Advent calendar: an effective way to boost restaurant traffic

In the dynamic foodservice sector, every opportunity to stand out counts. And what better way to shine during the holiday season than to introduce an Advent Calendar into your marketing strategy? An effective way to boost your restaurant's traffic!

Creating an advent calendar allows you in a short period of time to propel your online presence, engage your community, and increase traffic to your restaurant. In this article, we explain how to take advantage of the Advent Calendar to boost traffic to your restaurant.

The benefits of an Advent Calendar for your restaurant

Gain visibility and increase community involvement

Launching an advent calendar for your restaurant offers a unique opportunity to increase your visibility. By establishing engaging participation conditions, such as sharing a publication, tagging friends or using a specific hashtag, you encourage your community to interact with your content, thereby increasing the organic reach of your publications.

An advent calendar creates a daily dynamic. Participants return to your page to discover the surprise of the day, encouraging regular interaction with your restaurant on social media.

Strengthen ties with your community while attracting new customers

The interactions generated by the Advent calendar help strengthen ties with your community. Participants feel closer to your establishment, which can translate into long-term loyalty.

By offering attractive rewards, such as free meals, complimentary drinks or exclusive experiences, you can entice winners to visit your restaurant. Once there, make sure you create a memorable experience to keep these potential customers coming back, and reinforce word-of-mouth.

Have content to publish for an entire month

Creating an advent calendar provides a constant source of content for your Instagram account. Each day offers an opportunity to share attractive content that matches the festive spirit of the holiday season. Take advantage of the opportunity to showcase your dishes, your team, and generate the desire to participate or interact with the content.

By planning a complete Advent calendar over a 24-day period, you create a narrative rich in surprises for your audience. This strategy ensures a constant presence on social media, boosts engagement with your subscribers, and creates a linking opportunity that persists long after the holiday season is over. So there's no need to search long and hard for December inspiration: you've got your advent calendar!

Decide on the formalities and organization of your advent calendar to boost your restaurant's traffic

Choose the earnings and frequency of surprises to regularly boost traffic to your restaurant

Determine the frequency of earnings according to your objectives and the dynamic you wish to create in your advent calendar. Whether it's a daily surprise, two surprises a week or some other cadence, adjust according to your operational capacity and the desired effect. It's all about finding the optimal rhythm that will captivate your audience throughout the festive period, and what you can afford to offer/share.

When it comes to rewards, define a strategy that alternates between different sizes of winnings. Dedicate certain days of your calendar to smaller surprises, while reserving other days for more substantial rewards. If you opt for the 1 day, 1 slot format, consider sharing free content on certain days. This variation in rewards helps to keep web users curious, encouraging them to come back for the next significant win. Varying the rewards will keep your audience enthusiastic and engaged.

In practice, alternate between free offers, such as exclusive recipes, and paid offers, such as dinner for two. Explore creative ideas, such as special moments with the chef or collaborations with other brands, to offer a diverse and captivating experience to your community throughout this festive season.

Define the most strategic participation conditions to maximize the viral effect and boost traffic to your restaurant

Participation requirements should be simple, yet strategic. Encourage sharing, the creation of user-generated content (UGC), and meaningful involvement to maximize the impact of your advent calendar.

Determine how to announce winners, using intermediate software to conduct the draw and boost traffic to your restaurant. Choose a transparent method for announcing winners. Raffle software or a third-party platform guarantees fairness. Announce results at the end of each week or within 24 hours of publication to maintain excitement.

Communicate before and during your Advent Calendar

Create advent calendar publications

Make sure your advent calendar is visually distinctive to attract attention and boost traffic to your restaurant. Use clear visuals, add festive elements. You can archive content after the period for a topical feed that stays sharp.

One thing's for sure: while this practice is going on, Internet users should understand at a glance when they arrive on your profile that you're organizing an advent calendar.

Restaurant inspirations: To stimulate your creativity, take inspiration from successful examples such as Chouchou Hotel and Cojean.

Teasing and scheduling posts on your restaurant's advent calendar to generate curiosity

Start teasing your advent calendar before its launch. Use clues, reward previews and announcements to generate anticipation among your audience.

Then schedule your posts so you don't forget to announce daily which box to open, and regularly engage your audience. With the ultimate aim of boosting traffic to your restaurant. Using scheduling tools, such as MalouApp, will help you stay organized and effortlessly engaged.

Don't forget to share the existence of your calendar in your bio, in stories highlights...

Use sponsorship to increase the reach of your advent calendar and boost traffic to your restaurant

Consider using sponsored advertising to increase the reach of your advent calendar. Specifically target your local audience to maximize the impact of your promotional efforts.

By skilfully incorporating an Advent Calendar into your digital marketing strategy, you give yourself the means to shape a unique experience, attract new customers, and above all, consistently boost traffic to your restaurant. Adopt these tips now to make this holiday season a memorable one, marked by growing affluence and enhanced brand awareness.

By following these steps, you can create a captivating advent calendar for your restaurant, strengthening your online presence and boosting engagement with your community on Instagram.