+350% reach, +28H saved, +18% new customers: these are the average monthly results achieved by MalouApp users, thanks to optimal online visibility for their restaurant. Every restaurant gains visibility online, on Google and social networks, and therefore more customers!
Today, the digital world has become an important part of everyone’s daily life. Restaurants must appear at the top of Google search results and other directories to attract customers and become attractive on social media. To help them achieve this, we have developed a unique solution on the market.
A solution designed by and for restaurateurs to support them in their digital marketing strategy. Because working on your online presence requires time, specific knowledge, and budget – a profession in its own right. This is where MalouApp comes in: to allow professionals to keep control of communication without being an expert or hiring one. A unique, easy, and intuitive interface that guides them through each essential step to:
- Improve their ranking on Google search results and other platforms
- Improve the online reputation of their restaurant on Instagram and Facebook
- Save time
- Convert customers
- Retain their customer base
How? Here we detail the different features of the interface, their purposes, and why it is important to dedicate time to them.
Is your restaurant visible online? Launch your diagnosis!
First of all, why work on your restaurant’s online presence?
In digital marketing, SEO refers to all techniques that help a website rise in search results. It is important to question the nature of the queries for which you need to appear at the top: keywords. They correspond to the terms that potential customers will use to find what they are looking for online.
There are two main types of SEO:
- Paid SEO: either “ads” or “advertisements”. Investing in paid SEO ensures that you appear at the top of the page, but the user knows that you paid for it and associates it with advertising.
- Organic SEO: means appearing “naturally” at the top of the results. This is because the search engine’s algorithm considers you to be a relevant result to meet the need expressed by the user. We focus here on searches on Google.
According to a Backlinko study, the result in the first position has a click-through rate ten times higher than the link in the tenth position, and 75% of clicks are on the first three results.
The challenge is to identify the keywords that potential customers use and then appear at the top of the Google results to make your restaurant visible to Internet users!
Today, you can easily achieve this with MalouApp and its many features!
1. Adapting commercial actions to the yearly calendar
Functionality and actions:
Through the interface, the restaurant owner has access to a dashboard that allows them to view their schedule on a monthly or weekly basis. A complete calendar that indicates holidays and symbolic dates throughout the year, such as National Day, Christmas, Autumn, and Thanksgiving. It also includes more specific events from the gastronomic, sports, technological worlds, etc. Examples include International Fry Day, World Photography Day, the Olympics, and Oktoberfest. Additionally, the restaurant owner can create their own events specific to their establishment, such as the venue’s anniversary.
The calendar also shows the posts published and scheduled by the owner on their various pages (Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram), as well as their daily opening hours. The restaurant owner can modify their hours directly from the calendar, add and schedule posts, particularly related to key dates throughout the year.
Results:
Having access to this calendar allows the restaurant to align with current events, not forget any important and relevant dates to communicate, and take advantage of events that may be relevant to the establishment, both in terms of on-site activities and communication. For example, if the 2022 World Cup is taking place, setting up a broadcast of the matches in the restaurant and communicating it on social media can generate traffic to the establishment. However, events should still be relevant to the establishment’s identity.
The dashboard also allows the restaurant owner to verify their hours on all platforms, particularly on holidays, and modify them if necessary. If the owner does not confirm their hours on a holiday, the Google algorithm will automatically inform users that there is a risk of closure.
2. Displaying consistency of online information for the restaurant across all platforms
Functionality and actions:
MalouApp gathers all the information about the establishment, such as name, address, logo, opening hours, website, menu, reservation module, phone number, and specific attributes. The restaurant owner can also mark if the establishment is temporarily closed and indicate its exceptional hours, such as on holidays. For the choice of attributes, the interface offers a complete list that the owner can simply browse and check if it is “Yes,” “No,” or “Not provided.”
Modifying the information from the interface instantly updates it on all platforms where the restaurant is present, such as Google, TripAdvisor, La Fourchette, UberEats, Deliveroo, Facebook, Instagram, Zenchef, Mapstr, Yelp, Foursquare, etc. For example, adding “Terrace” to its attributes during the summer is a simple and quick action that avoids the owner having to do it platform by platform and risk forgetting some, which would lead to inconsistent data.
Results:
The establishment presents a coherence online and offers internet users accurate and detailed information, which facilitates their conversion. The customer knows what to expect and is not at risk of frustration due to a restaurant being closed or a menu with prices different from those presented online. Google’s algorithm also rewards the establishment’s relevance. If it observes consistency in the restaurant’s online information, it considers the establishment to be reliable. It then elevates it in the search results for restaurants on Google. This coherence is measured to the minute and comma.
To increase your chances of attracting new customers, sign up for different platforms! We give you the 14 restaurant directories where you absolutely must register!
3. Strategically appropriating the keywords for your restaurant everywhere online
Functionality and actions:
The solution works hand in hand with professionals to work on their positioning for relevant keywords. The restaurateur completes a questionnaire about their establishment, cuisine, geographical environment, specificities, target customers, etc. through the interface. Connected to Google streams, the MalouApp is then able to generate a strategic list of keywords, their respective search volumes, the position of Google Maps restaurants on these keywords, and better-positioned competitors.
They must then be used strategically. A gauge indicates to the restaurateur every place to use their keywords and to what extent. General description, Google my Business posts, and responses to customer reviews: a gauge from green to red alerts the restaurateur to the proper or improper use of keywords.
Results:
An internet user who wants to go to a “pizzeria paris 16” and a restaurateur who regularly works on this keyword are more likely to meet. A strategic use of these terms allows the establishment to stand out in Google Maps search results that characterize it. It therefore improves its natural referencing and increases its chances of winning new customers.
4. Retain the customers of your restaurant online
Functionality and actions:
The interface brings together all customer reviews from different platforms (Google, TripAdvisor, The Fork, UberEats, Deliveroo, etc.) on the same page, as well as comments left on social networks. These reviews and comments can be filtered by their ratings, response statuses, platforms, and dates. The restaurateur no longer needs to browse the internet to check their notifications daily and will no longer miss any. And no need to visit their delivery interface such as UberEats anymore! The integration of delivery platforms on the MalouApp allows all notes and comments left for each delivered order to be centralized and responded to.
To respond to reviews and comments, the restaurateur saves time. They can either create their own response templates, saved on the platform, to be nuanced according to the situation. Positive reviews, 5-star ratings, negative reviews on food or service, etc. But they can also use the automatic response functionality available on our solution. To ensure that restaurateurs do not miss any reviews, the MalouApp sends a daily email alert with all reviews received the day before.
Results:
Responding to reviews allows the restaurant to thank the customer, show appreciation, and thus facilitate customer loyalty. By responding to all reviews, both positive and negative, the restaurant also increases its overall rating and improves its image. This is also a place where potential customers come to gather information and they prefer establishments that are engaged. Did you know that with each response, the user receives a notification email? An excellent opportunity to create a new point of contact with the customer and take advantage of it to inform them about new products, current offers, etc.
5. Collect more customer reviews
Features and actions:
Through the MalouApp, the restaurant can collect customer data by importing software used for reservations, click-and-collect, delivery, etc. The restaurant can also add customers manually. Once the database is enriched, all that remains is to send review collection campaigns in just a few clicks! How? Set up the campaign, configure the audience, and write the message. This last step is essential to capture the recipient’s attention. Malou allows you to address a personalized message in the customer’s name automatically. The email sent contains several stars to encourage the customer to leave a review following their experience. If the customer chooses between 4 and 5 stars, Malou redirects them to the chosen directory page. Below 4 stars, the customer is redirected to a form to complete. Through this form, they indicate the negative elements of their experience to help the restaurant improve. But the rating will not be published on platforms such as Google, Tripadvisor…
However, Malou offers another way to collect 10X more customer reviews each month! Each user of the MalouApp receives a magic totem: a small wooden tablet where they simply place their phone on it, and the review page automatically appears thanks to contactless technology. The customer just has to leave their review! And you can track the activity of your totems from the MalouApp!
Results:
A restaurant’s customer reviews have a very strong impact on its reputation. They testify to past experiences, both positive and negative. These reviews influence the decision of future customers. And the more there are, the more people consider that the restaurant attracts customers. Reviews therefore reflect the satisfaction and popularity of the restaurant, hence the importance of having them.
6. Share content regularly and engage your community
Features and actions:
From a single interface, it becomes possible to generate content on your GMB, Facebook, and Instagram pages. Creating and scheduling posts from the MalouApp allows you to anticipate and organize your editorial calendar. Download images, resize them before publishing or scheduling, but also automatically rename photos with keywords: everything happens on the interface.
When creating posts dedicated to social networks, the restaurant adds the caption, location, can tag accounts, modify the image, insert hashtags, and even duplicate the post for GMB in just one click! The restaurant can also schedule and publish carousels and Reels, formats that are more popular with users but also with the social media algorithm!
Results:
Regularly updating your pages informs customers about the restaurant’s news, the new menu, the installation of a terrace, etc. And improves your reputation! GMB posts improve online visibility. Why? Because they are a strategic expression space to insert keywords. Scheduling via the interface makes it easy for the restaurant to maintain real rigor and avoid regular forgetfulness. On social networks, regularly sharing quality content improves the attractiveness and reputation of the establishment. By planning, it is easier for the restaurant to care for its posts, at regular intervals. And photos renamed with optimized keywords improve natural referencing. It will have a better chance of standing out from other restaurants on Google.
7. Becoming attractive on social media
Feature and actions:
To gain visibility on social media, it’s important to regularly publish quality content and maintain an aesthetically pleasing page. However, inspiration can quickly run dry. On the Malou solution, a dedicated tab provides restaurant owners with inspiration to generate content. They can find posts from accounts similar to theirs, sorted by engagement rate, date, number of likes or comments. To catch the eye of users, the restaurant page must remain consistent and aesthetically pleasing. From the interface, the restaurant owner can add photos and videos, then organize them before publishing with harmony thanks to the preview of their Instagram feed! Hashtags also remain a visibility lever on Instagram, provided they are used relevantly. Like keywords, Malou guides the restaurant owner step by step in developing a hashtag strategy, from definition to use.
Results:
Regular publishing frequency, varied quality content, an overall aesthetically pleasing page: keys to your online visibility and generating a growing and engaged community. Correctly used hashtags: to reach a niche audience searching for specific content. And the Instagram algorithm rewards pages that play by the rules of the available features, such as hashtags.
8. Convert more customers through private messages
Feature and action:
The MalouApp centralizes all private messages received on Instagram, Facebook, and Google in one space. (The first solution to bring together these three channels to save time!) With the ability to filter received messages based on channels, customers… The restaurant owner can also activate the Google message feature directly from the Malou solution. No more time wasted searching for the button on your Google My Business listing.
And to respond to these messages, it’s never been faster! Thanks to the numerous shortcuts available, a response can be made in just 2 clicks! With templates, as well as pre-recorded links redirecting to frequently requested information – such as menu, phone, hours, etc. – available in the response area!
Result:
A customer who asks a specific question is thus at the final conversion stage. They just need a few more details to go to the restaurant in question. Not responding to them would be missing an opportunity to convert them into a new customer!
Through these discussion spaces, a new point of contact with the customer is also activated. Interacting with them in a personal, one-to-one way raises their awareness and increases the chances that they will come.
Instagram and Facebook value the restaurant page on a key element: community engagement. Private messages prove to be the most engaging way to interact on social media, perceived very positively by algorithms!
Using instant messages and responding to all interactions will thus convert customers to come, and boost your ranking on Google, Instagram, and Facebook.
9. Real-time monitoring of your restaurant’s online visibility performance
Functionality and actions:
All statistics collected on the establishment’s SEO and social media allow professionals to monitor their performance in real-time. An intuitive visualization of KPIs allows them to quickly see their progress or lack thereof. They can track, depending on the selected period, the discovery of their restaurant listing in Google My Business, actions taken on it, the number of reviews and their average rating on different platforms, as well as their position in global search results, top 20, and top 3. For social media, the interface informs them about the evolution of their community and the engagement of each post in detail.
Results:
Knowing their performance based on various KPIs encourages restaurateurs to work on their weaknesses to continue improving, take further steps in their digital marketing actions, and keep moving up in the search results for restaurants on Google.
10. Sneak peek: Analyze what your customers are saying!
Functionality and action:
With the help of artificial intelligence, MalouApp analyzes the content of customer reviews received by the restaurant online. The solution identifies multiple categories for each phrase (cuisine, ambiance, service, etc.), and the algorithm identifies whether the associated sentiment is positive or negative.
MalouApp provides the restaurant with a report of all the positive and negative feedback found in online reviews, organized by Cuisine, Service, Ambiance, Price, and Wait time categories. For each category, it provides a precise list of keywords for what was appreciated or not, such as “pancakes,” “service,” “presentation,” “excellent bread”… and can even track the evolution of each category over time!
Results:
Using this online customer feedback can help improve the restaurant’s service and cuisine and extract valuable data to increase profitability. For example, which dishes are most complimented – bestsellers – to produce more of them/not remove them from the menu. Without this unique functionality, it can be challenging for restaurateurs to understand what is being said positively and what needs to be improved from the volume of reviews.
11. Work as a team to maximize your restaurant’s visibility on Google and social media
Functionality and action:
MalouApp allows managing the restaurant’s online visibility with a team. By granting access to specific or all functionalities, each connected person can work together, leave comments, and exchange ideas directly on the platform. For international users, the Malou solution is also available in English, and for groups, multiple establishments can be synchronized to one account.
Result:
Involving members of the restaurant in managing marketing efforts saves time and strengthens teamwork.
Malou: An all-in-one solution to acquire online customers with human support
For those who want to be involved in their restaurant’s commercial success beyond the kitchen and service, MalouApp is the solution. It brings together the various steps necessary to build and execute an effective digital marketing strategy with one goal in mind – to acquire online customers! As a bonus, it also helps retain them, although loyalty mainly depends on the quality of food and service. Listening to feedback and requests from restaurateurs, Malou continues to enrich the solution every day and accompanies its clients daily in using the Malou interface.
If you want to learn more about Malou, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to present its use in detail and answer your questions!
