Before people venture forth into the great unknown beyond their own homes, they’re likely going to look up their local options online and see who’s serving what during the weeks ahead. If you’re relying on a single sign outside your store, cafe or restaurant in order to draw customers in, theres a good chance that barely anyone will see it. Few will have the luxury of being able to drive around browsing takeaway options; such aimless driving will be heavily discouraged if Australia’s restrictions are anything to go by.
Your best bet for attracting attention and sustaining it is social media. Here’s a simple strategy to implement if you’re planning to restart your restaurant, cafe or store with takeaway or delivery options…
Good graphic design
Get a graphic designer to help you put together some strong imagery that attracts attention and informs your audience immediately about your new takeaway or delivery scenario – use a clear, consistent font or colour scheme so that viewers recognise and memorise your posts
Start strong
Post an initial introductory post advertising your store’s new situation, and financially boost this to a targeted demographic if you can afford to do so.
Keep up the content
Post weekly/daily reminders about your takeaway/delivery situation, and include photos of your store where possible so that people feel more comfortable about what to expect when approaching to make their orders.
Let’s see the team!
Post photos of your team in appropriate gloves or masks where possible to show that you are taking health and safety measures seriously – people genuinely appreciate the effort involved in keeping a store compliant with the Level 3 restrictions, and will likely be supportive of your efforts.
Deals and giveaways
If things are quiet, run weekly deals or giveaways to create consistent buzz around your business.
Browse-worthy photography
Share good quality photos of your food, coffee or products – people don’t have time to stop by and browse, so this is the next best thing right now.
#SupportYourLocal
Utilize the ‘support your local’ hashtag – people are actively searching for this hashtag at the moment, so you’ll gain more interest from potential customers and sometimes even directories who are advertising local businesses in order to promote a sense of community.