If you’ve planned out the digital marketing for your restaurant around menu releases, offers and deals and big national events like Christmas then you’re certainly on the right track. But what about filling those big gaps in the rest of the year?
You can read our helpful ideas around key marketing dates like Mother’s Day, Easter and Father’s Day but you’ll also need to think outside the box and market to your guests and followers at quieter times, when reaching them will be easier and more effective.
Get the kettle on and then have a read through the below… we’re sure there will be something here to inspire you!
National Lazy Day – 10th August
In this current climate of work-hard and work-harder, it’s not often we get to be lazy (certainly not without guilt). We’re exercising before work, cooking healthily, spending quality time with our families and then falling into bed exhausted.
On National Lazy Day, encourage your audience to let themselves off the hook and just…relax. Use your social channels and email marketing ahead of the big day to let everyone know that they’re welcome to join you for a lazy day with no cooking, no cleaning and no worries at your place. There’s no need for them to lift a finger and no guilt allowed!
If you can give them an offer on food or drink, then even better! For one day only, give your regulars permission to put their feet up on the furniture and kick back.
International Beer & Pizza Day – 9th October
This probably isn’t going to work if you’re offering fine dining but if simple restaurant food is your thing then you should be giving a digital nod to Beer & Pizza Day.
In the run-up to the event, create some digital assets pairing your beer selection with your pizza flavours (with tongue-in-cheek tasting notes). Go one step further and educate your social followers with simple beer and pizza facts and history – you’ll have everyone salivating over your menu in no time.
Celebrate this epic pairing on the 9th October with a Beer & Pizza night, perhaps offering a pint-and-slice deal or 241 on pizzas.
International Chef’s Day – 20th October
It’s no secret that chefs are some of the hardest-working professionals out there – long hours in a high-pressure environment is a career choice that’s not for the faint-hearted.
Celebrating International Chef’s Day isn’t necessarily an obvious way to bring in customers but it is a chance to showcase your team, your personality and connect with your community.
Pay homage to your chefs with some simple videos and images to show how much you appreciate their commitment and artistry in the kitchen. Your guests will rarely have chance to see who prepares and cooks their food, so shine a spotlight on your kitchen team by sharing little-known facts about each member or recording a time-lapse reel of an evening behind-the-scenes in the kitchen.
International Day of Happiness – 20th March
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all share in a happy day doing all the things that make us smile? On International Happiness Day, start a conversation on your social channels and ask your followers what makes them happy.
Record videos of your staff talking about the things and people that make them happy (be sure to include a few menu items e.g. a pint with my friends after work). Even better, offer a few random acts of kindness with a free pint for the first person to respond to your post or a meal for 2 if someone mentions a person that makes them happy.
There’s no direct call-to-action here but it’s a chance, again, to show personality and care for your community which stays in the minds of people longer than a simple sales message.
Eat What You Want Day – 11th May
If you’re a restaurant, then this key date was made for your marketing plan! Highlight your dessert menu and let people know that on Eat What You Want Day, they can indulge in whatever they like in whatever order they want it.
Want to order 3 desserts for dinner? Go ahead! Fancy beginning your meal with a pud and ending with a starter – sure thing! Feeling a hankering for 3 burgers in a row… you got it. This is the day to truly give in to your heart and stomach’s desire and your restaurant is THE place to do it.
Have some fun, be playful and use this key date as an opportunity to deepen your emotional connection with your guests and followers.
English Breakfast Day – 2nd December
Our English obsession with the perfect breakfast is long-running, passionate and sure to evoke a response. Christmas will be the subject of most restaurant marketing activity in December so cut through the noise and start a conversation about what items should and shouldn’t be on an English breakfast plate.
Of course, this is only a relevant tactic if you offer English breakfast, but you can debate the perfect egg, the presence of black pudding, how many rashers of bacon and the type of toast that’s just right. Plus, don’t forget whether the accompanying drink should be tea or coffee.
The final call-to-action for this activity is to get your regulars and followers into your restaurant for their version of the perfect brekkie on English Breakfast Day itself!
Finish your brew…
We’d love to brainstorm ideas and apply our digital marketing experience to your hospitality business, so if you’d like to get creative together then please reach out. We’d love to hear from you!