Hannah Hambleton is the content manager for Beambox. 

The restaurant business is competitive. As well as a great menu and fantastic staff, restaurants need something extra to stand out from the crowd. Video content is the answer. In this article, we'll dive into some video content strategies that all restaurants can use to increasing footfall.

Video content: Is it really that powerful for restaurant marketing?

Yes! Put simply, video is great for engagement, and that's especially true for restaurants where experience and social connection are top priorities for potential guests. Human connection is really important for restaurant marketing, allowing restaurants to share their brand story by giving their customers real value. Video makes this connection much easier, giving customers the person-based marketing experience they now expect. Your restaurant can use video in a number of powerful ways, including sharing behind-the-scenes clips of a busy service, boosting response to your email list or sharing content on Instagram and YouTube. As well as increasing customer engagement, using video will also push you further up search results — essential for making it easy for potential diners to search for your restaurant.

Here are some great ways to include video content in your restaurant marketing strategy. The key thing is they all add value for the customer, sharing your restaurant brand not through a hard sales push, but through offering connection and engagement with your diners.

1. Share your restaurant on YouTube

YouTube gives every restaurant the platform and power to run their own show. Use YouTube to share engaging, quality videos that enhance your brand. For example, share a new recipe or film some footage of the origin of your ingredients. The trick is to not go in for the hard sell on YouTube — it will just turn customers off. Use YouTube to create engaging and interesting content that will keep viewers coming back, increasing your engagement with your customer base and sharing your brand at every opportunity in an organic way.

2. Combine Instagram Stories with engaging video content

We all know how important Instagram is to restaurants — the image dominated platform is a perfect partner for the visual nature and experience of great food. But you can strengthen the power of Instagram even further by combining video with Instagram Stories. Create and share some behind the scenes footage of a busy service or share high quality and tempting video of your best menu items. Instagram Stories is particularly valuable as you'll be able to tag accounts, add a hashtag, use a geotag for local diners and drive traffic to your website by including a link. It's all part of creating engagement and increasing your social proof, highlighting you as a restaurant to visit for new diners.

3. Boost response to your email list by including video

Every restaurant needs an email list full of engaged, opted-in diners who love to hear from you. Email works. It has great ROI, allows you to connect directly with your customer and it has great segmentation and targeting capability. But you can make email even better by including some quality video content that engages your diners. Video increases open rates dramatically, but it also gives you engaging content to keep interaction with your customers fresh and exciting. Use video in email to announce a special offer, share a new menu item or share some clips from a recent event. It works, and customers will love it.

4. Ask your diners to share their videos too

It all comes back to engagement (again). As well as creating your own quality video content, an important part of an effective restaurant marketing strategy is encouraging diners to share their video experiences too. This user-generated content is really powerful. Not only does it boost your social proof, diner interaction and word of mouth marketing for your restaurant, but it also pushes you up in search and keeps your brand awareness boosted. Make this a priority by asking your diners to share their videos and tagging your restaurant social accounts. This is also a really useful way for you to assess how your diners like to interact and engage with your brand, ensuring you respond to any diner comments and concerns quickly.

To wrap up

Video marketing is an important way to increase the reach and impact of your restaurant marketing. While it's a great way to share tempting clips of your great food, it's also an essential tool to boost customer engagement, increase word of mouth marketing for your restaurant brand and put you ahead in geo-search and online impact. Every restaurant needs to use the power of video in their 2020 marketing strategy.