Boxless Media is proud to announce the launch of “Serving Up Social Media” – a niche marketing division dedicated to helping restaurants around the world grow using digital marketing. In the United States alone, the National Restaurant Association estimates that in 2015, industry sales will top $700 billion. Restaurants must be competitive than ever, offer new menu options and look to new ways to grow their business.

Digital marketing allows restaurants to attract new customers, grow relationships with existing customers and improve the customer experience. But the owners already spend every hour possible managing employees, grueling over accounting spreadsheets or ordering manifests and building relationships with customers. Simply put, they need a reliable source to help their businesses grow.

Boxless Media brings the experience, knowledge and passion to help small and medium businesses grow. Some of our greatest successes have been in the restaurant industry, so it’s natural that we bring these services to restaurants in the community, across the country and around the world.

Five Steps to Digital Marketing Success in Restaurants

Start with a Great Website – All businesses, especially restaurants, need a strong website that accurately portrays their brand online. A customer should feel as if they are walking through your restaurant doors when they access your website. What does your site say about your restaurant?

Build A Solid Review Strategy – The restaurants that do best in digital are the ones with the most and best reviews online. So, implement a solid review strategy. Use a service like ReviCards (www.GetReviCards.com) to boost positive reviews, minimize negative reviews and improve customer service.

Get Social, But Not Too Social – Choose two social media platforms and use them aggressively. Facebook should be one of those. Tell people about your businesses, the source of your ingredients or about the people who have built your brand. People will listen, share stories and come in more often. Regular social media postings keep you top of mind and the first choice when consumers are making choices on where to dine.

Figure Out Local SEO – Search Engine Optimization is the most confusing aspect of digital marketing but it is a critical aspect of any marketing plan. Boxless Media has a product called YourNameListed.com that will almost instantly handle all your local SEO. It gets you listed in all the important directories. Whether you use this service, do it manually or use another local SEO service, get it done. It will make a huge difference.

Consider Advertising – Never before has advertising been so affordable. You can reach tens of thousands of people online for the same price as doing a small mailer to immediate neighbors. You can target people with the greatest propensity to visit your restaurant – your neighbors, those who like to eat out, or fans of yours.

Here are five quick tips to an effective digital marketing strategy. But it is only the beginning. Boxless Media has put together a collection of more than 75 tips and tricks for restauranteurs or restaurant marketers to help them succeed. It is available online for free. Just visit www.servingupsocialmedia.com/75tips to download the 24-page white paper that will change your brand.