How to Attract College Students to Your Restaurant

How to Attract College Students to Your Restaurant

During back-to-school time college campuses are buzzing, so this post could serve as a helpful resource of information to small restaurant owners on college campuses. Here are all the tips you need to know to promote and attract college students to your restaurant successfully.

Using Social Media

The use of social media is prevalent among young people. Restaurants can create content that students may come across as they browse their phones or other devices. Creating content for a restaurant shouldn't be too difficult since food is quite visual.

Pictures say a lot as does the presentation of food, as it can be classified as an art, in some cases. To drive engagement and to attract college students to your restaurant, make sure to have all the platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. This makes it easy for students to find your business effortlessly.

Try hosting events and promoting them across your platforms. Events like game night, trivia night, or maybe even a comedy show are not only fun to share, but they create great content. Encourage college students to follow your social media platforms, engaging them with the hope that they’ll share what they see across all of your platforms. Social media can be used to your advantage if done correctly.

Make Connections with Influencers

Many food-themed Facebook pages show off restaurants: what they have to offer, why people love it, what makes them all the hype. Some YouTubers dedicate their entire channel to food! They travel everywhere to try new foods and talk about their experiences. Make sure to check out the food-themed Instagram pages.

These influencers have a huge audience, sometimes hundreds of thousands, or even millions of followers. Go to these platforms to promote your restaurant to students and everyone! For free food or payments, influencers will help you introduce your restaurant and hopefully, get those college students pouring in.

This is a significant branch of using social media as you are connecting with influencers that students recognize. They will notice, engage, and discover, bringing students into your restaurant to see what the hype is all about.

Creating an Effective Experience

Students have busy schedules. They have to go to class, study for exams, and maybe even work. So when it’s time to eat, they’ll think about their time constraints. With only a few minutes, they’ll go somewhere with fast service.

Therefore, you will attract more college students to your restaurant if you minimize waiting times. Maximize convenience by having options like delivery and pick-up orders. Using an app to place orders is another good method to attract college students to your restaurant.

Make a student discount

College is expensive. Students have to spend a lot of money simply to graduate from college. As a result, I'm always looking for ways to save money. Taking advantage of student discounts is a good reason to go to a restaurant, and certainly attracts college students. Discounts will also allow the students to come back and enjoy the experience all over again.

Hire college ambassadors

Ask outgoing students and student leaders to represent your restaurant. You can package the position as a marketing internship or part-time job. Students can effectively promote your restaurant if they have many Facebook friends or Instagram followers. You can align pay with performance. For example, college ambassadors can earn a commission for each person they persuade to buy something in addition to their base salary.

Don't get hit with an unexpectedly high electric bill

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Find the best energy rates for your business today - request a quote online now.