Andrea AbbondanzaWhile platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have long been hailed as the go-to marketing channels, one platform often needs to be more utilized in the restaurant industry: Pinterest.
With over 460 million active users worldwide, Pinterest acts as a virtual pinboard where businesses can curate and share captivating visuals, inspiring dishes, and innovative recipes.
Don’t take it for granted—start to craft a Pinterest marketing strategy for your restaurant with our guide below. Read on!
What is Pinterest Marketing?
Pinterest marketing refers to the practice of using the platform as a strategic tool to promote businesses, products, and services.
It involves creating and curating visually appealing content, such as high-quality photos, videos, and infographics, that resonate with Pinterest’s user base.
For instance, if you own a restaurant, you can create boards of your mouth-watering menus, cozy restaurant ambiance, skilled chefs, and many more.
The main point of Pinterest marketing is to optimize images and descriptions with relevant restaurant keywords so that you can tap into the platform’s vast user base.
Pinterest Marketing Tips for Restaurant
Here are our curated marketing tips for restaurants’ Pinterest strategy. Read on!
Post Your Menu
Your tantalizing menus deserve more exposure, and Pinterest is one of the best platforms to get it. Pinterest users looking for food or drink photos might stumble upon your menus and decide to order them from your restaurant—hence, a handy link will help.
Start by making a board with relevant names, like “Mouth-watering Food”. Rename each picture on the board with “Menu Name + Restaurant Name”. In addition, add a relevant description followed by a destination link to your restaurant’s online ordering page.
Upload Pictures of Your Restaurant
Besides scrumptious food and drink pictures, it is a great idea to upload pictures of your restaurant that capture the cozy decor and ambiance. Remember to add relevant tags and descriptions of your restaurant’s location. Also, add a destination link to your restaurant’s maps.
This way, users will find it easy to locate your place—who knows, they will visit?
Start Pinning
After making several boards of various categories, it’s time to compile them into dedicated pins. Your pins reflect your restaurant’s dedication to the culinary world.
You can add Pinterest pins by uploading pictures from your computer, inserting a website URL, or using an embedded “Pin It” button available on other websites. When you find a website with relevant and interesting pictures that match your board, pin the picture right away!
Make sure to add pins sparingly—Pinterest recommends 15-25 pins per day if the account has been long established. However, if you’re new to this “pinning” world, 5-10 per day is enough.
Visit Other Pinterest Accounts
Want to get higher engagement? Make sure you visit other Pinterest account with a relevant niche like yours.
Start by following these accounts to stay updated with their content. Like and comment on their pins to initiate conversations and build relationships.
To take a step further, you can also reach out to these accounts for potential collaborations, such as guest pinning or joint boards.
By sharing each other’s content, you can tap into each other’s audiences and gain exposure to new potential followers.
Use Pinterest SEO
Like other social media platforms, Pinterest needs SEO strategies to be optimized.
Start by researching relevant keywords that align with your restaurant and target audience. You can use tools like Pinterest Trends or Google Keyword Planner to identify these keywords.
Incorporate your target keywords into your profile name, bio, and descriptive board titles. When creating pins, include your target keywords in the pin title, pin description, and alt text. Plus, don’t forget the hashtags!
You can also use Rich Pins, or pins that automatically sync information from your site, to perform better in search results and lure more clicks.
Use Pinterest Analytics
Pinterest Analytics helps a lot to provide you with insights and data to optimize your presence on the platform. To access this tool, you need to have a Pinterest business account.
This tool provides data on your audience’s demographic, identifies trending content within your niche, analyzes traffic, tracks seasonal trends and behaviors, provides insights into competitors’ performance, and monitors the performance of your pins.
Keep Your Pinterest Up-to-date
Regularly sharing fresh content, staying on top of trends, and optimizing your pins and boards can help engage your audience, improve visibility, and maximize your marketing efforts on the platform. Spend at least 5-10 minutes every day to refresh your content, and you’ll see the result.
Create a Blog Board
If your restaurant has a blog and wants to reach a wider audience, you can craft a Pinterest blog board. Rename the article pins board with “Restaurant Name + Blog Post Title”.
Whenever you post a new entry on your blog, upload the featured image on the blog board, add descriptions, and insert the link to your article. This way, users will be easier to access your blog content, resulting in increasing website traffic.
Host a Contest on Pinterest
People love simple, exciting social media contests, especially when the prize is free food at your restaurant. Some easy Pinterest contest ideas include:
- Food Photography Contest: Encourage participants to share visually appealing photos of dishes they’ve enjoyed at your restaurant.
- Dining Experience Contest: Invite people to share their memorable dining experiences at your restaurant through a written or visual entry.
- Caption Contest: Share an amusing or intriguing photo from your restaurant and ask participants to come up with the best caption.
Make sure to create a dedicated hashtag to track the entries easier.
The prizes can be varied, such as gift cards, food vouchers, exclusive discounts, merchandise, or even culinary classes.
Add User-generated Content to Your Profile
Get free additional content from your followers by adding user-generated content to your profile.
To get started, set up a dedicated Pinterest board specifically for user-generated content. This board should be prominently displayed on your profile and can be named something like “Our Amazing Customers” or “Fan Favorites”.
Regularly curate the best user-generated content and add it to your dedicated board. Make sure to ask for consent, tag, and credit the original creators in the pin descriptions to give them recognition.
Add Collaborators to Your Pinterest Boards
Sometimes you get too caught up on the restaurant onsite work that you abandon the Pinterest account. To tackle this problem, you can add collaborators to your Pinterest boards.
The collaborators can be your chefs, photographers, or other staff that already have a Pinterest account. You can control their limitation as collaborators, such as adding pins, giving comments, and adding other collaborators on the board.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to post on Pinterest?
Typically, the best times to post on Pinterest are weekdays, especially Tuesday to Thursday, during the evening hours from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM, and weekend mornings between 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Avoid Mondays and Fridays, as engagement might be lower.
How to make a Pinterest page for your restaurant?
To make a Pinterest page for your restaurant, sign up with your email and choose a business account type during setup. Complete your profile with a profile picture, username, and about section. Finally, you can proceed to create boards and do other stuff.
How to customize your Pinterest business profile?
To customize your Pinterest business profile, start by adding information related to your restaurant. Include your username, description, website URL, email address, phone number, and location.
Conclusion
In short, Pinterest is a powerful platform that restaurants can leverage to boost their marketing efforts and drive success. By implementing the right marketing strategies for restaurants on Pinterest, restaurants can showcase their unique offerings and attract more customers to the platform.
With its growing user base and visual appeal, Pinterest provides a valuable opportunity for restaurants to stand out and connect with their online audience meaningfully.
So, start pinning for success and watch your restaurant thrive in the digital landscape. If you need further assistance with Pinterest marketing efforts or other related digital marketing strategies, contact us at SEO for Restaurants now!
