Getting the word out about your restaurant isn't a question of money! If, like many start-up businesses, you don't have a budget but you've got ideas, these 15 tips should help you advertise your restaurant for free.
[.is--yellow-highlight]Comment Hey Pongo permet de booster la fréquentation d’un réseau de restaurants[.is--yellow-highlight]
It's no secret that Instagram is a gastro photo paradise for the foodie in you. If your dishes are in style, take advantage of the opportunity to get noticed and promote your restaurant for free!
Food photography is a difficult genre to master, so get your fellow photographers involved, even if they're amateurs! To stand out on Instagram and promote your restaurant, you'll need to aim high in terms of image quality. Staging, decor, lighting... pull out all the stops and pull out all the stops. And who knows, you might just earn yourself a place in our top 5 best restaurant Instagram accounts.
Customer reviews are a real win-win situation. They're the number-one priority when it comes to advertising your restaurant! They give you a lot of visibility on the Internet, whether on Google, Tripadvisor, La Fourchette...
And yes, on Google and Maps, the best-ranked restaurants are those with a steady stream of positive reviews. What's more, they act as social proof, encouraging everyone to come to you. How do you boost your customer reviews? There are many ways of doing this: the simplest is to ask your satisfied customers to leave a review. The most effective way of increasing your numbers is to set up a competition. Take Hey Pongo's Booster, for example, which literally boosts the number of Google reviews for your restaurant.
Find out more about the Booster: book a demo!
They're right at home on Instagram: food bloggers are another avenue for free publicity. Letting them discover your cuisine live can have surprising repercussions. We're not talking about professional influencers who charge a lot for a mention, but rather micro-influencers (with 1,000 followers or more on Instagram) who blog close to home.
When they fall in love with you, they'll be more than willing to relay your message. It's worth approaching them in a sincere and personalized way, with a free meal, or even better: a tasting event specially concocted for a group of influencers!
Ok, ok, this advice isn't completely free, but printing flyers is really cheap when you think of the potential return on investment (especially if you have graphic design talents). More than just distributing flyers, you can consider a street marketing operation, the key being to target the time and place.
Here, it's important to be familiar with the habits of your preferred audience and to know which spots they use to distribute your flyers. For example, at a concert exit, in a coworking space, in front of a school, etc...
In the game of positive reviews, there's a huge amount of visibility to be gained by appearing on online restaurant comparison sites, with or without reservations. The choice is yours: Yelp, La Fourchette, TripAdvisor, L'internaute, Cityvox... The key is to provide your page with information on opening hours, address, type of cuisine, menu, photos (of dishes and dining room), practical info...
Given the number of comparators out there, it's best to concentrate your efforts on one or two sites, so as to redirect customers willing to write positive reviews to them. And to find out which one to choose, you can ask your restaurant buddies which are the most effective in your sector.
Positive customer reviews are great... but responding to them is even better! We strongly recommend leaving a little thank-you note for each one. This adds value to the reviews, generates visibility for your account and encourages customers to say what they liked about you. The same goes for negative reviews, to which it's best to respond without losing your cool (our tips here).
Don't have much time to respond to customer reviews? The Avis tool lets you view reviews from multiple sites on a single screen. You'll also find elaborate response templates, which you can quickly adapt to each review to save you lots of time!
Respond (much) faster to customer reviews with Avis: a demo!
It's the same story: with positive reviews pouring in (no doubt about it!), you can gain a lot of exposure. In recent years, the number of home-delivery sites has tended to concentrate, with only the biggest ones managing to establish themselves in most cities(Uber Eats and Deliveroo), which simplifies the choice for restaurateurs.
Home delivery sites are primarily used to generate online sales (without filling your room), but not only that: new, loyal customers are sure to come through your door to see where the magic is happening.
Special evenings enable you to attract a targeted audience by creating an event. Le resto du coin is the ultimate social venue. All kinds of events are possible, from the most classic to the most original! Some can offer cultural gatherings: concerts or DJs, philosophy or literary cafés, language exchanges, wine or food tasting, cooking workshops... Others will host sporting events, from clubs to national teams. Stand-ups, anniversaries, national or local events... And if you want to keep track of the major dates of the year, they're all in our restaurant marketing calendar.
There's not a day on the calendar without its own international day... Beard Day, Trainee Day or Pillow Fight Day, they're (also) on our calendar. As you'll see, for a restaurant, certain dates are ideal for a wink on your slate or storefront. You could, for example, offer a special gift for Singles' Day, Christmas Sweater Day or Hugging Day (January 21). You can also highlight a signature dish for Pasta Day, popcorn or homemade ice cream... The advantage of these days is that they're an inexpensive way of attracting attention. You can also relay your initiatives on your social networks or SMS campaigns.
There's no better way to fill up your restaurant after work or school, especially on the slowest days! Happy Hours are as popular as ever in pedestrian areas near city centers. They have the advantage of creating a festive atmosphere and getting people to stay for dinner. Above all, don't underestimate the importance of the traditional slate on the street to announce Happy Hour (and don't forget that by law, discounts on non-alcoholic drinks must also be offered).
Register your restaurant on the official My Business page page takes just a few minutes, once you're identified as the manager. You can then enter all the details of the business: opening hours, photos, addresses, practical info... In return, this allows you to appear on the results pages in local search, as well as on Google Maps alongside all the businesses in the area. Indispensable if someone is looking for a restaurant of your speciality near you.
Facebook remains an excellent channel for disseminating news and talking about food with a quirky tone that appeals to your clientele. Of course, you'll need to regularly feed your page with content - for this, think about automatic replication of your Instagram account!
On Facebook, it's your rules that apply: you can broadcast your news, talk about cooking, offer gourmet or dietary tutorials, show what goes on behind the scenes of kitchens, announce your events, concerts or exhibitions, etc. To stand out from the crowd, we trust you!
Making yourself known to neighboring businesses can only have beneficial effects, especially as word-of-mouth between colleagues does the rest. Restaurant vouchers are the lifeblood of many "Fast & Good" professionals, which is why it's a good idea to say hello to the biggest employers in the area by leaving flyers or even offering a special introductory rate.
In addition to local employees, you can make yourself known by canvassing the local tourism industry: hotels, tourist offices, travel agencies...
A website is the best example of restaurant advertising. It's unthinkable for a restaurant not to have an online presence! Having a click-and-collect mini-site kills two birds with one stone. It gives you a presence on the Internet, and generates online orders!
Click and collect has only advantages: it doesn't fill up your dining room, and you don't have to pay commissions to Uber Eats and Deliveroo. To set it up easily, you can create your own site for free, or use a turnkey mini-site like the ones Pongo has been offering its customers since 2020:
Learn all about the click and collect ordering module by Hey Pongo
A loyalty program isn't about budget, it's about fun! At the very most, it'll cost you a few free dishes and desserts, or even special gifts such as tasting workshops or VIP evenings. In return, you'll win over customers who are sure to come back again and again... And just as well: loyalty is Pongo's specialty! We've developed a program so attractive that it attracts 30% to 40% of the customers of the (very) many restaurateurs who have tested it.
