Restaurant advertising: what each option is actually good for
Restaurant advertising works best when you match the channel to the job: free listings to be found, paid search and social to be remembered, and a time-limited offer to people nearby to fill a specific quiet hour. If your problem is a specific empty hour, the third job is the one to pay for.
Start with the free listings
Before you pay for anything, make sure people who already search for you find the right answer. Keep your Google Business Profile current: hours, menu link, photos and the dishes people come for. Do the same on Apple Maps and Yelp. These are free and they are where many people check whether you are open.
The main paid options
- Search ads. Good for people actively looking for a type of food near them. You pay per click, and the click is not a customer until they walk in or order.
- Social ads. Good for building awareness with people near you over weeks. Slow to turn into covers, and it is hard to tell which night it worked.
- Delivery app promotions. They raise order volume on the app, at the app's commission. They do not fill your dining room.
- Print, mailers and local radio. Reach the neighborhood, but take weeks to plan and are hard to measure.
- Signs, table tents and window offers. Cheap, and they reach people already outside or inside.
Advertising for a specific slow hour
Most of the options above reach people on their own schedule. If the problem is Tuesday at 7, you need people within walking distance, at 7 on Tuesday. That is what Beam is for: you write a time-limited deal, set a radius and a timer, and people with the Beam app inside that circle see it while it is live. They claim it in the app and show a code at the counter, and your staff scan it with the phone you already have.
A beam is priced by how many people it can reach and how long it runs. It starts at $5 for up to a day, before referral discounts, and the exact price is on screen before you launch. No subscription is required and credits never expire. Pricing and FAQ.
How to tell if any of it worked
Count people who came in, not impressions or clicks. Give each channel its own offer or code so you can tell them apart, and compare covers in the advertised hour against the same hour in the weeks before. Beam counts redemptions for you, because each one is checked at the counter.
More ideas: restaurant marketing ideas for slow nights and how to increase restaurant sales.
See how Beam works for businesses
Questions
What is the best way to advertise a restaurant?
Match the channel to the job. Keep free listings like your Google Business Profile current so people can find you, use search and social ads to build awareness, and for a specific slow hour send a time-limited offer to people who are nearby at that moment. Measure each by how many people came in.
How can a restaurant advertise to people nearby right now?
With Beam, a restaurant writes a time-limited deal, sets a radius and a timer, and people with the Beam app inside that radius see it while it is live. Beams start at $5 before referral discounts, and the price is shown before launch.
How do I measure restaurant advertising?
Count customers, not views. Give each channel its own offer or code and compare covers in the advertised hour with the same hour in previous weeks.
More: Restaurant marketing ideas for slow nights · Bar promotion ideas that fill a slow night · How to increase restaurant sales without discounting · Local business advertising: options by cost and speed · Small business promotion ideas that bring people in · Proximity marketing for local businesses · A Groupon alternative for local businesses · Businesses on Beam