Should My Restaurant Be Posting on TikTok?
Look, we get it. There seems to be a new social media platform popping up every other week. Deciding on the right platform for your business can be overwhelming and honestly, exhausting! The time and effort associated with launching a new social platform for your restaurant is a huge commitment, and you want to be sure you are choosing the right one for you. That’s where we come in.
Although in this piece we can’t answer the question as to which social media platform is going to be the best for you as an individual, we can take you through the process of deciding whether TikTok, one of the largest growing social platforms out there, is right for your restaurant.
Understanding Your Audience
As explained above, TikTok is one of the largest growing social platforms on the market today. In fact, Demand Sage reports the social media platform has 1.6 billion users globally, out of which 1.1 billion are active monthly users…that’s a huge audience.
But, the most important question is, are they the right audience for your restaurant?
Before diving into your TikTok marketing strategy, you must understand the demographics of your target audience and whether or not you can reach them on the platform. TikTok primarily attracts the Gen-Z and millennial generations, both men and women. These generations represent a huge portion of the global population, and as you likely already know, they are interested in trying new foods, including dining out or taking away.
While identifying the exact age and gender demographic of your restaurant clients can be difficult, and the TikTok audience is not perfect for every single restaurant, at least a portion of your target market likely uses it. If you want to determine whether TikTok is right for you, ask yourself these questions:
Who is my target audience? And are they on TikTok?
What do I want my brand message to be?
Can I create content designed for this audience specifically?
Answering these questions isn’t always easy. If you are looking for guidance on identifying your target audience, contact us today for a free social media review.
Why Use TikTok?
Social Pilot highlights TikTok’s popularity has soared as it encourages creative and relatable content sharing. TikTok allows businesses to create unique and organic videos to highlight their menu, restaurant, and staff to attract new audiences and showcase their unique brand.
So, beyond the social media platforms' general rise in popularity, the question remains, is it right for your restaurant? Well, Toast shared stats highlighting that last year, the hashtag #food reached over 300 billion mentions on TikTok. Let’s say that again…300 billion. If that doesn’t show you people on the platform are interested in seeing food, what will?
The same article highlights that 36% of TikTok users have either visited a restaurant or ordered food from the restaurant after seeing a TikTok about the said restaurant. Still not convinced? An analysis from Social Insider found brand engagement rates on TikTok are multiple times higher than those on other platforms.
In fact, the piece suggests creating videos specifically for the platform is one of the best ways for small businesses to grow their online presence, gain more views, and achieve better engagement rates. High engagement rates mean not only are people watching your content, but they are interacting with it. Audiences liking, commenting, sending, or sharing your content shows that people are connecting with your brand. If you want your restaurant to connect with new audiences across generations, TikTok marketing might just be the answer.
Make Your Restaurant Stand Out
Although TikTok is a successful marketing tool, with over 5 million businesses and countless small businesses using the platform, the competition is rife. So, again the question remains, how can your business stand out from the crowd?
The key to TikTok marketing? Authentic content. TikTok users, many of whom are millennials, value authenticity over classic marketing tactics. Social Pilot highlights millennials “are aware of the marketing tactics and thus will not fall for age-old concepts.” So, what does authentic content look like?
Hootsuite reports that 38% of users said a brand feels authentic when it’s teaching them something. When thinking about your restaurant, think about sharing step by step on the creation of a staple dish, or a “menu-hack” style video for when customers are ordering. Finding a way for this style of content to align with your brand so you can connect with new audiences is great.
When considering how you can stand out on the social media platform, it’s also important to consider how you stand out in real life. Toast reports a study that 55% of people visited a restaurant from TikTok because of how appetizing the food looked, and 51% visited because of a unique menu item.
So, do you have a famous chef? Do you have a stand-out aesthetic? Do you have a showstopper dish? Do you have a theme? Do you have a unique menu item? Think about what makes you unique and really showcase that on TikTok.
Avoid Being Too Salesy
Leading global publisher for the marketing and media industries, The Drum, highlighted that individuals use TikTok to “be inspired and have their spirits lifted.” Essentially, they come onto TikTok as escapism to feel positive and connected to others. The social media platform’s algorithm works to put videos on users' “For You Page” that are recommended specifically for them, essentially meaning their TikTok truly is a personalized experience. Now, put yourself in their shoes, would your personalized video-watching experience be full of ads and sales pitches…probably not right?
The Drum emphasizes if you start each video encouraging audiences to buy your product or visit your restaurant, “they probably won’t stick around for very long.” So, when you create content for the social media platform, you want to avoid being “salesy” or too overly pushy. Ensure your content is authentic and organic, and you’ll likely see great results.
Tips for Creating Organic TikTok Content
If you’ve read our guide and decided launching a TikTok profile is worthwhile for your restaurant, but aren’t sure how to start, take a look at our tips for creating successful TikTok content below:
Be clever with the content you share.
As we’ve mentioned, you want your content to showcase who you are beyond just your food. Being playful and creative could get your restaurant going viral. This can include jumping on current trends, creating content to go along with a viral sound, and/or getting your staff involved.
Share unique menu items.
If your restaurant is known for something or does something unique, use it. You know what makes you, you so why not show everyone else? Showcase what makes you different online and people will be keen to watch your content and ultimately visit your space.
Promote menu hacks.
Think the french fry in the milkshake-style “hack”. Anything that can get people talking about your restaurant, or keep people entertained is brilliant. Be as divisive with your menu as you like here, a conversation with your followers is great!
Replicable content is genius.
If you share content that encourages people to either stitch your TikTok or create their own versions of your video, you’ll create a buzz around your restaurant like no other. This can go hand-in-hand with things like your menu hacks, i.e. here’s our menu hack…show us yours!
Standard content like restaurant tours, step-by-step cooking videos, spotlights on menu items, etc. can be great content to post in between these targetted posts to keep your feed fresh and showcase your whole restaurant at all times.
Some of these style videos can be replicated across your Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok which is fine. Sharing some of the same content across several platforms occasionally is okay as long as it’s balanced with unique TikTok videos. This is because you will capture some different audiences and it will keep your feeds consistent across all accounts.
Engaging Influencers on TikTok
As we’ve highlighted in this piece, promoting your restaurant using organic content can help you reach new audiences from different generations. What you might not have considered, is that this organic content doesn’t have to come exclusively from your restaurant's own TikTok account it can also come from Influencer collaboration. Using influencers on TikTok to promote your restaurant can be a great way to create a buzz around your brand and reach new audiences.
Influencers often have an engaged follower base who trust their recommendations, so when these influencers endorse your restaurant or your food, not only do you get increased visibility, but you add credibility to your brand. Collaborating with influencers can also help boost your following on the platform, after all, some of their followers may be hearing about your restaurant for the first time.
When utilising influencers on TikTok, however, it is important to consider their alignment with your brand. Just because they have a lot of followers, does not mean they are the perfect fit for you. Their followers, engagement, and content should align with your brand personality and target audience to achieve the most success. When influencer marketing is concerned, it’s again important to remember what we’ve said above, TikTok audiences value authenticity. You want the relationship between your brand and influencers to be genuine, up-front, and organic. Influencers should always share with their followers if a review is gifted or paid and comply with advertising guidelines on the platform.
Launching Your TikTok
If all this sounds like a bit much, we get it! Creating content for all social media platforms is one of the most time-consuming BUT important things your restaurant can do to get noticed online.
If you’re looking for more guidance on whether TikTok is the right platform for your restaurant or on how to enhance your existing TikTok strategy, get in touch today for a free marketing review from one of our experts.
