To become known and gain new customers, restaurants must exist on social media and especially in an active, dynamic, and attractive way. But publishing quality content regularly requires inspiration that can sometimes be lacking for restaurateurs. Say goodbye to the blank page! Thanks to the marketing calendar of the year, you can already plan certain posts. And generate interest from Internet users all year round!
Consumers adopt different behaviors depending on the time of year. Valentine’s Day, for example: the majority of French people celebrate it at a restaurant. But how do you stand out from competitors and encourage potential customers to come to your restaurant? By communicating on these key dates, especially via social media!
Which calendar events not to miss in your marketing strategy? Here are +60 key dates and related content ideas to stand out and never run out of inspiration.
Download our 2023 restaurant marketing calendar with +60 key dates
Calendar marketing dates that come back every year
1. Use the Chinese New Year tiger to diversify your Instagram content (01/22)
Sunday, January 22 marks the start of the Chinese calendar 2023. Each year honors one of the twelve animals determined according to the moon. Why not take advantage of this to create content related to the rabbit, the figure of 2023, or simply wish your subscribers a happy lunar new year?
La Grande Epicerie de Paris marked the occasion with a selection of starters, main courses, and desserts specifically for the occasion. As well as a draw for “fortune cookies” to try to win gift vouchers!
Our advice: Surfing on news related to the marketing calendar doesn’t necessarily mean leaving aside the dishes normally highlighted in your posts.
2. Fill in the slow hours by celebrating Candlemas (02/02)
Candlemas, a key date to highlight the cozy atmosphere of your restaurant. Whether you have a creperie or not, you can set up a pancake workshop, a special offer on the menu, a snack around Candlemas.. The opportunity to fill in the slow hours of the afternoon! Once decided, communicate this ephemeral offer to your customers.
Our advice: Making pancakes is perfect content for a video, so make one to communicate on this date! The video generates engagement from your subscribers!
3. Seize the opportunity of Valentine’s Day, the flagship moment of the marketing calendar (02/14)
Couples love to share this moment at the restaurant or through delivery. So, create a romantic atmosphere full of small gestures, a special Valentine’s Day menu… Or ride the wave of this heavily promoted holiday to publish some quirky content and make your followers laugh.
A few years ago, the restaurant at MOB HOTEL organized the “Without Valentine’s Day” event, specifically for singles. They created original content for this occasion, designed for social media.
Our advice: Create special Valentine’s Day “highlight” stories. They allow you to showcase the offer beforehand, but also to remind people throughout the year that the restaurant hosts special events based on the marketing calendar. We have many other tips related to Valentine’s Day in this article!
4. Share the restaurant’s values by celebrating International Women’s Day (03/08)
This is an opportunity to show your support for women by publishing engaging content. The female members of your community will surely appreciate it!
A McDonald’s franchise famously flipped its M logo to a W on March 8th, 2020 for “Women.” The chain thus showed its stance, which was communicated on its social media.
Our advice: You can simply use this event to please a part of your clientele (women) by offering them small attentions like a rose or a cocktail. These are gestures that can be highlighted on your social media!
5. Generate buzz on Instagram with April Fool’s Day (04/01)
The ideal moment to detach and be humorous, an opportunity to surprise your clients! Even if they quickly catch on to the connection with April 1st, they will appreciate the humor and offbeat tone. And if you make an impact, they will remember it!
Big Mamma Group had informed its clientele of its hesitation to remove truffle pasta from its menu. The Italian group, however, added a clue in the publication description with the hashtag #bigjoke + fish emoji.
Our advice: Think of an original idea related to your establishment to create buzz on your social media!
6. Attract families to your restaurant with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (06/04 and 06/19)
Many French people take advantage of this occasion to go to restaurants with their families. So, make sure they come to your restaurant by offering a flower to moms or dads? A special discount for families? A special menu or dessert? Many possibilities exist to take advantage of this moment, whether it’s an emotional or offbeat post on social media.
La Rôtisserie d’Argent offered its custom dessert to honor mothers: the Fraise Tourbillon.
Credit: Géraldine Martens
Our advice: Here, we give you many ideas to implement and include in your marketing strategy to take advantage of these key dates on the calendar.
7. Create a festive event for the Music Festival (06/21)
Live music? Special playlist? Guest of honor? Cocktail of the night? You have the opportunity to create a festive atmosphere on this day! And thus, surely sell more drinks! It is also the ideal opportunity in the marketing calendar to personalize the communication of your restaurant and engage your community. After all, what is more personal than one’s musical tastes?
Our advice: Organize a festive event or perhaps dedicate a post to your favorite artist? Ask your subscribers who their favorite is in the comments? Or simply reveal the soundtrack of your restaurant to give future visitors a taste of the atmosphere of the establishment? Instagram is ideal for this, with the ability to integrate songs into its stories.
8. Reach an entire population with National Day (07/14)
July 14 honors France and is a holiday for many French people who want to enjoy the day. But a holiday also means the closure of many facilities and restaurants. So, if you stay open, reach out to these many people looking for restaurants! You absolutely need to announce restaurant hours to customers on your Google my Business page, Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms.
Our advice: As it is a day that honors France, highlight the most typical dish on your menu, but also the local producers you work with, on social media!
9. Be creative in your restaurant for Halloween (10/31)
Halloween is becoming an excellent excuse to party, go to a restaurant, or participate in any activity organized for the occasion. Therefore, it is an excellent way to generate visibility and double your sales on the evening of the 31st. How? By offering unique deals, renewing your menu specifically for the evening, or creating a star product in the colors of the celebration…
The Hôtel Particulier de Montmartre had developed an unprecedented proposal for the occasion, ranging from bloody cocktails to make-up workshops and DJ sets.
Our advice: We give you ideas and inspiration to make Halloween an effective lever for your restaurant in this article.
10. Reach out to customers looking for conviviality for Thanksgiving (11/23)
Even though it is an American holiday, many French people like to celebrate Thanksgiving for its dimension of sharing and indulgence! Traditionally, people enjoy a good meal consisting of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Get inspired by these traditions to offer a special menu or simply wish your community a Happy Thanksgiving!
The restaurant Les Pinces took advantage of this occasion to humorously showcase its flagship product, lobster, instead of the traditional American Christmas turkey.
Our advice: This is an opportunity to implement a temporary offer to communicate on your social networks! Otherwise, you can organize a contest to win a meal to share with friends in your restaurant, which will encourage engagement from your subscribers.
11. Don’t miss Christmas, the essential date on the marketing calendar (12/25)
Christmas offers restaurateurs numerous opportunities to meet their customers’ desires, but also to seduce new ones. Social media is a perfect channel for highlighting offers specially designed for this festive period.
Our clients Kafkaf, Bon Bouquet Café, and Santa Lyna have launched their own Advent Calendar, some of which include prizes in collaboration with other brands. To participate, follow the steps below (a good way to win potential clients’ subscribers!)
Our advice: Giving away gifts every day to your community has several advantages. It engages internet users, spreads the Christmas spirit, and also provides an opportunity to set up temporary collaborations with other brands as a reward, and thus reach their audiences. -50% off a meal, cocktail, coffee, free drink… Many possibilities exist and help strengthen the bond with their communities.
12. Double your sales in the evening for New Year’s Eve (12/31)
It’s a time of celebration, joy, and sharing, and a time to make resolutions. Everyone sets goals for themselves to start the year off right. But the new year also represents the day when all restaurateurs can afford to create a unique menu at a fixed price. A great opportunity for revenue! Discover our selection of inspiring addresses for your New Year’s Eve offer and how to communicate it!
La Pizza d’Anita took advantage of this occasion to ask its customers about the resolutions they had decided to make in the new year.
Our advice: Just like Anita’s Pizza, we recommend asking direct questions to your social media followers. Interactive content engages your community on social networks. We provide 14 other ideas in this article for making the most of the holiday season in your restaurant.
13. Get inspired by the many international and global marketing calendar days
There are all kinds of them: Hug Day, Belgian Fry Day, Compliment Day, Procrastination Day, Chocolate Day, Vegetarianism Day… Many days that could refer to your establishment!
For example, Sardegna A Tavola took advantage of the International Day of Italian Cuisine to remind their community that the best thing to do on this day was to discover Italy’s generous and flavorful cuisine… at their restaurant!
Our advice: Use these days to simply fuel your communication!
14. Adapt your communication strategy to the new seasons
Each new season announces changes in atmosphere. These are very important dates for restaurateurs as they impact their communication. In summer, marketing focuses on the terrace, cocktails, refreshing juices, salads… while in winter, they highlight the cozy atmosphere, comforting dishes, hot drinks…
Our advice: The first days of spring, summer, autumn, or winter are also the moments to announce a new menu and highlight seasonal products. These posts reflect the establishment’s ecological ambitions.
Popular marketing calendar dates that speak to everyone
15. Make sports events an added value for your restaurant
Some sporting events represent real communication opportunities for a restaurant because sports are a particularly popular and unifying topic. Some events play this role more than others. World Cup football, Roland Garros tournament, Top 14 tournament, or Tour de France… Broadcast them in your restaurant, offering a special F&B deal to enjoy while watching! And let potential customers know!
Our advice: Use your social media to animate these events by making bets on upcoming matches! In stories, for example, with a poll to let your subscribers vote. And you can go even further by giving prizes to those who are right!
16. Use cultural events in the marketing calendar to engage your community
Throughout the year, cultural events take place during which it can be wise to communicate. Among them, the fashion week that takes place twice a year, the Césars ceremony, the Oscars, or various cultural outings such as exhibitions or festivals. Restaurants located near these cultural events can use social media to offer customers to come and have a meal with them before enjoying the event. This is what Le Malakoff restaurant did during an exhibition at the Museum of Man.
Restaurant-specific dates to include in your marketing calendar
17. Focus everything on the opening of your restaurant
A particularly important date! It is prepared in advance, including in terms of communication. It is essential to present the project before it has even seen the light of day. Provoking expectation, interest, curiosity remains the best way to ensure a good start for your establishment.
Our advice: Why not invest in your future clientele in the project even before it is fully completed? Social networks are excellent ways to survey prospects! Restaurateurs can then interact directly with them if they have doubts between two recipes, for example. For this, there is a very simple social tool: polls in stories! We give you the keys to success for opening a restaurant today in this article.
18. Celebrate the anniversary date of your restaurant
For a restaurant, it is a way to show the realization of several months or years of work.
Our advice: Since it is a festive moment and birthdays often rhyme with gifts, offer your customers a free meal for two.
19. Notify of exceptional closures through the marketing calendar
The worst situation for a customer is to believe that the establishment they want to go to is open and to realize, once there, that it is actually closed. Updating its hours on its Google listing, on all directories, and on the website is essential, but it is also important to inform its social media followers of this closure!
Our advice: With our solution, MalouApp, one click is enough for you to modify your status (open/closed) and your opening hours on all platforms where you exist!
20. Attract curious and loyal customers with the announcement of changes to your menu
When your restaurant changes its menu, announcing it to your customers allows you to generate curiosity and bring back regulars. Using social media to announce it allows you to create desire with some preview photos and to create strong proximity and interactivity with your followers!
Our advice: Before changing your menu, ask for feedback and why not conduct a vote between different dishes on social media to find the best one to add to your menu. Customers will feel like they have played a small role in this new menu, and it can influence them to visit the restaurant more often.
Don’t miss any dates on the marketing calendar of the year and plan your posts accordingly with MalouApp
How to remember these many key dates of the marketing calendar on a daily basis? How to find time to organize a marketing campaign to boost your restaurant’s communication on these key dates?
We have what you need at Malou! Our solution, MalouApp, integrates a calendar that allows you to have all the important events throughout the year and day by day. So, it’s impossible to forget! And to save time by anticipating posts for important dates, you can plan your Instagram, Facebook, Google… content directly from MalouApp!
Don’t hesitate to ask for a demo 😍
Download the restaurant marketing calendar 2023
