Restaurant events are looking drastically different now compared to what they used to be. Diners don’t just discover events through flyers, but also social media and short-form content. In addition, AI-powered suggestions have also become a popular norm of local event discovery. To effectively promote your restaurant’s event, you need to have a clear focus on algorithmic consistency and visibility.
Here are 5 event promotion strategies that can be used to drive real foot traffic, and not just likes. We’ll discuss marketing tips and tricks, online design platforms, and other ways to attract the right audience’s attention.
1. Design Events for Discovery
Don’t make your marketing campaign entirely promotion-based. In order to captivate new attendees, your event needs to compete with everything else on their feeds, not just other restaurants. A successful promotion needs to be instantly understandable, visually distinct, and optimized for mobile.
Instead of designing one poster and sharing it everywhere, you can create visuals from bar poster templates. Templates are a quick hack for saving time as most of the layout and formatting is done for you. You can quickly resize, edit, and customize it to your event’s niche.
You can also create multiple versions of the same design. For example, you can adapt a single design into social media posts, Instagram Stories, Reels, and physical prints. Cohesion across promotional materials makes sure that your event is recognisable across various social media channels.
Pro tip: Design for someone who’s half-scrolling and half-distracted. Your headline should do all the work. Lead with the type of event you’re hosting and prioritize text hierarchy so the graphic isn’t too visually crowded.
2. Short-Form Content Series
People are much more likely to interact with motion-based short-form content rather than static posts. The primary way to discover local events is by scrolling through your reels sectio on Instagram and seeing what local businesses are up to. You can easily break your event down into a content series by following this structure:
- A teaser video introducing the theme of the event
- A behind-the-scenes (BTS) clip of event prep or menu tasting
- Chef and restaurant staff highlights
- A reminder post on event day
You can pair these videos with clean and branded visuals which communicate what your event offers. You can also use pre-sized templates to layer over videos and covers, especially if you’re throwing a live music night or a themed dinner. Recognition boosts attendance.
3. Aim for ‘Moments’, Not Discounts
Diners are not motivated by discounts and limited-time deals anymore. They want to pay for and enjoy an experience, rather than just having good food. Instead of leading with sales, you can anchor your event to other ‘moments’ such as:
- A season
- A cultural moment
- A local collaboration
- A limited-time theme
To promote your event, you can emphasize the mood and ambience by using a visual-first strategy on social media. Do not write unnecessary copy as potential attendees are more likely to skim through the design, rather than reading each line.
Pro tip: Tie events to emotions like nostalgia, celebration, or exclusivity. If you are focusing on limited-time deals, make sure you’re not using pressure-heavy language that can come across as hard-selling your event.
4. Let The Room Do The Marketing
You need to set up the way the restaurant looks on event day with intention and a clear objective in mind. Personalize the experience for the guests and give them visually-stimulating decor that matches the event theme. You can use:
- Themed table cards
- Digital menu boards with QR codes
- Visually striking entryway posters
- Bar-top signage
Keep your branding visible and highlighted so that your restaurant’s brand identity is never lost. By personalizing restaurant elements, you’ll reinforce the memory in the attendees’ head, increasing the chances that they’ll share content from the event night or inform someone else.
5. Extend the Event Beyond Its End
Events don’t end when the last guests leave. If you need to keep the momentum going for your restaurant’s future promotions, it’s important to do follow-ups. You can use the following techniques to re-engage customers and get them talking about the event:
- Posting event highlights the next day
- Sharing guest photos and videos
- Teasing the next event using visuals from the previous event
By using your saved existing designs, you can adapt and edit them for later use. This way, you can keep the event cycle moving without added effort into creating new promotional materials.
Pro tip: Capture content during the event keeping the next event in mind. What are some visuals you can reuse? You can also highlight real guest experiences instead of opting for a polished shoot.