As a restaurant owner, you know that advertising your business is crucial for attracting new customers and keeping your existing ones coming back. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to choose the right strategy. Facebook ads are a popular choice for many businesses, but you may have some questions about how they work and how to make the most of them. In this article, we’re going to answer five questions restaurant owners have about Facebook ads. From targeting the right audience to measuring the success of your campaigns, we’ll give you the information you need to make your Facebook ads work for your restaurant.
What is the length and cost of a typical Ad Campaign?
The cost of a campaign will depend on a lot of things, but it’s easier to tell when you have a budget set. Let’s say your budget is $200.00 and you have you set your objective which is getting page likes and followers. Now, let’s work this budget to create the ideal campaign structure:
We want people to see your business first and then ask them to like your Facebook page so we will create two campaigns. The first campaign will target people who have never seen or heard about Patton Block. The cost to reach a cold audience is higher on Facebook so we need to warm them first with an ad before we ask them to follow the page. This structure will increase the chances of you paying less for follows in the following months.
How to get more followers using Facebook Ads?
Campaign #1
Engagement | On your ad | Video View
Duration: 15 Days
Total cost: $135 – $9/daily
A short video where you show the place full of people having fun, the best dishes, appetizers, drinks or wine selection. What you choose to be in the video must be considered on who you want to target.
Target: 20-mile radius from Monmouth
Age: 30-65+
Interests and Demographics: Steakhouse, Breweries, Wine, Fine Dining
Exclude: Everyone that follows your pages on Facebook/Instagram
Campaign #2
Engagement | Facebook Page | Page Likes
Duration: 10 Days
Total cost: $65.00 – $6.50/daily
For this one you can use a very nice picture of the food and Facebook will place the like button on the ad so people can click on it.
Target: People who have seen more than 50% of the video in campaign #1
What are the things you can do besides changing budget and duration?
Check Frequency
This is probably the first thing will look at because we are in area without a lot of people, so ads usually get saturated easily. To fix this you either reach more people by increasing the radius of your targeting location, you can target a wider range of age of gender, remove interests to make the audience broader. You can also change the current ad or add other ads to the campaign.
Budget Changes
In the example I have given you, there would be scenarios where this would be an option. For example, let’s say in the first month you spent $65 and you had 20 new page likes. In the second month, you decided to change the ad of the campaign #1 and you got 38 followers spending the same $65.00. In the third month, you can increase your budget in the campaign #2 in order to get even more followers.
On the other hand, if you get less followers, you will want to either bring the old video back or try to create a better version of it. Other option would be adding another campaign in the middle of campaign #1 and #2 to try to lower even more the cost per follow.
Most of the changes you make or the ideas you have will be based on the information the ad manager is giving you and each individual ad account gains more and more intelligence as more campaigns are ran. If you pay $2.00 per follow, for example, it does not mean that if another restaurant owner run their campaigns on Facebook, they will pay the same.
When should I use traffic campaign?
You can create a traffic campaign to direct people to your menu page for example. But you also need to consider how much this will be helpful for your business. You can run a raffle for example where the giveaway is a 50% off gift card at Patton Block. You can then place a pop up on the website where you require email and phone to participate in the raffle.
This way you have used your budget much more wisely because now you have a list of people that you can target later via email to promote happy hours, special dinners or drinks.
How do I see my ad?
To see your ads, you can go to the ads manager, find the campaign, go to the ad section and click on Expand to see how it looks like on Facebook, Instagram, Stories and other places. The other way would be randomly seeing the ad while you browse as long as you are part of the audience you decided to target.
Facebook ads can be a powerful tool for promoting your restaurant and attracting new customers. By answering these 5 questions restaurant owners have about Facebook ads, we hope we have provided you with the knowledge and strategies you need to create effective campaigns for your business. From targeting the right audience to measuring the success of your campaigns, we have covered all the key elements of running a successful Facebook ad campaign.
Remember that Facebook ad campaigns can be tweaked and adjusted as you go along, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find what works best for you. With these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to boosting your online presence and filling your restaurant with new customers in no time.
