

“I’ve seen it tagged from Facebook to all over the world,” said Black.  “Introducing the dog and pet aspect — we’re pet-friendly — dog birthday parties and the pet theme has really blown us and helped us.”

“It’s way more exciting and fun to walk into this beer garden, and see a really bright painting instead of a brick wall,” said artist Geoffrey Gersten.

According to a study, more than 78% of customers are attracted by social media. The exact amount of customers drawn to a business will depend on how often people post, what hashtags are used, and how quickly businesses respond to customers’ questions.

“It’s built-in marketing,” said Shannon. “Build a network of people that support your brand, and they reshare and repost it. That’s how you can attract business organically from the ground up.”

The renovations at Tempe Public Market are finished, and guests can now use the area for a backdrop for their selfies.