5 reasons why your restaurant needs a food blogger

Yes, this is that one article that answers every restaurant owner’s question when they host food bloggers,

“Do food bloggers really improve my business effectiveness and traffic or are they just eating for free?”

Truthfully, we food bloggers do enjoy freebies in our niche.

But there’s a reason why more and more big food corporates and restaurants are heavily investing in the service of food bloggers.

In fact, influencer marketing itself has proven to be thoroughly successful in various other industries.

Think of food bloggers as that popular friend that connects you to their rich friends who get you free passes to concerts and takes you to fancy places.

In this case, of course the ‘popular friend’ is a food blogger whilst the ‘rich friends’ are clients. Food bloggers typically have a large following and they probably talk about food on daily which creates trust and builds an audience that genuinely cares about these topics.

If you’re lucky enough, you’ll find a food blogger (such as myself) who is pretty knowledgeable about SEO (search engine optimization) and knows which keywords to use to attract customers.

Still stuck on the ‘Why give them free food‘ bit?

See, the thing is…

People buy experiences.

When a walk-in patron settles for your restaurant (or product) chances are they’ve checked reviews left by other people that have dined there. This feedback is critical because it shapes their opinion of your services.

As said above. “People buy experiences”

They want to know that a regular person experienced your service and liked or hated it. The latter is EVERYTHING you don’t want. So how does a food blogger get in the mix?

Food bloggers take pictures of the food you serve, the overall ambiance, and how your customer service felt like then share it with their circles. This is the gold because it serves potential customers what? Experience.

Let me give you 5 more reasons why you should definitely consider this.

1. Outrageously good photos

Most food bloggers are also top-notch photographers. They know which angles work for food and which filters make the grub satisfying to look at. Attractive food is obviously a big plus because it makes potential customers curious about the taste. Only a food blogger that’s great with photography will grab more clients for you.

 

2. Instant exposure

This is not to say you become an overnight success but you’ll notice the difference, no doubt. Because food bloggers garner an audience that trusts them, they’ll pay attention when your food business is mentioned. The awesome thing about this is it connects you to a pool of people that don’t include your uncles and friends who almost never pay.

3. Controlled feedback and reviews

We get it. You were having a bad day and roughed up a customer who went on to leave a nasty review online? This is a common occurrence for businesses. Of course this doesn’t make it permissable. People want to be treated well, and food bloggers such as Just For Foodies exist to make sure customers only go where good service is. They also help restaurants that want to correct mistakes through giving honest reviews of their food and great customer care. Naturally, this spreads positive information about your restaurant and encourages more people to patronize you.

4. Gain critical feedback

Food bloggers have tasted food from your competitors and many others. Having one on your team means you get advice on certain dishes and restaurant ambiance before they reach their blog. This helps A LOT when there’s something ‘off’ about a particular dessert or sitting arrangement. Nasty reviews from bloggers are a curse you need to avoid like the plague. Get one on your side that’ll help you to improve and give you helpful tips on how to become better competitive! Trust me, they’ll point out TONS of things you’re blind to.

5. Yes, Money, Money, Money

The billion dollar question is obviously about whether its worth it. Yes. If you choose well. A food blogger who has great influence will not only make your restaurant look good, but it will gain more customers too. The primary aim of your business is to make money, anyway. RESULTS need to be checked for whatever marketing strategy you decide to go for. The ‘success‘ you measure will be based on what your initial reasons for seeking out a blogger are. In any case, you’re supposed to gain more clients.

 

It’s highly critical that you choose your food blogger carefully. Not all of them are created equally. A good place to start would be to look at some of their work just to check if it’s the type of style and voice you’d like or can work through. Are they hosting any of your competitors? What are their rates?

Working with or employing a food blogger will build up the reputation of your restaurant and gain you more patrons.

The perks you’ll get from them are chiefly through word of mouth, which is excellent.

This organic marketing means folks discover you through recommendations — not just because of ads.

If this is something you’d be interested in discussing further. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to hear you out!