Videos, being a more visually impactful and appetizing media, is a popular marketing tool. The reach of videos is higher than that of text-based content, making it much more persuasive compared to words or static pictures. In the digital era, video marketing has emerged as one of the most cost-effective medium for communicating with customers. Businesses and individuals have been focusing on creating videos with the objective of interacting better with their customers. The idea is to reach out to more number of viewers and bring them closer to their brand. To boost conversion rates, the restaurant industry has been quick to adopt video marketing. It is more effective at capturing the attention of viewers and communicating the brand deliverables to them.
In the coming year 2020, 72% of customers would want to learn about a product or service through videos. Wondering how to start with video marketing for your restaurant? Try these effective strategies that will help you get started the right way.
How To Get Started With Video Marketing For Your Restaurant
Once you have built the foundation for marketing your restaurant through videography, take the help of these seven effective strategies that will produce a strategic roadmap for you to begin your restaurant’s video marketing journey in a successful manner.
1. Analyze The Target Audience
Before creating a video, analyze the target audience for whom you are creating it. An analysis of the target audience will help you understand the content you should include to connect with your customers. What type of videos do they engage with the most? What platforms are they most active on? It is crucial for you to understand what attracts your customers to your restaurant. Is it the way you present your food or the ambiance that your customers are fond of. Ask your customers to give their feedback and formulate your video strategy around the preferences of your target audience. It is also essential for you to understand the kind of content your target audience dislikes and is likely to avoid. Along with the entertainment and informative quotient, you must ensure that your restaurant’s video is tailored to the interest of your audience.
2. Identify The Achievable
Before you begin with the production of the video, it is essential to have a clear strategy and to understand the purpose of marketing the video. Each decision related to the video must be filtered in contrast with your ultimate goal. Remember that your restaurant video is not meant for mere viewing. It should drive your business outcomes such as sales and referrals. Video Marketing can be a highly relatable and emotional medium. Ensure that you put reasonable efforts in engaging your audience and understanding what content can connect you with your customers. Look into different types of video marketing ideas and select the best ideas that align according to the interest of your customers. Along with your customers sharing and liking the videos, your goal is to bring them to your restaurant. Ensure that your video content is actionable.
3. Set The Right Budget
The user-generated content and live videos on social media sites are created in real-time, don’t require much planning and are free of cost. However, for marketing videos, the concept should be clear with a predefined budget. The video can be produced by an in-house content production team or outsourced to an external video agency. Budget constraints should not affect the quality of videography. Setting up detailed video production and distribution plan will help you identify economies of scale. With a consistent and detailed editorial calendar that displays your periodical video content strategy, you will be able to set realistic budgets and make effective use of your resources.
4. Prepare To Tell The Story
Giving a personality and character to your restaurant is an effective way of engaging your customers. Conveying your restaurant’s aesthetics would also increase the relatability quotient of your brand with customers.
Here are some video marketing ideas:
- Every restaurant is created with months or years of regular planning and execution. Begin your video by telling your customers how your restaurant’s concept was originated. What was the motive behind choosing the restaurant name? How did you turn your dream into reality?
- Even if your restaurant doesn’t boast open kitchens, you can give your customers a visual representation of how your kitchen works. You can give viewers a virtual tour of your kitchen and display the kitchen infrastructure, hygiene standards of your kitchen, and food preparation methods used. A behind- the- scenes demonstration of your kitchen operations will win the trust of your customers. Even if the kitchen is not in sight, customers can rest assured that their food is prepared with proper care and caution.
- Give a 360-degree view of your restaurant’s delicacies. Allow viewers to witness how dishes are prepared and presented in your restaurant.
- Take the testimonials of your chef. Chefs are an integral part of your restaurant’s journey. Profile their specialties and the special moments they share with your restaurant brand
- Customer’s perceptions about your restaurant’s brand are crucial for your restaurant’s success. Their feedback can also be a great source of creating video generated content. Interview your customers and ask them about what they love the most about your establishment.
5. Focus On Promotions
Once the video is ready to be published, shift your focus towards the distribution of the video content. The platform you choose will largely depend on target audience behavior. If your restaurant attracts Millenials, they are more likely to interact with your brand on social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat. The distribution of the videos and content type would vary depending on the kind of platform. YouTube and Facebook are ideal for publishing long videos. Whereas Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter are suitable for videos with a shorter length. Include videos on the homepage of your website but ensure the videos are short, crisp, and engaging.
6. Optimize With SEO Tactics
Along with customizing the videos according to each channel, use SEO practices to ensure that you don’t miss out on in terms of exposure. Make sure that the videos are optimized according to the different formats of mobile devices. Include backlinks with your video for better distribution. Use an eye-catching title and high-quality thumbnails and keep the video short and informative. Include relevant hashtags and keywords in the title, as well as the description. Videos that follow these guidelines and are optimized according to different platforms have better outreach.
7. Measure The Success Metrics
How to know if your videos have been impactful and reached the right audience? This step in video marketing is extremely critical. Without understanding and effective way to track the success rate of your video, you will not be able to improve your video marketing efforts. To have a clear understanding of the effectiveness of your video marketing campaign, set key metrics to understand the performance of your video campaign. How many views did your video campaign receive across each platform? For how long were the viewers engaged with your video? Once the goals are clear, you will be able to measure the success rate of your video marketing campaign and understand which areas need improvement.
With the rapid changes occurring in the restaurant industry, restaurants must utilize the vast potential of digital marketing, wherein a video is a low-cost tool that can provide high returns. Video is one of the most preferred methods of consuming content and a powerful platform for brands to connect with viewers. It gives an ideal opportunity for the restaurateurs to make a more significant impact on the minds of their customers. If you want to capture the attention of your customers, put a lot of thought into your video marketing efforts, implement the right techniques, show your innovative side, and create a lasting impact on your customer’s minds!
