Can you confidently say what Hyperlocal Restaurant Marketing is? At first guess, it kinda sounds like you’re marketing to crazy people in your area…. Or maybe marketing to people standing within 1 metre of you. Whilst that could actually be the case, it doesn’t quite capture the meaning of the term.

Essentially, marketing’s next big buzzword pretty much refers to marketing strategies that ensure potential customers who are physically nearby have the highest possible chance of ultimately visiting and purchasing from your store.

Wait? You mean like standing outside your store and shouting really loudly?

Well…yeah, that’s definitely Hyperlocal Restaurant Marketing!

In the age of smartphones, search engine optimisation and social media, there’s far more extensive and effective methods to pull nearby consumers into your store. With 81% of purchases being backed by prior online research, waving around a cardboard sign just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Here are 4 Tips for Hyperlocal Restaurant Marketing from Tayble to make this rapidly-expanding trend a tool for your restaurant:

1. SEO Local Listing Registration

Most restaurant owners have worked out by now that having a Google Business listing is probably a smart thing to do – even the old-school eateries who write orders on paper and haven’t started using Tayble yet!

But consumers source suggestions from a diverse range of platforms and in maximising your search engine ranking. You want to make sure you have a local business listing on as many of them as you can. Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Apple Maps, even good ‘ol Yellow Pages.

They’re free routes to put your business on the map… literally.

Now, aside from location, contact details, hours and website, what else do you need?

Well, high-quality food and decor pictures are a big plus when you have mobile consumers swiping through from option to option. Aside from not providing visual distinction, low-quality images or a lack of photos entirely reduce the perception of the restaurant as trustworthy and reliable.

Consider even leveraging local familiarity with an outside shot to reinforce your local identity.

Now that’s some food for thought 😉

2. Local Awareness Facebook Ads and Facebook Offers

Facebook has started to shift into the hyperlocal paradigm over the past two years, expanding marketing capability for Facebook Ads to include Local Awareness presets. These consist of two key components.

1. The map card: Tells customers your location, opening and closing times
2. Call-to-action button: Provides a customisable button that can link to map directions, go to your website menu or even prompt a phone call or Facebook message.

Essentially, what these Local Awareness Ads enable is a customised advertisement that takes into account user location and time in order to convert them to customers.

Beyond local awareness ads, Facebook also enables offer ads. Whereby a discount or special deal is advertised to nearby online consumers.

With Tayble’s app spinning off from a background of online, localised deals through Dealztap. This one can be killer when you have a consumer walking around your suburb looking for a good meal.

3. Localised Content Creation

This one’s not as high-tech, but a surprising amount of restaurants fail to capitalise on it.

If you have a restaurant in Bondi, blog and post about events and issues relevant to Bondi, Sydney or Australia generally. Think cultural festivals, music, weather, Aussie politics and the like. Pretty simple stuff?

This drives local post reach and engagement and also helps to boost search ranking when consumers include the suburb as a search term in their quest for a decent meal.

4. Local Influencers

The efficacy of Instagram and Facebook influencer marketing is becoming increasingly clear. Although one overlooked consideration for restaurants is developing partnerships. Not just with popular online presences, but those who actually live or work locally.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog post on Sydney’s best Instagram food blogs! There will be some notable influencers who form a part of the local online culture.

While there are a number of platforms that make it easy to connect with social media influencers. One, in particular, is Hypedivision, which focuses on acquiring lots of smaller influencers in your area and providing a briefing platform.

So what better way to boost your local online reputation than to make your locals your advocates?

While there’s a lot your business can do to shout out at nearby consumers without straining your voice.

Hyperlocal Restaurant Marketing takes advantage of the consumer shift towards mobile research to carve your restaurant out as an online local landmark.

However, in considering this mobile shift, equally important is what comes after the customer finds your restaurant: booking, ordering, paying and reviewing.

If you want a way to ease pressure on waitstaff and streamline the dining experience without disrupting your chefs, come have a dinner on us. Reach out to chris@tayble.co for more info.