Video marketing for your restaurant is as easy at 1-2-3
The old adage that we eat with our eyes first can help explain the popularity of apps like Instagram when it comes to restaurant marketing. But if you’re relying on photography alone, there’s another element you should add to your marketing arsenal — video. Video is a huge and growing market. A Nielsen study found that more than 70% of millennials watch videos on social media daily. And not only do they watch, they also share the content with their network. Video content helps grow your reach and discoverability, making it essential to your marketing plan.
You can create video content on any aspect of your restaurant — from a guided tour of your brick and mortar’s design details to a rundown of the staff’s menu favorites, as explained by your team! Short 60-second videos are best when it comes to sharing with your audience, so if you have content that runs a bit longer, consider breaking it down into smaller chunks. Here are three tips for getting started.
Be Yourself
Your guests aren’t looking for another discount offer or sales pitch. When they’re enjoying your video content, consumers are interested in behind-the-scenes peeks at your process and authentic experiences that help share your story. Tap into your voice, your humor, your style! Don’t get too caught up in trying to make something super polished (more on that in the next section). Instead, share videos that go beyond what you can express in your written marketing materials and in photographs.
Use the Tools
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a professional videographer to create memorable videos that look great. Thanks to iPhone cameras and editing apps like InShot, FlexClip, and Videoshop, you can come up with some pretty cool videos with zero professional experience. And Instagram includes tools right in the app to make your own Reels (short IG videos) complete with music, text, emojis, and gifs. Doing so will actually boost your impressions in the algorithm, as Instagram tends to like it when you take full advantage of the bells and whistles they offer. Speaking of which, creating a simple, straight-to-camera Instagram Live is another good way to share timely content with your audience who are scrolling through the app looking for dinner!
Take It to YouTube
For any video you create that has an evergreen quality — maybe something that shares the history of your restaurant or a profile of your chef — create a YouTube account for your restaurant where these videos can live for years to come. This is yet another way that customers can discover your restaurant and it can provide the kind of compelling content that will get folks in the door. YouTube is also a great place to create videos that address FAQs from your guests — anything from dietary information about your menu to instructions for the best way to reheat takeout items. It can all live on YouTube, and you can easily link to it from your website and newsletters.
