50 Ways to Promote a Restaurant Online

If you're starting up a new restaurant, the last thing on your mind is marketing. You'll need to hire staff, buy food and supplies, and deal with all of the day-to-day business that come with owning a restaurant. But if you don't take the time to create an online presence, all of that work will go unappreciated by potential customers.

So what can a restaurant do to create an online presence?

It's important to remember that online ordering is the first step toward your restaurant becoming easily accessible for customers. So even if you don't plan on doing much of the talking, getting your name and logo out there will help get people interested in coming in. The same goes for your Facebook fans or Twitter followers. If you want to delight your customers and provide a memorable experience, you need to engage with them online. You can do this by being active on social media or by creating a blog where people can leave comments.

50 Ways You Can Promote Your New Restaurant Online

1. Create a web site for your restaurant with a shoppable menu.
   
   People who visit your restaurant should be able to find the perfect dish they want, whether it's a dish your chef created or one of their favorite recipes. Online ordering allows customers to view a menu and see what is available for them to choose from, even if you don't have a physical store. They can also use the site to search for the dishes they want and order them directly from your website.
   
   
2. Add your restaurant web site URL to Google Maps
   
   If you have a physical store, customers will be able to find it as soon as they enter your city. But the map may not include your business if it's not in Google Maps yet. So it's vital that you ask Google to add an "additional information" link for your restaurant's web site to their map. Doing so allows customers to shop from your website and look for directions to your store without ever leaving the comfort of their computer.
   
   Google Maps and Google My Business will drive free traffic to your restaurant's web site. You can also refer them to your site and place an ad on the sidebar of your page if you want to generate more revenue.
   
   

   Ready to create a web site for your food truck? Start your 14-day trial with MenuStripe

3. Add your restaurant web site to Yelp
   
   Yelp is one of the freest ways for potential customers to find your restaurant. It's easy to be successful with Yelp, though. It just takes a little time, determination, and some knowledge about Yelp algorithms. Yelp uses a complex algorithm to determine which restaurants get recommended the most and where those recommendations go. The more customers that leave a review for your restaurant online, the better chance you have of getting turned up by customers using their mobile apps or visiting Yelp's website on their computers.
   
   

4. Add your restaurant web site URL to Instagram
   
   Whether you have a physical store or not, Instagram can provide a lot of value for your restaurant. The most important thing you can do for your restaurant is create an account on Instagram. This will give you the chance to showcase pictures of your food and create a following online. As soon as your customers get interested in following your business, they will want to visit your website to choose from the dishes they see in the photos.
   
   Build an Instagram following by posting pictures of your dishes. These pictures will encourage followers to visit your website. And with an active Instagram following, you can build a strong list of customers who will be interested in online ordering.
   
   

5. Promote your restaurant web site URL on your business cards and brochures
   
   This is one of the most common ways restaurants promote their online ordering websites. Customers can find your URL on all of the cards and brochures that you give out to potential customers or give to loyal ones who visit your restaurant often.
   
   

6. Create fun and engaging videos of how you prepare your restaurant food on TikTok. TikTok users will engage with your content, follow you and check out your menu, which will be in the link in your TikTok bio.
   
   

7. Direct people to your restaurant's web site by offering free samples of your food. If you have the opportunity to participate in a food festival, craft fair, or community event, you should take it. But even if you don't get a chance to set up at one of these types of events, you can still host a sample event online by giving away free food samples on social media.
   
   

8. Showcase all of your menu items on Instagram stories or posts on Facebook and Pinterest. Facebook and Pinterest are some of the most popular social media platforms where people share pictures of food they're enjoying. And when people share photos of food on these sites, these images show up in their Instagram and Facebook feeds. These images will be great opportunities for your customers to find your restaurant's web site online.
   
   

9. Add your restaurant web site to Google search results as an organic listing. This is another way to increase traffic to your restaurant's website from online searches. You can do this by creating content and publishing it on your website. This content should be about the food you serve and what makes your restaurant special. Anyone who searches Google for information about your cuisine will find videos, blog posts, menus, or your contact information on the first page of results.
   
   

10. Write a newsletter that tells people about how to get in touch with you online. A newsletter is a great way to showcase your restaurant's menus online. Your website address should be featured on the newsletter, and it can also feature a link to the store locator on your site. This link will direct people to Google Maps or another map-based service so they can find you easily.
    
    People often send newsletters by email, but now they're also distributed on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If you're new to the restaurant business, newsletter marketing is a good way to get your name out there.
    
    

11. Use Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews to drive traffic to your restaurant's website. Do you have customers who leave positive reviews for your restaurant online? This is an effective way of boosting your online presence and increasing the number of people who visit your web site from online searches via Google. Many businesses ask their customers for reviews, but few actually use them as a marketing tool for their restaurants' websites.
    
    

12. Turn your restaurant Instagram account into a money-making machine. Instagram Stories work very similarly to ads. So, if you're looking for a new way to make money online, you can turn your Instagram account into a marketing tool that sends more customers to your web site.
    
    

13. Use the phone number on your website as an advertisement on radio and TV ads. If you have a phone number on your website, you can use it as a marketing tool by using it as a phone number for TV and radio ads. You just need to call your local TV or radio stations and ask if they'll run ads that include your phone number. If they say yes, you can then take that price and promote the service of your restaurant on these networks.
    
    

14. Give people behind-the-scenes tours of your restaurant's kitchen online. You can give people a behind-the-scenes tour of your restaurant's kitchen online by offering video tours of the kitchen, dining room, and other public areas of your restaurant. Since you'll be promoting your business this way, it will be seen by many more people than just those who live near your restaurant.
    
    

15. Use Facebook Live to stream a cooking demo or review cooking a new dish on-air. You can use Facebook Live to stream a cooking demo or review something you're making by cooking in real-time. This is a good way to build up your brand and share useful information with your customers.
    
    

16. Start a rewards program that gives away free food or other discounts for reaching certain milestones. You can use rewards programs to offer free food or other discounts for reaching certain milestones. For example, you can give away free food or other discounts to customers who get a certain number of purchases and other rewards.
    
    

17. Become a DJ at a party you hold in your restaurant and offer your music online. If you become the DJ at a party that also features band performances, you can upload samples of your favorite songs for others to listen to online.
    
    

18. Be a reviewer for restaurant blog posts or give your opinion about other eateries on review sites. You can use online review sites like Yelp to be a reviewer for restaurant posts and provide your opinions about the restaurants in your area. This will help you reach more customers, and it will also help you build relationships with them.
    
    

19. Write your own blog post about the event you organized in your restaurant to promote the event or post it as a guest post for another blog's content promotion group.
    
    

20. Post photos of your food or photos of the event on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Be sure to mention your restaurant name in your posts. Also tag other places where you might be able to get some free advertising by mentioning them in your posts.
    
    

    Ready to create a web site for your food truck? Start your 14-day trial with MenuStripe
    
    

21. Add a blog link in your email signature so people who sign up for email updates from you will know they can find links to more information about what you're doing on the web.
    
    
22. Reply to Reddit threads in various food subreddits with your restaurant website address as the link. If people are discussing your type of cuisine, or something similar to it, reply to the thread with a comment and include your website address as a link. This will help you boost online presence and get more traffic from Reddit readers.
    
    
23. Go live on TikTok and offer a behind-the-scenes view to your restaurant. TikTok live feature if a great way to boost your restaurant page visibility during your live session. TikTok pushes your profile to more peole during your live, which will significantly boost your exposure to new people.
    
    
24. Create a video review of a new dish in your restaurant if you can't wait until you get it on your menu. If you get the chance to create a video review of a new dish, create one to post on your website and other places where people can view it.
    
    
25. Start a YouTube channel for your restaurant and give loving tips about how to cook dishes that you serve. You can start a YouTube channel for your restaurant and give loving tips about how to cook dishes that you serve.
    
    
26. Consider hosting an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it. You can also work with fellow restaurant owners to help them build their online presence at these events.
    
    
27. Host a Facebook live video and invite your friends to come up with an idea for your next dish. This is an effective way of getting customers involved in the process of deciding what you should serve next at your restaurant.
    
    
28. Put your logo on a car that drives around your town. You can put your logo on a car that drives around your town or post it on the side of your car or van in a parking lot. People will see it and know that you're there, which will help you get more business.
    
    
29. Pay for a post ad to increase visibility when you want to promote some services or events in your restaurant. This is an effective way of boosting business with new customers.
    
    
30. Set up a food truck in your area and drive around town. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
31. Start a Facebook group for your restaurant, and then invite people to join using the same work-at-home jobs link at the end of your blog posts and emails on this page. Facebook groups are a great way to connect with people who are interested in your type of food and the experiences you offer in your restaurant. When you invite people to join your Facebook group, be sure to also invite them to leave a review on Google Places for your business.
    
    
32. Drive traffic to your restaurant by offering free food or drinks at public events like festivals or fairs. This is an effective way of promoting a new product that you're testing or giving away something free at an event in your area.
    
    
33. Host your own online event via Facebook or create a Google calendar event with details about what you're going to do at your restaurant and provide your website address as an e-vite link. This is a good way of connecting with people in your area who are interested in websites that you like, and it's also a great way of promoting events on your calendar.
    
    
34. Sign up for a Facebook ad to promote your restaurant. If you're looking for a new way to boost your restaurant page visibility, consider signing up for a Facebook ad through one of these services: Kargo, Facebook Audience Network or Facebook Pixel.
    
    
35. Promote your phone number on billboards in your area. You can create and post the number on billboards in your area to promote yourself online and get more people to visit your restaurant's web site from online searches via Google.
    
    
36. Make your restaurant a hub for local events you host in your area. You can join groups on Facebook that are appropriate for your business, and you can also curate cool events to promote on social media. If you have the opportunity to sponsor an event in your area, then do it. This is a great way of promoting other local businesses and services, and it also provides an opportunity for people to connect with you online.
    
    
37. Create a Facebook event for your restaurant's special events and draw a local crowd to it. This is a great way of promoting special events you're hosting in your area.
    
    
38. Host an event at your house for customers and add the address to the event details so they have an opportunity to visit your restaurant. This is a great way of promoting special events you're hosting in your area.
    
    
39. Have influencers share photos from behind-the-scenes at your restaurant on Instagram or other social media sites. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
40. Host a design contest on 99 Designs to get custom logos and graphics created for free by designers who want the work. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
41. Work with local bloggers to organize giveaways on social media. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
42. Run a contest on social media and ask people to share their stories about how they dined at your restaurant. You can run a contest on social media and ask people to share their stories about how they dined at your restaurant.
    
    
43. Encourage customers to post photos of their meals using the hashtag #yourrestaurantname. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
44. Create an Instagram group for customers to discuss the restaurant and its dishes. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
45. Run a giveaway on social media that allows customers to win a free meal or something similar by sharing their meals on your restaurant's Facebook page. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
46. Offer discounts to people who become your Facebook fans and post photos of themselves enjoying their meals to your Facebook page. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
47. Host a Twitter chat with your local bloggers and post the results on your restaurant's website. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
48. Use hashtags on social media to promote your restaurant and post photos of customers enjoying their meals. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.
    
    
49. Create a website for your restaurant using the same work-at-home jobs link at the end of your blog posts on this page, or use MenuStripe to create one. If you already have a web site for another purpose that you can integrate with your new one later if you get the time.
    
    
50. Encourage customers to post photos of their meals on social media so they can be featured on your restaurant's Facebook page. This is a good idea for new restaurants. If you get a chance to host an online booth at an ecommerce conference or webinar in your city, do it.

Here ate MenuStripe, you can take your restaurant online in less than an hour and start charging for orders. You get a dedicated restaurant web site address, which you can share on social media, Google Maps, Yelp etc. and immediately improve your revenue by driving free traffic to your restaurant.

Ready to create a web site for your food truck? Start your 14-day trial with MenuStripe