The emergence of digital media has disrupted the hotel and restaurant marketing formula. With too much competition from competitors in Bahrain, it has become very challenging for restaurants and hotels to survive in the business without constant evolution and adoption.

The restaurant and hospitality management cannot stick to the old method of marketing techniques anymore. The following research statistics prove there is no scope for conventional marketing anymore.

90% of consumers do their research before dining anywhere.

57% check the ambiance of restaurants before going to restaurants and hotels.

33% of customers prefer other customer reviews before they visit the restaurants.

Although this is outdated research because most of the customers are already preferring online deliveries and platforms for reviews.

Use relevant social media platforms

Food and hospitality brands work well on Instagram and Facebook considering the audience in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, you need to conduct comprehensive research on what is the best platform on social media to promote restaurants and hotels and use relevant marketing techniques to reach the right audience.

Use of Right and Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are key sources for impressions and reach on social media especially on Instagram and Pinterest. So, the right hashtags will hit the right target audience. We recommend using strong food hashtags such as :

• #food – 41%
• #foodporn – 12%
• #foodie – 10%
• #instafood – 8%
• #foodphotography  – 8%

Apart from the above global used hashtags, you have to make sure that you use local hashtags like #bahrain, #bahrainfood, #bahrainrestaurants and #bahrainfoodbloggers among many others.

We conduct a complete study before positioning our client’s brand to a specific audience so that we can get the maximum results organically.

Online Ordering and Delivery Platforms

Here in Bahrain, online ordering and delivery have boomed in the past 2 years so the best way to market restaurants right now is to list your restaurant on some of the popular food delivery apps such as Talabat and Carriage.

Well, as a business owner, listing your restaurant on the app will result in you losing out on the profit margin that you can make so it’s always better to create a unique selling point for people to actually call and order or dine-in.

Customer Interaction

Pictures of Customer reviews on social media is killing it big globally and you should start executing this form of social selling through your social media profiles. We recommend clicking pictures of customers enjoying the best cuisines at your restaurant or hotel dining.

Considering the audience as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, we also recommend you to take permission before clicking photos of customers.

Create a connection with your customers as they like to be treated well as ask for Google reviews as and when it’s possible. Probably your dedicated Restaurant Manager could go for this.

Food Bloggers and Influencers

Another aspect we recommend restaurant owners and hotel decision-makers to add to their marketing agenda is influencer marketing. There are many aspects that have to be taken into consideration before engaging an influencer.

We have explained here as to how we work with influencers in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to promote brands in the right way.

Well, to conclude this blog, we would say that social media is the now and future for the restaurants and hotels in Bahrain to make the most use of it in the right way. We know that it is a cut-throat competition among the food industry, and digital media has already taken over the traditional marketing techniques so you have to up your game to be leading.

AboutNigel Quadros

Nigel Quadros is a top-rated digital marketing keynote speaker, trainer and advisor on programmatic advertising, conversion optimization and e-Commerce in the Middle East.