Your online reputation matters - here's why

Everyone is a food critic today. When we’re looking for somewhere to eat, stay, or shop we now are much more likely to be influenced by reviews on Tripadvisor, Google, or Facebook than we are by a business’s website, social media or even reviews by professional critics.

Reputation Economy

We’re living in the ‘Reputation Economy’ where choosing where to eat has been democratised. Online reviews are the new word of mouth - just a bit more public than a chat over a drink with friends.

Don’t bury your head in the sand.

Restaurants, hotels and pubs cannot afford to ignore what is being said about them online (and that includes social media). Making time to track and respond to online reviews and customer feedback is crucial to all hospitality businesses.

Your online presence on sites from Tripadvisor or Facebook to specialist sites like Squaremeal or OpenTable is just as, if not more important than your website and social media.

Why responding to reviews matters

Keep your finger on the pulse and your business will reap the rewards. Responding to reviews, listening to the voice of the customer, and resolving their issues will go a long way in helping you protect your restaurant’s online reputation; more importantly, review management will provide you with the insights that you need to consistently deliver great dining experiences.

Prove it to me

• 87% of consumers in Europe and US say they are influenced by online reviews
   
• 53% 18-34s say online reviews play an important role in their decisions
   
• 7 in 8 diners will go online to choose where to eat
   
• 86% will check menus online before eating out
   
• 44% turn to their mobiles to find somewhere to eat while they are out and about
   
• 80% make reservations online
   
• People look at 6-12 reviews before making a decision
   
• 53% expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week
   
• 94% say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business.

What does this mean for my restaurant?

Start by Googling your business and go through all the results to see what people are saying about you and which sites are having the most influence on your reputation. 
Pay most attention to the first page of results, but don’t stop there….

If you have Google Analytics set up on your website, look at which sites are driving the most traffic to your website.

Do an audit

Start by making a list of all the places your business is mentioned online. Is all the information up to date - opening hours, contact information, menus and photographs up to date? What’s your star rating and general feedback like? Make an action plan to update each listing and add your current menus and fresh quality photos.

Follow these 10 simple steps to manage your online reputation >

Which review sites are most important and where should I focus?

Tripadvisor, Google, Facebook, SquareMeal, OpenTable, Zomato, Yelp, Hardens, AA, Instagram, Twitter, your website - understandably it can seem overwhelming to manage reviews and listings and share fresh content in all these places. 

Which review sites are the most influential and where should you focus your effort.

GOOGLE

It goes without saying that Google is the world’s biggest and most powerful search engine but it’s also increasingly becoming the most influential restaurant review platform. While Google Business means that we can access all the key information we want from the home page without even visiting a website. 

Google Maps is even starting to role out showing customers queuing times for a table or service, although it’s not arrived in the UK yet, it won’t be long.

63.6% of consumers say they are likely to check online reviews on Google before visiting a business — more than any other review site.

Google’s dominance is only going to grow and to eclipse other sites. In addition, user reviews will start to heavily influence search engine optimisation (SEO) results as Google’s algorithms take into account positive and negative reviews, prioritising positively reviewed businesses.

TRIPADVISOR

Is the world’s biggest travel site. It launched in 2000 and every month 456 million people – about one in every 16 people on earth - visit TripAdvisor.com to plan or review a trip. According to Tripadvisor’s own “Diner Decision Making Survey”

UK consumers surveyed:

• 87%  said online reviewers influence their decisions about where to eat
• 87% say Tripadvisor inspires them to try new restaurants
• 52% say online photos influence them
• 95% say Tripadvisor is the most accurate review site - 2% Facebook and 3% Google.

OTHERS YOU CAN'T IGNORE

• Facebook 
• Yelp
• OpenTable
• BookaTable
• Zomato
• Foursquare

And don’t forget to monitor what people are saying about your brand on Twitter and Instagram and thank or respond to them there too.

Trends to consider

Reviews are getting shorter, simpler and more to-the-point reviews. The average review is 65% shorter since 2010 and is now roughly the size of a tweet.

There are more and more positive reviews. Reviews are increasingly shifting from being a place where consumers air their grievances to being a place to recommend businesses after a positive experience.

For more recommendations on how to manage your online reputation follow these 10 simple steps >

Why content marketing matters for restaurants

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a way to build your community, engage with customers and provide information to your audience and influencers. Content marketing is just a term for all your communications through your website, blog, social media, video or newsletters. 

All your content across the channels must all have one thing in common - it must be interesting, relevant, genuine and meaningful.

Why does content marketing matter for restaurants?

Content marketing can be highly effective, costing on average 62% less than traditional marketing and advertising, while generating three times as many leads. Content marketing is a great equaliser putting the big fish on the same level as minnow star-ups.

Done well content marketing engages your audience and provides them with something of value that makes you stand out from the crowd and will make your audience remember you.

Customers want to visit restaurants, cafés and pubs that they know and trust, and by creating excellent and consistent content, you can stay in front of those customers while nurturing and building stronger relationships.

How does content marketing work?

1. TELL YOUR STORY

Since the dawn of time, human beings have been story tellers and we form connections through stories. Tell the story of your restaurant and your food and your (website, blog, press release or Instagram post) as if you are talking to a friend. Set the scene - a place, a time. Choose one ordinary detail that captures the essence of your story.  Be brave enough to share the emotion behind your story.

2. PAINT A PICTURE

Share photos and videos or paint a picture in words. It goes without saying that photographs of dishes and ingredients whet the appetite of hungry diners - but think beyond the obvious and give a sneak peak behind the scenes or create short videos of dishes being compiled. 

Without a good image your tweet, post or blog is invisible and while these photos or videos don’t always need to be professionally shot, take a bit of time to set up your photo, think about the light, props and styling.

3. BE REAL AND HONEST

Avoid bland corporate speak and be a real person. If you have someone looking after content or social media for you brief them about the style of language they should use, phrases to use and those to avoid. 

4. BE INTERESTING

Don’t just shout about new menus and how to book a table - these sorts of posts are fine in moderation but take your content beyond that - introduce your team, profile your favourite suppliers, feature a drink of the month and give people insight into the daily life of the restaurant or behind the scenes in the kitchen. This way you’ll gain more engagement and encourage people to share your content.

Where do I begin?

1. Define your strategy - you want to drive traffic to your website and increase new and repeat bookings. Identify your target audience and work out what they will engage with.
    
2. Build a calendar month by month and design your content around holidays, seasons and events. Join up all your channels from your website and blog, to your newsletter, pr and social media.
    
3. Develop your tone of voice - who are you and who are you talking to? Use a language, images and video that are authentic and interesting.
    
4. Drive traffic to your site - your website should be your hub - and search engines will reward sites that are regularly updated with fresh quality content. You don’t have to create brand new content for every channel but adapt it for different audiences and direct everyone to your website for the full story.
    
5. Promote your posts - promoted posts on Instagram and Facebook can be a great way to dip your toe into online advertising. For a tiny budget, you can create a campaign to a precise target audience and view the results.  Do set a clear goal and have a clear call to action - book a table, buy a gift voucher, come to an event.
    
6. Track and measure - monitor and respond to your engagement using Google analytics and insights on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to learn and adapt to what works and what doesn’t.

Content suggestions for restaurants

• Celebrate seasonal produce
• Feature producers/suppliers - celebrate the people who supply your ingredients
• Share recipes - but make them something people can try at home
• Highlight a wine/drink of the month - suggest menu pairings
• Introduce your team - give customers the chance to get to know your staff with a fun Q&A