The 5 Best Digital Marketing Agencies For Those With A Dream Of Restaurant Stardom
Have you got a dream to run the best restaurant in your area? It’s the kind of spark of inspiration that lights up when you pass a recently closed down joint, see a for-rent sign on the front, and can’t help but think about everything you could do with the space inside.
And while many people would leave that there, you’re someone with a real entrepreneurial spirit. You want to make your dream come true, and whether or not you’ve got the catering skills, you’re sure you can create the best dining experience the community has ever seen.
There’s just one sticking point that’s knocking you back down: the marketing.
Restaurants need a clear and cohesive online strategy, even when the food is good enough to die for! And it’s hard to be chef and marketer both, so you're probably going to need a hand in getting the word out there.
And that’s the kind of problem this list is here to solve. If you need help with making your restaurant stardom dreams come true, the 5 agencies we’ve listed below are the teams to turn to.
What to Look for in a Digital Marketing Agency
Before we dig into our recommendations, let’s go over a couple of points on what a restaurant owner should look for in a digital marketing agency.
Industry expertise: There’s nothing like knowing the hospitality sector like the back of your hand! If you’re going to hire the agency, they need to have a background in the industry itself and/or similar case studies readily available.
A suitable price range: Your budget is your budget, and the agency you hire needs to fit into it. If you’re paying out more than you realistically can afford before you’ve even cooked any food, you could lose out big time.
Now that’s out of the way, here are the top 5!
#1: Ink Digital - Best Bespoke Hospitality SEO
If you need an SEO package that’s actually tailored to your specific needs, look no further than Ink Digital. They’re experts in hospitality digital marketing, and specialise in bringing new restaurants, bars, and cafes to the forefront of their local area.
The best thing about their services? They focus on proper commercial outcomes, rather than vanity metrics. Because it’s one thing to have lots of followers on social media, but if those followers aren’t ordering anything, they won’t bring you much success!
Ink Digital’s SEO services include:
SEO sprints
Technical SEO
Content strategy
Expert SEO advice
Conversion-focused web design
With plenty of case studies to see on their website, Ink Digital nab the top spot on our list for new restaurant owners looking for an impactful way to get the word out.
#2: We Are MeMo - Great Social Media Strategy
Restaurants often thrive on social media. When you want to display your menu in the best light, videos and images are the best medium for it.
That’s where We Are MeMo can support you. They have the right kind of cutting edge in social media strategy, and take the essential kind of creative, story-based approach to capturing your brand.
You get both the social media strategy AND content you need, with a combined skillset from both their in-house team and the content creators they network with.
And they wouldn’t be the experts without understanding that each channel needs a different approach, so that’s what they offer as well. Whether you’re interested in Instagram or Youtube, they’ll come up with a cohesive package that covers them all.
#3: Snack - Robust Customer Outreach
Hospitality is right there in their name! Snack is the digital marketing agency that takes restaurant success seriously. And we’re happy to say that we can see that in the way they approach digital marketing in the hospitality industry.
After all, you’re nothing without some raving customer reviews, and it takes a proper outreach specialist to keep those rolling in. Snack has a keen eye for CRM management, and their email marketing service focuses on repeat custom targets in the right way.
This combined outreach approach keeps you holding onto your leads, and allows you a pretty good chance to connect over and over again with the natural ambassadors of your brand.
#4: Sister London - Dynamic Creative Approach
Sister London is quite the unique team. They run a full restaurant marketing division as part of their overall digital marketing service, and we like the way they’ve taken a more dynamically creative approach here.
They focus on integration, meaning all of the different elements of a marketing campaign are blended into one under their leadership.
You get plenty bang for your buck here, with services like PR and influencer marketing tied into the bundle, on top of the standard social media outreach you would expect to see.
And with their content creation all done in-house, you know it’s been produced with their expert eye.
#5: Sprout Media - Great Local SEO Support
Most restaurants want to focus on the immediate area. And this is a good method to go with; local SEO has the biggest impact on businesses with a physical location. You can’t just ship off your meals to anyone in the world - you need customers that are only 2 to 3 miles away.
That’s what Sprout Media takes charge of. Local SEO is an amazing thing, but it takes a careful hand to make it work. Because you’re not just focusing on ranking via the internet at large, but within a pre defined area.
That puts more restrictions on the content you put out, and makes coming up with a suitable campaign all the more difficult. But Sprout Media have got you covered.
Choose Your Restaurant’s Digital Marketing Partner with Confidence
You know you need one, and you’re hoping to find the perfect partner from the beginning. That’s what we want to help with; some confidence in your marketing outreach does wonders for your confidence as the owner!
So if you’re on the lookout, keep the 5 above in mind.