Cẩm nang marketing nhà hàng

Finding, inviting, paying and checking food creators, and what to do when a visit goes wrong.

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  Does a food influencer have to disclose a free meal?

  FTC guidance says creators should disclose a comp meal.

  8 min read·Jan 21, 2025

• Can you film customers in your restaurant for social media?

  Wide shots of a busy dining room are usually fine. Faces in ads and recorded table talk need a yes.

  7 min read·Nov 25, 2025

• Should food influencers tip when the meal is free?

  Yes. A comped table is still served, so the guest tips on the full menu value.

  7 min read·Jan 6, 2026

• How do you check where a creator’s followers live?

  Ask the creator for a follower-location screenshot, read recent comments for local signs, and treat a paid tool’s location numbers as an estimate.

  5 min read·Sep 29, 2026

• How do you run a 30-day creator campaign, step by step?

  Week one, pick nearby creators and brief them. Week two, host the visits on set dates.

  8 min read·Apr 15, 2025

• Should I pay food influencers or just give them a free meal?

  A comp meal costs the table’s bill; a fee pays for more videos, more locations, exclusivity or ad use.

  8 min read·Feb 4, 2025

• What should you say when an influencer walks in asking for free food?

  A short host-stand script, a one-page walk-in policy and one channel for creator requests, so every shift turns down free-food asks politely and the same way.

  6 min read·Jul 21, 2026

• Should my restaurant hire an influencer agency, use software, or do it myself?

  Do it yourself for a few visits a month, use software when outreach outgrows one person, and hire an agency when nobody on staff can own the work.

  8 min read·Mar 4, 2025

• How do I invite food influencers to my restaurant?

  What to put in an invitation to a food creator: the offer, guests, times, the post and the disclosure, and what to leave out.

  5 min read·Jan 7, 2025

• What should I do if a food influencer eats for free and never posts?

  Check what was agreed, ask how the meal was and when the post is coming, stop if a second note a week later gets no reply, and keep it private.

  8 min read·Feb 18, 2025

• How do you find food creators who post in Spanish?

  Search local phrases in Spanish and check the comments for local followers.

  7 min read·Sep 2, 2025

TikTok, Instagram and Facebook for one restaurant: what still works and how diners find new places.

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  Is TikTok worth it for a small restaurant?

  TikTok reaches young diners, but a store account costs manager hours each week.

  6 min read·Aug 4, 2026

• How do hot pot restaurants get customers from TikTok?

  Hot pot sells itself on video. Invite local creators to film a group meal, tag your location, and turn the comments into bookings.

  7 min read·Jul 22, 2025

• Where do diners discover new restaurants?

  Word of mouth still leads restaurant discovery, but Gen Z finds new places on TikTok first.

  6 min read·Jul 8, 2025

• How do you run an Instagram giveaway for a restaurant?

  Run an Instagram giveaway that brings local guests in.

  7 min read·Mar 31, 2026

• How should a taco shop or Mexican restaurant market itself?

  How a taco shop or Mexican restaurant can stand out: film the plancha, price a weekly deal you can afford and speak to neighbors in Spanish.

  7 min read·Mar 17, 2026

Google, Facebook and Instagram ads for a restaurant location, and when a creator beats an ad.

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  Should a restaurant boost Facebook posts or run real ads?

  When a Facebook boost is enough for one restaurant, what it cannot do, and the signs it is time to build the ad in Ads Manager instead.

  6 min read·Apr 28, 2026

• How do you set up Google Ads for a restaurant location?

  One Search campaign, a linked Business Profile, a call button, tight location targeting and weekly negative keywords.

  8 min read·Apr 29, 2025

• Are food influencers better than Facebook ads for a restaurant?

  Facebook ads buy reach you control. Local food creators bring trust and videos that stay up.

  7 min read·Sep 30, 2025

• How do you run Facebook and Instagram ads for one restaurant location?

  Set up Facebook and Instagram ads for one restaurant: one radius, one offer, a daily budget, and what a first test must prove before you spend more.

  8 min read·Dec 2, 2025

• How do you run paid ads for each franchise location separately?

  One ad account per owner, one campaign per store, budgets by trade area.

  7 min read·Sep 10, 2026

Google Business Profile, reviews and local store marketing: the work that fills one location.

• What is local store marketing (LSM) for restaurants?

  Local store marketing (LSM) is the plan one restaurant runs for its own neighbors.

  6 min read·Jan 13, 2026

• How do you set up a Google Business Profile that brings diners in?

  Claim and verify each store, pick one specific category, list dining room hours, link your own menu and add real photos.

  7 min read·Jan 27, 2026

• How should a restaurant respond to a bad review?

  Reply within a day, thank the guest, name the problem and take it offline. Then fix the cause.

  8 min read·Jul 7, 2026

• How do you get more Google reviews for a restaurant?

  Ask every guest the same way with Google’s free link and QR code.

  7 min read·Jun 24, 2025

• How do you fill a restaurant on slow weeknights?

  Find your weakest night and give guests a reason that exists only then. Aim ads, posts and creator visits at that night.

  7 min read·Sep 1, 2026

Marketing a new opening or a franchise location: timing, franchisor approval and the ad co-op.

• When should you start marketing a new restaurant?

  Start the quiet work at the lease, go live on Google three months out, train for a month and invite creators once the kitchen runs steady.

  6 min read·Jun 23, 2026

• How do you market a new franchise location in a town that already knows the brand?

  The brand is known, but your address is not.

  7 min read·Feb 10, 2026

• How does a franchisee market their own location?

  Read Item 11 of your FDD first. Use the local kit and fix your Google listing.

  7 min read·May 13, 2025

• How do you get your franchisor to approve a store’s marketing fast?

  Reuse brand templates, send one complete packet three weeks early, and ask head office to sign off a whole quarter of local marketing at once.

  6 min read·May 12, 2026

• What is a franchise advertising co-op, and how does it work?

  A co-op pools franchisee money to buy ads in one market.

  7 min read·Aug 14, 2025

• How do you promote a new restaurant before it opens?

  Promote a new restaurant or franchise location before it opens: Google 90 days out, window signs, a guest list, a soft opening, then creators.

  7 min read·May 27, 2025

• Can a franchisee hire influencers without franchisor approval?

  A paid creator post usually counts as local advertising.

  6 min read·May 26, 2026

A year of dates for a restaurant: football season, Halloween, Thanksgiving, gift cards and the holidays.

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  How do you sell Thanksgiving to-go meals and pies?

  Sell a few fixed bundles and pies on pre-order.

  7 min read·Oct 14, 2025

• What Halloween promotions work for a restaurant?

  Three Halloween offers a restaurant can run this month: a costume deal, one themed item and a party takeout bundle.

  7 min read·Sep 23, 2025

• How do you sell more gift cards over the holidays?

  Sell holiday gift cards at the counter, online and to local employers.

  8 min read·Nov 4, 2025

• What should a restaurant do on Small Business Saturday?

  Plan Small Business Saturday for your restaurants.

  7 min read·Oct 28, 2025

• How should a restaurant handle Veterans Day?

  Offer one free entrée or a set discount with proof of service.

  6 min read·Oct 21, 2025

• How do you build a 12-month restaurant marketing calendar?

  Put a year of dates, offers and owners on one sheet.

  7 min read·Dec 9, 2025

• When should restaurants start holiday marketing?

  Start in early October. Party bookings, catering and gift card sales all build before December, and creators want weeks of notice.

  7 min read·Sep 9, 2025

• How do restaurants get more customers during football season?

  Plan football season’s big weekends: a game-day menu, booked watch parties, pickups timed around kickoff, and creator videos two weeks ahead.

  9 min read·Aug 19, 2025

• How does an ice cream or froyo shop stay busy in winter?

  How an ice cream or froyo shop stays busy in winter: seasonal flavors, warm desserts, pints to go, holiday pies and cakes, and gift cards.

  6 min read·Nov 12, 2025

DoorDash orders, direct ordering and office catering: the sales lines beyond the dining room.

• How do you sell holiday party catering to offices?

  Sell party trays to nearby offices this season.

  6 min read·Oct 7, 2025

• How do you get more orders on DoorDash?

  Photos, plain item names, correct hours and fair prices decide DoorDash orders.

  8 min read·Sep 16, 2025

• How do you sell catering to offices?

  Weekday office lunches reorder when they go well.

  6 min read·Nov 18, 2025

What marketing costs a restaurant, what creators charge, and how to tell what worked.

• What percentage of sales should a restaurant spend on marketing?

  Restaurants commonly budget 3–6% of sales for marketing and more for a new location.

  6 min read·Aug 5, 2025

• How do you track influencer results without promo codes or links?

  Count the filmed dish in your POS, compare same-weekday windows and hold back control stores.

  6 min read·Jun 9, 2026

• Should a small restaurant chain start a loyalty program?

  Start a loyalty program when every register can tie a visit to a guest.

  6 min read·Mar 3, 2026

• How much does it cost to get food influencers to my restaurant?

  The cost has four parts: the meal, any creator fee, finding and managing creators, and staff time.

  8 min read·Apr 1, 2025

• How do you price a limited-time offer so it makes money?

  Price a limited-time offer from its plate cost and a waste allowance, set it against your core menu, and judge it by the dollars each order keeps.

  7 min read·Dec 30, 2025

• Is influencer marketing worth it for a small restaurant?

  It pays where a store has a dish worth filming, seats to fill and local creators.

  7 min read·Apr 14, 2026

• How much do food influencers charge in New York City?

  Many New York food creators post for a comped meal. National guides put a small creator’s video at $200–$500.

  6 min read·Dec 23, 2025

What real chains did, read from their public record: openings, catering, texting and team dinners.

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  What did Pokitomik get from text-message marketing across 14 locations?

  Pokitomik’s text club grew 55% in a year, its vendor says.

  6 min read·Mar 11, 2025

• How does a six-store pizza chain win over high school teams with free dinners?

  Champ Pizza gives each local high-school team one free dinner a season and asks schools to post photos.

  7 min read·Feb 17, 2026

• How did Newk’s Eatery make catering about 11% of sales?

  Newk’s Eatery grew catering to about 11% of sales and cut its lead time from 24 hours to four.

  6 min read·Sep 22, 2026

• What does Torchy’s ‘first 100 guests’ opening offer teach a new location?

  Torchy’s Tacos gives the first 100 opening-day guests a token for a year of free queso at that store.

  7 min read·Apr 21, 2026