While delicious food and fun drinks are easy and exciting to write about, creating an editorial calendar for a restaurant involves a lot of planning. Check out our top tips for crafting an editorial calendar that will pull in hungry guests and spread the word about your restaurant’s good eats.
1. Understand the Restaurant’s Current Goals
Before leaping into mapping out content, you’ll want to coordinate with the owner or general manager. Ask questions about the establishment’s financial goals to help structure your editorial calendar in a more effective way.
- Does a certain time of day need more guests?
- Are there any events at the restaurant you should promote?
- Do you have limited time offers or daily specials that could draw people in?
2. Diversify Content and Media Assets
Making an outline of your content plan for the month before you actually begin to write content in your editorial calendar is helpful. These seven categories will help you visualize the spread of your content for the month and ensure diversity in the menu items, events, etc. that you plan to feature. An important factor to consider when choosing which items to feature is whether or not you have high-res, appetizing photos. For most social platforms, photos are what halt viewer’s scrolling not text. When you use great photos, you’ll pull people in and your text should hook them even further.
3. Look up National Holidays
Not your typical Fourth of Julys, Memorial Days and St. Patrick’s Day, we’re talking days like National Macaroni and Cheese Day (July 14th), National Wine Day (May 25th) and Maryland Day (March 25th). When these holidays are relevant to your menu or restaurant’s location, they’re a great way to feature individual items and benefit, especially if the topic or hashtag is trending on Twitter.
4. Prioritize Seasonal Menus and Limited Time Offers
If something special is happening at your restaurant don’t forget to make a big deal out of it! Seasonal menus are a great way to give a new feel to your restaurant. Whether they are frequent customers or new visitors, everyone will enjoy meals they know are created based on what fruits and vegetables are in season. Limited time offers are also a great pull for customers. When posting about them, make sure you include all of the important details and an image that makes it stand out from your typical posts.
5. Share Events!
This is an important tip because not only does it help bring in customers, it connects you with locals through sharing and participating in the community. If your restaurant does not have events of its own, tap into what is happening around you. Share large community events and position your restaurant as the go-to pre- or post- event place for food and drinks.
6. Market Your Vibe!
Food and drinks aren’t the only thing that bring in and maintain customers. Make sure you’re sharing posts that showcase the interior of your restaurant, rooftop area or back patio if you have one. People want to see the environment they will be dining in and envision themselves and their friends there.
7. Don’t Forget User Generated Content
A great way to break up your editorial calendar is to share content that restaurant goers have shared about their experience. From reviews, photos, and check-ins, leverage the content that others have shared about your restaurant. Word of mouth is very powerful.
Balance is key with restaurant marketing, from sharing information about your establishment to menu items to local events, getting the right mix is important. These tips will help you start off with a strong editorial calendar that will bring in customers and keep them coming back.
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