In this simple guide we will discover all channels that allow you to publish your digital menu online to give your venue more visibility.
Why advertise the digital menu online?
The digital menu serves not only the people in the venue: showing your offer online is the best way to make yourself known to new customers and solidify the bond with regular ones. You can add the menu to your social pages, put it on your website, display your brand logo and colors, turn it into a QR code, and share it via message or email. It will be easier for customers to inquire about your products, order them even from home with delivery and take-out options, find out about promotions, and contact you directly. For you, it is an effective and profitable marketing 2.0 tool that increases your average receipt and helps you with your sales.
How to advertise digital menu online on Google My Business
Many customers turn to Google’s suggestions when deciding where to eat. For example, typing in “vegetarian restaurants around me” gets a list of places that offer vegetarian cuisine nearby. Clearly, appearing among these results would be ideal, but how does it work? The service is called Google My Business and allows you to place your restaurant in this “digital showcase.” In addition to entering basic information, such as address and opening hours, you can add the link to your digital menu or show it as an image in the “menu” section. Google My Business is one of the most used channels for finding new venues because it includes a section with reviews. If these mention the digital menu, or show the QR code in some photos, you already have a advantage over the competition.
How to advertise digital menu online on TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is the portal par excellence for business and reviews, with a strong focus on the food sector. It currently offers two main options for publicizing the digital menu: a dedicated menu link button, placed prominently at the top of the page, and uploading the digital menu to the restaurant’s gallery.
How to advertise the digital menu online on the Website
Having a website today is not a choice, but a necessity. The restaurant needs to be reached by as many people as possible, and digital traffic is a huge asset. Even if you already have a Facebook or Instagram page and have a presence on the various review portals, a website makes you more professional and allows you to showcase a variety of information in one place. You can, for example, tell the history of the restaurant, indicate opening and closing times, specify the location of the restaurant with a map, list all your social channels, and, of course, attach your digital menu. Also, searching “menu + name of your restaurant” on Google is more likely to get your site among the top results.
How to advertise digital menu online on Instagram
Instagram is an image- and video-focused social network, so it is perfect for showing off the dishes proposed by an establishment. A digital menu is the turning point for transforming followers into customers: you can put it in the profile description, share it in Stories either as an image or a link, publish it as a post and send it to users who request it via chat, even setting up an automatic response with options to see dishes, order or reserve a table.
How to advertise digital menu online on Facebook
Marketing on Facebook has changed over the years and now focuses on text posts, which may have an image attached. In addition to including the link to the digital menu in the business profile and in the posts, it may be interesting to post an image of the menu,to attach a description of the dishes or an explanation of how they are prepared. Here, too, you can set up an automatic response that prompts you to open the menu link to view the full list of dishes, reserve a table, or make a home delivery.
Other channels to promote the digital menu
As we have seen, having a digital menu with a shareable online link is critical for attracting new customers and fidelifying existing ones, it can be viewed at any time and be easily sent to friends and family.
However, it is important to remember that the digital menu can also be advertised offline, thanks to the QR code that can be printed anywhere (on business cards, flyers, placemats). Finding new ways to make yourself known is always a good thing!
One interesting practice is to include a ticket with a QR code for every order you receive from a third-party delivery platform: include your ticket in the package and apply a discount on the next order placed through your menu. The customer will find it more advantageous to order directly from you, and you will save on commissions.
Attract new customers with digital menu
If you are using a digital menu for your restaurant, you already know what benefits it brings to your business and your customers, who can scroll through your menu directly from their smartphones or tablets, find prices that are always up-to-date, view images associated with products, and even receive suggestions based on their interests or recommended pairings.
The improved buying experience leads to a higher average receipt and more returning customers. If, on the other hand, you do not yet have a digital menu, you can realize it easily. You don’t need to have a website, and you don’t need any special applications or resources. There are special services for creating digital menus, paid or free, such as leggimenu.it, which allows you to create a customized digital menu free of charge, in just a few minutes, that showcases your products and highlights your offerings.
Watch the short video presentation.
Just register for free from the site and start composing your digital menu, inserting categories, products and images.
For each digital menu there is the relevant QR code to print and the link to share online. The menu can be accessed from any device, without the need to download apps.
You’ll have access to more than 90 features to organize and customize your menu, including reservation management, QR code to print or share, marketing features to help your business, and takeout and delivery options that save you money on fees to third-party services.
Your customers will also notice several benefits: the digital menu is clearer and is always updated, does not spoil, is organized into categories, and shows pictures of dishes.
If you haven’t already done so, add your digital menu to your website, share it on your social channels, print it on your towels: the digital menu will help you keep in touch with your regular customers and get the word out to new ones.
To have a successful restaurant it is important to keep up with the times and take advantage of all the digital tools available.
