When you ask yourself which social network is most useful for your restaurant, LinkedIn isn't the first example that comes to mind. Usually associated with the world of business and HR, it can nevertheless be very useful to restaurateurs: here's why!
LinkedIn has been a professional social network from the outset. It has also diversified enormously, serving as a recruitment or networking platform, a discussion space, an online storefront, and much more. For a restaurant, it has many advantages that we don't necessarily think of - we present the 3 main ones in detail.
Would you like to increase your sales? Corporations are important customers for commercial catering. They'll provide you with year-round business, thanks to corporate events that can privatize a single table or an entire restaurant.
Of course, there are the traditional Christmas and other company meals. Corpos outlets also include seminars, team-building, business lunches, etc. To land them, having a presence on LinkedIn is particularly strategic. It will enable you to establish contact with potential customers, highlighting your company's offering to decision-makers and HR.
The subject of recruitment has become quite sensitive for restaurants in certain areas. Where are the waiters, commis de cuisine and chefs de partie?
Many of them are on LinkedIn! The social network has 22 million members in France, including 10.7 active users.
LinkedIn plays the role of a recruitment platform for many candidates, whether they're looking for a job or already employed and thinking about their next step. It's possible for restaurants to recruit on LinkedIn! Many already do: there are currently over 30,000 restaurant job offers on the social network.
Around 10,000 job offers on LinkedIn are posted directly by restaurants (see offers here). The platform is very effective if you need to recruit for management, manager, supervisor or chef positions (over 1,000 chef de partie vacancies are online). It's also very useful for other restaurant jobs, such as helpers, kitchen apprentices or multi-skilled employees, with around 6000+ offers for first jobs in restaurants.
Last but not least: LinkedIn lets you publish content to promote your restaurant to the general public. Why here rather than on Facebook or Instagram? Simply because the latter are saturated with restaurants, whereas LinkedIn still offers free visibility opportunities. Some chefs are taking advantage of this, like Anne-Sophie Pic, one of the most visible LinkedIn influencers.
The speaking function on LinkedIn is particularly well-suited to the longer format. The network is less about immediacy, and more about the underlying trend - ideal for restaurants with something to say. To get your message across, you can use LinkedIn Pulse to generate engagement with its huge community. And, in the long run, build customer loyalty!
LinkedIn makes all this possible, and much more! It's the ideal social network for a restaurant looking to maintain its network, monitor the competition, find professional service providers, keep an eye on the franchise market... And to find out all you need to know about social networks for restaurants, go to this article !
