Restaurant Marketing on a Budget

You've heard it all before: “People don't know you exist if you don't tell them you're here,” says Teneshia Murray, owner of T's Brunch Bar, an all-day brunch restaurant with four locations in the Atlanta area.

“Marketing is the most important thing for running a business.”

She's not wrong, but the catch is figuring out how to affordably get in front of the right people for your restaurant. Independent restaurants can scarcely afford huge marketing blitzes, but there are budget-friendly ways to get the attention of the people who are most likely to come to your restaurants, enjoy them and return for more.

Make Your Restaurant Stand Out Online

Murray tries to get inside her customers' heads to understand how they behave, because she behaves similarly. “When I travel, I Google 'brunch near me,”' she says, while also scouting out restaurants on TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere on social media where potential customers browse for restaurants with eye-catching food. “I want my food to look like you can eat it off the website. It needs to be attractive. I want to stand out.”

To do that, she takes a multiplatform approach. She hired a full-time social media manager who goes to her restaurants each week and posts content daily – videos and still shots – on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Google, Meta Ads and elsewhere, such as Facebook groups for foodies, especially those in her neighborhoods. “These groups are huge,” she says. “As soon as we post there, they come in all day long.”

By strategically engaging with those communities, they turn a simple post into an influx of traffic, leveraging local word of mouth in a digital space.

Find the Right Influencers

A mention from a big-name celebrity or influencer with millions of followers is nice, but if the followers don't live near you, how much traffic will it drive? Instead, look at posts from people within your delivery zone. They might only have a few hundred followers, but if they're mostly neighbors, that's a huge win. Be gracious to those micro­influencers; invite them in for a meal if it's within your budget. Chikurin, a sushi restaurant in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, offers a free appetizer to anyone who posts about them on social media – an easy way to drum up attention at minimal cost. While online buzz can help bring in new guests, making sure they come back is just as important.

Remember That Your Regulars Are the VIPs

Treat your regulars right. That might mean giving them a free appetizer or dessert, or buying them a drink. Or, it might just mean acknowledgment – knowing where they like to sit, how they like to be treated and acting on it. Whether they post about their experiences or just tell their friends, it's a simple but organic way to get people through the door.

Word of Mouth Is Still King

Digital marketing is critical for most operators, but alternative approaches can work too. Andrea Fraquelli, owner of Cotoletta in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood, opened his restaurant in October to instant success, and his website doesn't even show the menu, which is uniquely limited to a single entrée, two antipasti, one pasta and three side options, all sold as a prix-fixe meal.

“I've noticed that the people who are willing to pick up the phone are doing it with so much more vigor and gusto than clicking on OpenTable,” Fraquelli says. That small effort makes customers more invested in their dining experience, he says.

And the result is a strong network of fans. He began, as most restaurateurs do, by inviting friends and friends of investors who spread news of the restaurant by word of mouth, resulting in success that has far outstripped his expectations.

“In a market (like Miami) where everyone is spending $5 to $10 million on flashy social media campaigns and extravagant restaurant build-outs, maybe this was a breath of fresh air,” he says.

By eliminating the digital friction of reservations, Fraquelli creates a sense of exclusivity, making the experience feel more personal and intentional.