Navigating the bustling food service industry can be daunting. With a sea of competitors, staying ahead requires more than just exceptional cuisine and service. It calls for a savvy marketing strategy that reaches your audience effectively and convinces them to choose your restaurant over many others.

A great marketing strategy should include things like engaging with consumers on social media and custom tees in Atlanta. It should also involve creating an enticing brand image through clever advertising and partnerships with local businesses.

Are you ready to make 2024 the year your restaurant rises above the competition? If so, check out the useful tips below.

Localize Your Brand

Atlanta is home to over 12,000 restaurants. Localizing your brand is crucial if you want to set your eatery apart from the competition. A great way to do this is through custom tees and apparel. By incorporating iconic landmarks and phrases unique to Atlanta, you can create a brand image that resonates with locals and tourists alike.

Think about the famous "ATL" or "Peachtree City" t-shirts that are constantly worn around town. These designs have become synonymous with Atlanta's culture, making them an effective way to promote your restaurant and create a sense of community.

You can also design aprons featuring popular Atlanta dishes or landmarks, giving your staff a unique and recognizable look that customers will remember. Bringing your designs to life will be easy with the right T-shirt print shop in Atlanta.

Use Fundraising Campaigns to Sell Custom Apparel

One smart way for your restaurant to boost its marketing and fundraising efforts is by selling custom apparel. This could include t-shirts, hoodies, or hats featuring your unique designs or restaurant logo.

T-shirt print shops in Atlanta can help you produce these items at a reasonable cost.

Here are some benefits of this approach:

• Community Engagement: Selling custom apparel allows your restaurant to connect with the local community. Your customers will appreciate the chance to show support for their favorite restaurant.
• Walking Advertisements: Every time someone wears your restaurant's custom tees in Atlanta, they advertise your brand to everyone they meet.
• Additional Revenue: Besides acting as a promotional tool, selling custom apparel can also provide additional revenue for your business.
• Strengthening Brand Identity: Custom tees can also play a role in strengthening your restaurant's brand identity, making it more recognizable and memorable. 

Ready to kickstart your restaurant's fundraising campaign? If so, hire Odom Design Company to design and print custom tees in Atlanta.

Harness the Power of Social Media

Social media platforms are powerful tools for restaurants to engage with their audience, and they work exceptionally well for showcasing custom apparel. If you've created custom tees in Atlanta for your restaurant, don't let them go unnoticed!

Start by sharing high-quality photos of your custom apparel on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Highlight the unique designs and the connection they have to your restaurant.

Run Exciting Social Media Contests

Get your followers pumped up by running social media contests where they can win your custom tees. This will promote your apparel and increase engagement on your social media pages. You might even consider a "photo contest" where customers share pictures wearing your custom tees. This will create a buzz around your brand and increase your reach on social media. 

Use Influencer Partnerships to Boost Exposure.

Establishing collaborations with local influencers can significantly elevate your restaurant's visibility on social media. Gift your custom tees to popular Atlanta-based food bloggers, chefs, or celebrities, and encourage them to wear and share pictures in your tee on their social media profiles. This will help you tap into a new audience and attract potential customers to your restaurant.

Leverage Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials are a powerful tool in promoting your restaurant. Encourage satisfied diners to write positive reviews about their experiences and post them on your website or social media channels. When potential customers read these testimonials, they see proof that your restaurant delivers excellent food and service.  

You can also highlight these testimonials on your custom tees in Atlanta by printing short quotes or reviews from happy customers. This will add credibility to your brand and further promote your restaurant's positive reputation.

10 Restaurant Marketing Ideas for 2024

Based on the strategies above here are ten restaurant marketing ideas and best practices to try in 2024:

1. Build a simple yet effective website

Whether I’m searching for a restaurant near me in Atlanta on Google or I’ve discovered a new place through Instagram, my next step is always to check out the restaurant’s website.

If you are a restaurant owner, work on emphasizing the need for regularly updated, user-friendly formats that make it easy for guests to see the menu, hours, location, and how to make a reservation.”

What I like: You don’t need to have killer website development skills to build an effective website. Just a simple one page site with all the pertinent info will do the trick.

2. Manage and update your Google Business Profile.

In addition to their website, another thing I immediately take a look at when searching for restaurants is their Google Business Profile.

Your Google Business Profile is the profile that pops up on the right side of the screen when someone searches for your business. This is the very first impression to searchers who want to see what type of food to expect and what the atmosphere is like.

It also displays key information such as hours, location, and reviews.

It’s important to keep your profile updated so customers have the most accurate and up-to-date information. Restaurants that actively maintain this information get more calls, website visits, and direction requests, and more importantly, those coveted and authentic reviews (great for SEO!).

Here’s an example of a Google Business Profile for a local pizza restaurant here in Johns Creek called Santinos:

The profile includes the restaurant’s essential information such as location, hours, and phone number. But it also includes things that can help diners make their decision, like the menu, service options, reviews, and plenty of photos.

Pro tip: You can add your own photos to your profile if you don’t want it to solely feature images from customer reviews.

3. Track online reviews.

While you can’t control what people write in their reviews, you can choose how you respond. Take the time to read and respond to both positive and negative reviews.

Here’s another example from Santino's, the pizza shop mentioned above. The restaurant takes the time to thoughtfully respond to every customer review on Google, even acknowledging their feedback when customers share it.

Best for: Tracking your restaurant’s online reviews isn’t only so you can stay on top of negative reviews. You can also use customer feedback to improve your restaurant service, get inspiration for new dishes, or collect positive reviews as social proof on your website and social media posts.

4. Share UGC (user-generated content).

Seeing posts created by other accounts and customers helps convince me to try a restaurant. This is called user-generated content, or UGC.

UGC establishes social proof, which is the concept that customers are influenced by other customers’ experiences, behavior, and recommendations.

For example, the Reel below was created by a customer of Chipotle.

The restaurant shared the video on its own IG page to amplify the influencer’s positive recommendation.

Not only does UGC provide social proof for your restaurant, but it also gives you plenty of content to share, so you never run out of things to post.

5. Join a reservation platform.

If you want to get customers in the door, you have to make it easy for them to come.

Reservation platforms like Resy or Tock are great channels for restaurants to increase their discoverability and get in front of new customers.

On the customer side, these platforms are convenient. Booking platforms often curate restaurants for customers, organizing them into categories such as “Top Rated” or “Best Brunches” so people can navigate their options better.

Resy, for instance, even has a category called “Book Tonight” that displays openings for last-minute reservations.

TIP: If you offer reservations or group dining, make it easy for your customers to book a table by adding a reservation page or plugin on your website.

6. Engage customers directly with email marketing.

Ever had a most memorable dining experience in Atlanta? 

I'm sure the experience has stuck with you...

So, anytime you see the name of the restaurant pop up in your inbox, I'm sure you'd immediately open the email just to be reminded of your experience right?

This is the power of email marketing.

When done right, emails can be used to increase customer loyalty and serve as a reminder of your story, your menu, or your events. Email is a way to reach your customers directly, whereas social media posts can get lost in a sea of content.

Send out emails once a month (or less) to share upcoming events or updates. That's enough for anyone really, you have a restaurant to run.

However, if you have enough data on your customers, you could send more personalized emails depending on their locations, demographic, and dining history with you. For instance, if you know your customers' birthdays, you can send them rewards to redeem on their special days.

Best for: If you want to communicate important information or share upcoming events with your customers, email marketing can be a more direct channel than social media.

7. Create shareable moments.

Shareable content is key to succeeding on social media. When you create content that attracts and resonates with people, they’re more likely to share it and help you increase your restaurant’s online reach.

There are a few ways to create moments or content that people want to share.

One way is to make your dishes Instagram-worthy so customers are compelled to take pictures and share them.

8. Start a loyalty or rewards program.

Everyone loves free stuff. A rewards program can be a fun way to encourage customers to become frequent visitors to earn free food and drinks.

Starbucks offers a great example of how to execute a rewards program. To encourage people to use its app, they offer free stuff!

The more orders you make in the app, the more points you get and can use towards future orders.

But you don’t need to have a fancy app or be a large restaurant chain to make this happen. If you use Square as your POS, it has this feature already built in!

Best for: Loyalty programs are meant to reward frequent customers. 

These programs work great with coffee shops or lunch spots in a busy office area — anywhere where you’re likely to see the same customers on a regular basis.

9. Create branded merchandise.

Creating physical products or branded merchandise is a great way to let your customers do your marketing for you.

Like the Chipotle campaign above, branded merchandise is a great marketing idea for restaurants with a loyal customer base. The key to creating branded merchandise is to create a product that not only reflects your brand but is also something your customers would enjoy.

Like: Branded merchandise is a great way to encourage customers to promote your brand for you and increase word-of-mouth.

10. Partner with similar brands.

Brand partnerships are an effective way to amplify your brand by getting it in front of new audiences.

To get the most out of your brand partnership, partner with a brand that has a different yet like-minded audience. It doesn’t even need to be another restaurant or food brand. The goal is to be introduced to a new audience that would benefit from or enjoy your product.

For instance, if you’re a small local restaurant that just opened , you could partner with other small businesses on the block for an in-person event or a social media giveaway.

Want to Promote Your Restaurant With Custom Tees in Atlanta?

Kick your 2024 restaurant marketing strategy into high gear with custom tees in Atlanta.

Odom Design Company can bring your t-shirt design vision to life.

Contact us today!