Social Media for Restaurants: An Agency Approach for Dubai & Abu Dhabi [Updated 2023]

There's no doubt that Social Media offers many B2C businesses an enormous opportunity to showcase their brand, highlight products, services and other USPs to a wide (and growing) local audience.  But there are very few businesses that can leverage the power of social media than Restaurants, whether these are quick-service (fast food), casual dining or high-end eateries.

But, there's a catch.  In a city like Dubai, or Abu Dhabi for that matter, every restaurant is competing against each other to engage similar audiences and try to win that customer.  While success is achievable, it takes a unique approach to provide longer term and sustainable results.  This unique approach won't come out of a manual, a blog post nor from hearsay between peers.  It often takes experience and creativity to understand the possibilities that social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat (amongst others) provide businesses.  Without these key ingredients, there's a strong possibility that your restaurant's social media activity will not only be wasted, but also prove to be a costly exercise.

It's therefore absolutely vital that as a restaurant, you work with an agency that understands not only the restaurant business, but also has a deep and experienced understanding of social media, your target audience and how to interact with and engage potential customers.  

Show Me the Money!

But as we all know, it's not just about engagement.  The true success of a social media strategy for a restaurant is based on revenue.  Specifically, the number of covers not just on nights where there are special promotions but also on 'normal' nights when a limited number of people will be dining out.  Turning this audience into paying customers who visit your restaurant on a regular basis is the key to success.

Too often in Dubai, the people charged with managing a restaurant's social media activity simply aren't experienced nor have the knowledge required to provide and execute a winning strategy.  While a Marketing or PR Executive may understand your business, if they don't FULLY understand how the social media platforms work, it's unlikely that this activity will ever produce any track-able or predictable revenue.

The Correct Approach

Let's agree on one thing before we move forward.  Every restaurant has different needs at different stages of their business' life cycle.  At the pre-opening and opening stages of the business, the focus of your online and social media activity might be centered around building an audience, generating a buzz and raising awareness of your restaurant, the cuisine and the location.  

As the business matures, the needs and requirements from your social activity also requires modification.  Revenue and loyalty might become a new focus, which requires a completely different approach to your social media marketing.   More often than not, the same folks who create and engage with your initial audience might not be equipped to transition your social media focus to the next level.  And that creates a problem if your team is limited to just one person or you work with an agency where they don't have the necessary skills to transform your restaurant's social media presence as the needs of your business changes.

Luckily, there are social media agencies in Dubai that specialise in the restaurant sector.  We're one of them - have a look at our case study for Jumeirah Restaurant Week.  If you'd like to speak to us about your restaurant, please complete the form and one of our team will contact you.