Restaurants may be able to entice more customers to eat at their establishment by publishing content on social platforms after a new study by MGH found that online posts can have a “great influence” on how diners spend money.
Almost half of the 1,069 diners surveyed in the US said that they have ventured to a new restaurant after consuming content published by a restaurant online, while 22% have made the trip back a second time after viewing a brand’s social media posts.
The study again highlights the pervasive power of content in industries that are not typically digital in nature. MGH said that restaurants may be leaving money on the table if they fail to manage “active engagement practices” and publish “high-quality social media content”.
Social media has become a critical tool for restaurant brands, mainly due to the vast audiences they can interact with and reach on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 89% of those surveyed said that they have an account on social media, and almost two-thirds are logging into them several times every day.
Brands looking to use content to strengthen customer relationships must be committed to doing it right though as 13% of diners said that they had been put off visiting a restaurant after viewing an establishment’s social media post.
Finally, 39% of diners who “follow” restaurants say that they do so to determine whether they want to order a takeaway or dine in at a restaurant. This suggests that brands could create food guides and content centred on the dining experience to meet the needs of audiences on social.
