Tis the Season!
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when the holidays are near? Food! Food might even be higher on the “favorites” list than holiday shopping and gift giving. Lots of Lancaster County foodies celebrate the cooler months by whipping out their seasonal recipes and indulging in seasonal foods.
Holiday baking, eating, drinking, and dining are a big part of the season. While appetites are running high, your competition is also ramping up their marketing during the fourth quarter. You’ll need extra marketing power to ensure your business will attract more customers.
Be Social
Let’s be real. Most of your customers, regardless of age, are active on some form of social media:
- Social media has rapidly become an increasingly influential marketing tool. Social media is extra active and festive during the holidays; this is a great time for food businesses to promote themselves.
- Businesses in Lancaster County should be inspiring customers and employees to post seasonal food photos, recipes, and stories. After all, food not only tastes and smells delicious, but looks beautiful too.
- Mouthwatering photos are sure to get consumers in the door. Use the best photography you can afford, and make sure everything you post looks delicious.
Location Marketing
It’s no surprise that we use our mobile phones to do the majority of our searches for local businesses, and it’s especially true when trying to find a place to eat:
- According to industry research, 68% of consumers said they were more likely to dine at a restaurant based on the results of their digital searches.
- People are performing more and more internet searches when choosing a restaurant in hopes of finding a full menu and reviews. Those two things make it a little easier to choose where to eat when you’re surrounded by so many great restaurants in Lancaster County.
- Investing in geofencing is a great mobile marketing strategy to incorporate into your marketing plan. Geofenced ads only appear on users’ phones after they have entered a defined virtual geographic boundary that your digital marketing agency has defined. Since so many people are already on their smartphones searching for somewhere to dine, chances are that extra mobile push might be the decision maker.
Boost SEO
RetailMeNot’s study, “The Evolution of Dining in the Digital Age,” found that consumers are turning to their smartphones to make dining decisions more frequently than ever before. Many diners are also choosing to use their personal devices even while at the table. Using SEO strategies combined with geofencing is a guaranteed way to get you in front of people searching for food solutions at the exact moment they are performing their search.
Event Marketing
Hosting an event that allows customers to try your food or drink is a surefire way to jumpstart business for your Lancaster County restaurant:
- Try sampling events that bring your holiday food and spirits to them in bite size or miniature form. Wow them with trial events, and they’ll be sure to be a customer in the future.
- One of the easiest ways to reach lots of new customers is by participating in Taste! Lancaster, Festival of Food, Wine & Spirits. This fun festival is a showcase of Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s restaurants, food vendors, vineyards, microbreweries, distilleries, retailers and much more. Thousands of prospects attend to find out what’s new and interesting in Lancaster County.
If you would like to talk about more marketing ideas for your food or spirits business, contact us. Our food marketing team will develop a customized plan for your business.
LNP Media Group is committed to delivering exceptional experiences to our audiences, our customers, our vendors and our employees throughout Lancaster County and Central Pennsylvania. We provide value to our marketing and advertising partners by building effective and innovative solutions and by delivering exemplary customer experiences.