No matter what type of business you own, Facebook ads are a great way to get noticed by new customers.
Help customers learn more about your restaurant and expand your business by creating engaging social media ads.
Jump ahead to learn more about Facebook ads for restaurants:
1. Why do restaurant owners need Facebook ads?
2. Is Facebook a good place to advertise my business?
3. What kind of ads can you run on Facebook?
4. Examples of Facebook ads for restaurants
5. Start Your Facebook marketing plan
Keep reading to find out more about using Facebook to grow your business. Or, you can reach out to us at Relevantly to get personalized tips for your online marketing strategy.
Why Do Restaurant Owners Need Facebook Ads?
We now live in a time where almost everyone, no matter what age or demographic, spends some of their time online.
Social media users are not just using this time to interact with friends, they’re also interacting with local businesses.
One recent study, outlined by QSR Magazine, found that 42% of U.S diners used social media to interact with restaurants.
That same study also found that of that group of diners, 66% of them said they were more likely to visit a restaurant that they interacted with online.
Social media ads are an excellent way for users to not only find out more about your business (or learn about your business for the first time) but also to provide opportunities for users to interact with you and your content.
Some other reasons why restaurants can benefit from Facebook ads include:
Consistent branding and marketing establish trust with your customers. Trust is important when people are deciding where to eat - no one wants a bad dining experience, or worse, food poisoning!
Facebook ads allow you to target your ideal demographic so that you will find customers who are most likely to choose your restaurant.
Facebook ad options are nearly endless and they provide opportunities for you to share important messages such as sales, menu updates, and more.
Facebook ads are a relatively simple way to market to local users. Currently, three million businesses use Facebook to advertise.
To stay competitive, restaurants will need to integrate social media marketing into their marketing plan too.
Is Facebook a Good Place To Advertise My Business?
As we mentioned above, nearly everyone is engaged in some sort of social media platform. But what exactly does that look like?
In 2021, there were about 27 million Canadian Facebook users. To put this into perspective, approximately 72% of the Canadian population is on Facebook.
And just like many people are on Facebook, they also regularly eat at restaurants. Information from Statistics Canada 2019 found that 54% of Canadians eat out once a week or more.
Facebook is an excellent place to advertise due to the sheer number of people who use the platform - and the number of people who regularly eat out!
Facebook ads allow you to target very specific demographics in your area
Let’s take a look at the example ad above.
This Facebook ad for our mock restaurant is targeting:
Men and women
Ages 25-55
Within 25 miles (40 km) of Kitchener, ON
Take a look at the right side of the sample ad. It shows an estimate of the ad’s audience, calculating that:
This ad could be seen by up to 470,000 people in the Kitchener area
This ad could reach 625 - 1,800 people per day
This ad could result in 19 - 55 landing page views (people who click on the ad and end up on your website) per day
Facebook ads allow you to target specific groups - such as young adults looking for a cool hangout or business professionals looking for a meeting spot
Each restaurant will have its own target audience in mind. For instance, you may have a cool atmosphere for young adults looking for a fun night out, a business-casual feel for professionals to plan lunch meetings or a relaxed family restaurant.
Facebook advertisements are a great choice no matter what type of restaurant you own and no matter who your target audience is. You can reach them with highly specific and targeted Facebook ads.
What kind of ads can you run on Facebook?
Fortunately for businesses, Facebook allows you to run a wide range of ads. Here, we’ll go over some of the most popular options that you can take advantage of.
SINGLE IMAGE ADS
Single image ads are one of the most common types of Facebook ads. Single image ads display one large image with a description and call to action button. Single image ads are excellent if you want to showcase one menu item, a staff member, or a picture of your restaurant.
CAROUSEL ADS
Carousel ads display a collection of images that allow the user to scroll through using the arrows provided.
An example of a carousel ad for a restaurant
Carousel ads are perfect if you want to display multiple items on your menu, or if you want to show a variety of images such as an image of the inside of your restaurant, another of the outside, and one of food.
VIDEO ADS
Facebook allows you to run videos as advertisements. For restaurants, this provides a great opportunity to give a tour of your facility. You can even get creative and showcase a staff story, or even provide a cooking tutorial, which are super popular on social media right now.
Examples of Facebook Ads For Restaurants
Here at Relevantly, we specialize in creating unique, high-quality advertisements for small businesses across Ontario, Canada, and North America.
We’ve created three sample advertisements to give you an idea of what types of ads restaurants can run - and why they work.
Ad Example #1: photography contest
Running a contest - with a clear prize for the winner - is a great way to get engagement. This particular ad asks users to dine in their restaurant in order to win the prize, so it’s a fun way to generate buzz about your restaurant and encourage customers to dine in!
Example Ad #2: Menu Showcase
Carousel ads are a great way to show a variety of your delicious foods! It’s also a good opportunity to showcase a particular type of food. For example, vegetarians or vegans often have a harder time finding restaurants that offer plant-based options. Creating an ad that targets vegetarian users can help connect you with more customers.
Ad Example #3: how to with Chef Video
Take advantage of all those “how to” cooking videos out there and create your own with your staff! This ad is an excellent way to introduce customers to your staff and get tons of engagement. Creating a casual video like this in a home instead of your restaurant is less “salesy” and will be more likely to get shares since it doesn’t look like a traditional ad.
Facebook Ads For Restaurants
Start your Facebook Marketing Plan!
Starting any new marketing plan can feel overwhelming. Business owners are busy enough trying to run a great business without the extra stress of planning, designing, creating, and running ads.
One of the best ways to ensure you get the most out of your marketing plan and budget is by working with marketing professionals.
When you work with the pros, they have the experience and expertise needed to create highly effective ads that target the right demographic.
Facebook ads for restaurants do work - but it is important that they are properly planned, designed, and executed. Targeting the perfect audience and using the right wording, graphics, and call-to-actions are the best way to get the engagement you need.
At Relevantly, we have helped small businesses across Ontario, Canada, and North America take better control of their marketing strategy.
We have over 15 years of combined marketing experience and have worked with businesses ranging from local home improvement companies to overseas non-profits!
If you’re ready to learn more about growing your restaurant business, gaining new customers, and improving your brand, fill out the contact form below to get in touch with someone from our team.
During business hours, we’ll be in touch within 60 minutes of your email!
