6 Ways to Attract Customers to Your Restaurant or Bar

Opening a restaurant or bar is a lifelong dream for many entrepreneurs. However, once you open the doors and fire up the grills, you actually need to get people through the front doors. You could have the best food in the city, but it will not matter if people do not know your restaurant exists. That is why you need to invest in restaurant or bar advertising. There are many avenues you can take, and the best approach will be utilizing several of the following bar advertising ideas.

1. Include Outdoor Seating

An excellent way to grab people's attention is to include outdoor seating. People love enjoying their meals outside as long as the weather is good. With outdoor seating, people walking by will see you have customers. More importantly, they will see the delicious food you have to offer. You can even take this method a step further and invest in custom market umbrellas with your logo or popular beer brand logos. You can include the name of your business directly on the umbrella, so people know where they need to get their next meal from.

2. Utilize Social Media

One of the primary form of restaurant advertising these days is social media. You should have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram. However, simply creating profile pages is not enough. You need to give people a reason to follow you, and there are several ways you can go about doing this.

• Post photos of your specialty dishes along with captions detailing what is in it
• Update your menu often and post what specialties of the month you have
• Host contests where someone who follows your social media page gets a great gift, such as a coupon
• Show your employees volunteering within the community

Before you post on social media, you need to determine what your restaurant's brand is. Do you want to target young millennials, or does your restaurant cater to older people? Either way, your social media pages need to be in the voice of the demographic you want to target. For example, restaurants targeting millennials should adopt a less formal vibe with plenty of modern slang.

3. Incentivize Customers to Post Reviews

Your customers can post reviews on Google, Facebook and Yelp. That does not necessarily mean they always will. You want people to say good things about your restaurant or bar online so that others can see it. Many consumers these days check out a restaurant's Yelp page before going there for the first time. If they do not see a lot of positive reviews, then they will write you off immediately.

A good way to encourage people to write positive reviews is to offer incentives. Many restaurants offer 10 percent off an item if people show they left a review on Yelp. You should do something similar, so people have a reason to take out their phones after enjoying a meal at your establishment.

4. Use Side Walk Signage and Custom Banners

Your restaurant needs to grab people's attention whether they walk or drive by. The name out front may not be enough. You can add some flair by putting out side walk signs and customized banners . This makes your restaurant far more visible. If you use chalkboard signs, then you should consider writing fun phrases to get people to stop and read. You could also use these signs to advertise discounts and specials.

5. Offer Happy Hour

Many restaurants have slow periods in the middle of the weekdays. It is the lull between lunch and dinner when things are dead. During these periods, you should offer happy hour where you offer discounts on drinks and food. People who are not at work will have an incentive to check the place out. This is a great way to increase your number of regular customers. When people know where they can get a cheap drink and appetizers, they will come back time and time again.

6. Embrace Holidays and Big Events

People want to go out for special occasions. Restaurants are often flocked with people during Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and other holidays. This is your opportunity to get a lot of sales. You should offer specials during these events, so people choose to go to your restaurant over everything else. You can advertise these specials on social media to get the word out. You should also pay attention to big sporting events. If your restaurant has television sets, then you should regularly air football and basketball games, so people without cable can enjoy a meal while watching the game.

Get Creative

You have numerous advertising opportunities for your restaurant or bar. You just need to think outside of the box to get people to spend money at your establishment. Luckily for you, LookOurWay offers banners, signs and numerous other advertising products to help get the word out about your business.