These days, it’s essential for even brick-and-mortar businesses to have an online presence. As social media is where a lot of people spend time online, it also helps to have a social media presence. But cafe and restaurant owners are chronically time-poor and busy enough trying to keep their business running smoothly day in and day out. How can we possibly find time for this?
Well, Kylie and Philip from Launch Online Solutions (Now Pink Lime Digital) are here to help. They’re the heads of a video and online marketing agency that helps businesses, mostly start-ups, beef up their online presence and audience reach. We spoke with Kylie and Philip to discuss some of their top tips for businesses who want to get online.
Get On Google Maps
The first, freest, most basic thing, is to register your business’s location on Google Maps. Having your business easily searchable on Google Maps is the easiest way to get free online advertising. Oftentimes, travellers and locals alike who’ve got a craving for coffee will search for a place nearby, and Google Maps is one of the most popular apps for this. If your business isn’t registered, then countless potential customers won’t be able to find you. Even if you’re just starting out, Google Maps comes with a ratings and reviews feature that some customers will choose to use, making it the easiest free advertising you can get.
Have The Basics
Going beyond Google Maps, it’s essential to have some level of social media presence. Kylie iterates again and again that Facebook and Instagram are the bare minimum social media essentials. Facebook has the breadth of reach and accessibility for the average consumer, and Instagram, with its focus on images, is a must-have for those in the food industry. People want to see pictures of your beautifully made meals and latte art.
It’s also essential, Kylie emphasizes, to have at least a basic one-page website containing all the relevant information a potential customer might ask for. These days it’s super cheap and easy to create a website, and no complicated embellishments are necessary. Cafes and shops that sell things in-store can get extra benefits from a website, as it becomes another platform on which to sell their products.
Develop Your Online Image
No matter how great you think your business is, customers have a lot of cafes and restaurants to choose from. They won’t necessarily go to your establishment just because you think they should. “It’s about adding value to your customers,” Philip says. Customers ask, “How are you adding value to my life?” Good marketing is all about answering this question to their satisfaction.
But it’s not so simple as just setting up an Instagram account and posting away. As with all marketing channels, it needs to be strategic. First of all, it helps to hire a professional photographer, or at least enlist the help of a talented staff member. The key is to have someone a little bit on the outside, with an eye for good shots, and an ability to create beautiful, authentic photos. Unfortunately, in most cases even the latest iPhone camera simply won’t do.
The next thing is to maintain consistency in your profile. This can range from the colour scheme to selected filters to the order in which posts go live. A unified thematic consistency helps clearly communicate what your business is about and may directly affect the kind of customers who walk in your doors – and who never shows up. This consistency applies across all social media; having a different colour scheme and logo between Instagram and Facebook will only confuse customers and, once again, serve mainly to turn them away.
Shoot Some Videos
Visual media has become plentiful and prominent in the digital age, and video even more so than photographs. It’s the fastest-growing medium of commun
المعلومات
- البرنامج
- تاريخ النشر٣ ربيع الآخر ١٤٤١ هـ في ١٢:٥٥ ص UTC
- مدة الحلقة١ س ٢ د
- التقييمملائم