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There are over 1 million restaurants in the U.S., making the food and beverage industry a very competitive one.

If you own a restaurant and you’re exploring new methods to increase brand awareness and revenue through digital marketing, you’re in the right place. This page will discuss five restaurant marketing examples that will inspire your next campaigns.

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6 Restaurant marketing ideas and trends

Here are six delicious restaurant marketing examples to inspire your next campaign:

  1. A helpful and well-designed website (Maggiano’s Little Italy)
  2. Easy to find webpages on local searches (Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen)
  3. Presence in restaurant and dining apps (Pepe’s & Mito’s Mexican Cafe)
  4. Social media strategy (The Cheesecake Factory)
  5. Content marketing strategy (Starbucks)
  6. Email marketing (Outback Steakhouse)

Let’s discuss each one:

1. A helpful and well-designed website (Maggiano’s Little Italy)

Give your restaurant a home on the web, where prospects can find important information about your business. You’ll need to have the basic pages set up:

  • Homepage: This is your digital storefront, where you can showcase your newest item on the menu or latest announcement.
  • Menu: Let your website visitors know your offerings, so they can either order online or plan what they will eat when they visit you.
  • About Us: This is your chance to share your brand’s story.
  • Contact Us & location pages: Let your website visitors know how they can contact you. If you have multiple branches, have a page dedicated to your locations, too.

Maggiano’s Little Italy’s website is a good example. Its homepage shows its latest effort, which donates an amount to charity for every food order, and its bestsellers. The restaurant’s website is also responsive, so navigating it on a mobile device is a breeze.

maggianos restaurant marketing

Need help with web design? Let WebFX help you. We offer web design services that capture your brand, improve your conversion rates, and maximize your revenue.

2. Easy to find webpages on local searches (Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen)

Did you know that 80% of local searches result in conversions? Restaurants will benefit from investing in local search engine optimization (SEO), so prospects can easily find them.

This restaurant marketing idea involves:

A great example is Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen. The Mexican restaurant comes up on top of the local SEO 3-pack results.

local seo result

The restaurant also responds to customers who review their business on Google. Replying to reviews shows that you want your customers to be happy with their experience at your restaurant.

gringo review 1

Want your restaurant to rank in local searches? WebFX can help your restaurant rank in local SERPs. We offer local SEO services, so you can serve more people looking for the cuisine you serve.

3. Presence in restaurant and dining apps (Pepe’s & Mito’s Mexican Cafe)

If you own a restaurant, dining apps are one of the best marketing tools you can use. The users of these apps have high intent to dine — or eat—so it makes sense to be listed in these apps.

pepes and mitos zomato example

An example is Pepe’s and Mito’s Mexican Café. This Tex-Mex restaurant in Dallas, Texas is one of the listed restaurants in Zomato, a dining and restaurant discovery app.

When a user searches for a Tex-Mex restaurant in the city, Pepe’s and Mito’s is one of the results that comes up. Restaurant owners can optimize their listing on Zomato by adding their details:

  • Website, address, and phone number
  • Business hours
  • Menu
  • Price range
  • Special features like special diets, WiFi availability, outdoor seating, or pet friendliness

Other restaurant apps where you can get listed are:

  • Open Table
  • TripAdvisor
  • UberEats
  • Yelp
  • Zomato

4. Social media strategy (The Cheesecake Factory)

Increase your restaurant’s visibility by creating an official social media page on popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram. After all, 74% of people rely on social media to make purchase decisions.

An excellent example is The Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant, which has verified pages on Instagram and Facebook, shares various types of content on its pages. The posts’ topics are also varied. For example, the restaurant shares:

  • New products
  • Seasonal offerings
  • User-generated content
  • How-tos
  • Memes

cheesecake factory instagram

Create both an organic social media strategy and a paid social media strategy for your restaurant.

Not sure how to start? WebFX is an expert when it comes to social media marketing. Learn more about our social media marketing services and how we can help you with your restaurant’s social media marketing campaigns.

5. Content marketing strategy (Starbucks)

Visual content is important in marketing your restaurant business. Create a content plan for your website and social media pages so you regularly publish fresh content for your audience.

One of the best restaurant content marketing examples is Starbucks. The coffee shop publishes new videos on its YouTube page on a variety of helpful and relevant topics for its customers.

How-to videos and recipe videos are available on its YouTube page. Inspiring stories about the Starbucks College Achievement Plan and its employees are also featured on the platform.

starbucks content marketing example

Inspired by this restaurant content marketing example, but want some help? WebFX offers content marketing services that help your business inspire and engage your audience.

6. Email marketing strategy (Outback Steakhouse)

Did you know that 72% of people prefer to receive promotional offers through email? Convert more leads by employing an email marketing strategy.

Here’s a restaurant email marketing example by Outback Steakhouse. Upon scrolling further down the homepage, a pop-up appears, offering visitors to sign up for the Dine Rewards program. Visitors who sign up receive the latest menu and offers on top of exclusive news.

outback restaurant email subscription

Want to harness the power of email marketing for your restaurant? Let WebFX help you. We offer email marketing services to help you increase brand awareness and foster loyalty among customers.

Implement these restaurant marketing ideas with WebFX

Are you excited to create your restaurant marketing strategy but want some assistance? WebFX is here to help.

We’re a full-service digital marketing agency with 28 years of experience. Our team has helped businesses generate over $10 billion in revenue. We’re excited to deliver results for your business, too.

Contact us online or call 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our restaurant marketing services.

We Drive Results for Restaurants

  • 24 million leads generated for clients
  • Dedicated account manager backed by 500+ digital experts

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