Searching for a few useful tips on using videos for Restaurant Marketing? You’ve reached the right place. If you’re a restaurant owner, you probably know that marketing your business can be very challenging. You need to create social media profiles, write blog posts, and find more ways to promote your restaurant to the general public—but you’re also busy running your restaurant!
Thankfully, there are simple and effective ways to incorporate videos into your marketing campaign that don’t require much time or money on your part.
Read on to learn eight ways restaurants can use videos to boost their marketing campaigns!
Why Should You Consider Video Marketing as a Restaurant Owner?
As a restaurant owner, you deal with numerous challenges. You’re trying to boost your business so that you can expand and hire more employees. However, attracting customers is only half of the battle; retaining them is just as important.
The best way to do that is by employing video marketing tactics. With a few tips from our video marketing guide, you’ll be on your way to maximizing your videos’ potential for driving traffic into your restaurant and keeping it there.
Video is one of the most popular types of online content. According to Hubspot, 4 out of 5 marketers are using video for their marketing campaigns. It’s clear that video can help make your restaurant stand out from competitors and grow your business.
In fact, 64% of customers say they’d like to see more videos on a company’s website or social media channels.
Eight Ways Restaurants Can Use Videos for Their Marketing Campaigns:
1. Using Videos on Digital Platforms
If you want your videos to reach as many people as possible, digital is the best way to get them in front of viewers.
YouTube reaches more 18-to-34-year-olds than any cable network, and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all now host native videos—making it easy for your content to be discovered by users who are seeking out videos for entertainment, and education, or self-expression.
You can utilize the tremendous potential of these digital platforms and give an instant boost to your restaurant marketing campaigns. In fact, a survey from Animoto found that 72% of small businesses believe video will play a major role in their overall marketing strategy over the next 12 months.
With such high expectations from businesses across industries, restaurants should consider how they can integrate video into their current strategies to stay ahead of their competition.
2. Filming Tips for Great Restaurant Videos
There are many different kinds of videos restaurants can make. The idea is to make a video that best suits your audience, fits in with your company’s message, and will spread across social media. Here are some great filming tips for creating restaurant videos:
1) Show employees doing their jobs;
2) Tell customers about what you offer;
3) Promote deals and specials;
4) Show off your chef’s personality;
5) Film from an insider perspective.
Don’t forget to have fun! Try making cooking tutorials or show how it feels on a busy night at your restaurant. These types of videos create authenticity and build trust with potential customers.
As long as you don’t go overboard, these types of videos can boost your marketing campaign tremendously!
3. A Day in the Life of a Chef Videos
A Day in the Life of a Chef is a fun and engaging video type that has become hugely popular over recent years.
The idea behind these videos is to give your viewers an inside peek into what you do each day at work, as well as some insight into who you are and how your business works.
These videos can be made using small cameras or smartphones and usually last no longer than 2 minutes, although it’s not unusual for them to be a little shorter or longer than that.
They don’t have to follow any strict format either; they can simply be filmed from your perspective as you go about your daily tasks, with nothing scripted or planned out ahead of time.
You can also use a free video creator to produce such clips and shots and make your strategy even more affordable. This makes them a great way to get creative and show off something different about yourself and your business – whether it’s through humor, personal anecdotes, or showing off some impressive skills.
4. Introduction Videos
An introduction video is a great way for people to learn about your restaurant. In fact, 44% of people who watched an introduction video went on to book a reservation.
The introductory video can be used on your website and social media channels and should be short enough that viewers will watch it all the way through.
It’s also important to have someone in front of the camera talking directly to the audience, which helps build trust with potential customers. You want them to feel like they’re having a conversation with you instead of watching an advertisement.
5. Explainer Videos for New Menu Items
For new menu items or products, explainer videos are an excellent way to build excitement about your latest offerings.
An explainer video is short (usually less than 2 minutes) and uses animation to quickly demonstrate how something works or what it does in a fun and engaging way. You can even add some humor if you want!
This type of video is also great for driving traffic back to your site. People who watch them will likely want to learn more about your product or service and may end up clicking through to your site.
6. Testimonial Videos
There’s nothing better than a happy customer singing your praises, which is exactly what testimonial videos feature.
Using a video of a customer singing your praises is a great way to get social media traction. In fact, it’s one of our favorite types of video because it works so well at creating an instant connection between you and your target audience.
Customers will love hearing directly from others about how you’ve helped them succeed.
Make sure that everyone featured in these videos has given you written permission for their image and voice to be used and that everything they say is true and authentic as well!
7. Kitchen Behind-the-Scenes Videos
Customers love getting sneak peeks into behind-the-scenes footage at restaurants, so why not share some with them?
Whether you’re showing off an employee training session or giving viewers a peek inside your kitchen, these kinds of videos will provide people with a deeper understanding of what goes on in your restaurant and keep them coming back for more.
8. Cooking How-To Videos
Another form of video that’s super effective is how-to videos.
Whether you’re teaching viewers how to cook one of your signature dishes or demonstrating how to properly pair wine with food, these kinds of videos give people valuable information about dining at your restaurant.
Final Thoughts
Videos can be an excellent marketing tool to get your restaurant’s name out there, but only if you use them correctly.
Whether you’re working with a marketing firm or taking the DIY approach, these tips will help you turn your videos into successful marketing campaigns that drive more customers to your establishment.
Business woman. Traveler. Self-Declared Host. If you’re here, you know the amazing, hits-the-spot feeling of good coffee. The key to my heart (and to keeping the engine running) is coffee, and I’ve sipped and savored A LOT of coffee over the years and around the world. I’m on a mission to bring great coffee and the warm fuzzy feeling of coffee culture into your home and life, every cup, every day, every time.
