If you don't take social media influencers seriously, you should reconsider your position, especially as it relates to your restaurant's marketing efforts.
Influencers and other creators have proven adept at gaining large numbers of followers and knowing what kind of content their audiences respond to. So, if you know the right way to collaborate with them, they can be a great vehicle to share about your restaurant concept.
To learn more about why restaurants should consider influencer marketing and the do's and don'ts when building a campaign, NRN Editor-in-Chief Sam Oches, co-founder of marketing firm Dreambox We spoke to Dan Bejimuk, CEO and CEO.
This interview has been edited for clarity. Stream the podcast above to learn more.
What do you think is the right way to leverage influencers to support restaurant brands today?
This is truly one of the most cringe-worthy dynamics we see, and we see it all the time. Brands want to partner with influencers, and they want to teach influencers how to create content. Let's step on the brakes a little here. The reason we recommend this influencer is not to teach you how to communicate to your audience. They've done it. They created a following. Our job is to ensure that we deliver the combination between brands, influencers, and influencers' audiences in an authentic way.
What TikTok has really done so far is challenge people to be authentic. Think about Instagram and how sophisticated a lot of Instagram content is. That's kind of the name of the game. That means honing and presenting an aspirational image that people look at and say, “I want this.” If you look at things like TikTok, authenticity is very real, and anything that isn't authentic is something people will quickly pass over. That's the key from a collaboration standpoint. A request to all marketers. When partnering with influencers, we ask them what we do, why our brand is unique and special, who our audience is, what is important to us and why. You need to make sure they understand what you want to partner with. they. Having transparent conversations ensures everyone is on the same page.
What would you suggest to restaurant brands to find the right influencers?
One of the ways we find influencers is when they come to our brand and they're already such a fan that they're putting out their own content before we even talk to them. You don't have to show them why this brand is special. We just want to give them a platform where they can really spread their message. This is certainly one very helpful article. When there is talk of influencers coming, you need to be well prepared and pay more attention to what happens while they are in your store.
If someone has an affinity for your brand, it's worth noting. As brand marketers, we are always trying to reinforce the concept of “These are my people.” Well, if we have someone who is already a fan of our brand, he's already 10 steps ahead because we don't have to try to match influencers with brands that that person may not be interested in. I'm here.
What resources should brands put into influencer marketing?
I don't think you can talk about influence without mentioning the Keith Lee effect. If you look at Keith Lee, who has 15 million followers on TikTok, he comes to small independent restaurants and he's a genuine guy. If he liked his experience, he would share it. If he doesn't like the experience, he'll let you know. We have the perspective of being operationally ready, being able to improve the experience for everyone, and whatever happens. But what happens if things go wrong? What are you going to do about it? Next, we move on to the reputation management, risk mitigation component.
A lot of that has to do with making sure the A team is on staff that day, making sure that from a meal prep standpoint, making sure this is made to spec and that items are being turned over quickly. I am. So much so that influencers can't wait. If they have a reason to complain, they will, and that's the risk we take. And being able to set them up so that they can walk away with something and they feel like we've really rolled out the red carpet for them – these are the things we can do successfully. These are the elements you are actually looking at.
How can influencer marketing help turn around restaurant traffic?
Look at the various elements of a restaurant's lifecycle that generate guest traffic. Grand openings are a great example. The first few months after the opening are about checking in on your performance, but then reality starts to sink in and you may end up doing a lot of soul-searching about what you did during the grand opening. The opening made it bigger. A lot of it is the grand opening itself, the fact that there's something new, the fact that people can come and try it out.
One of the absolute elements that we see as fundamental to this is when that moment happens, and whether it's something like a grand opening or something that's influencer-driven. There may be, but it's about understanding how they can continue to be sustainable. How do we retain these guests? Are we going to keep inviting them back in the future? From a profitability standpoint, I want to make sure that when they come in, we're profitable. What are we doing?
Please contact Sam Oches. [email protected].
