How to Market Restaurants to College Students

Learn how to attract college students to your restaurant with the following 10 tips:

1. Leverage social media

Social media usage is extremely prevalent among young people.

Restaurants can create content that college students come across as they’re scrolling through their phones and other devices.

This shouldn’t be too difficult since food is very visual. In fact, presenting food in itself can be classified as an art.

2. Create a video for distribution

You can create the video yourself if you have the equipment and expertise. You can also hire someone to do it for you.

In a few minutes, portray what exactly is so special about your restaurant.

Zoom in to focus on specific textures.

Zoom out to show the ambiance and overall vibe of the restaurant. Use lights, colors, and editing effects to create the mood that you want.

After filming and editing, publish the final video across social media platforms. You should definitely include YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

3. Launch the video as a paid ad and target users located in your area

In addition to reaching potential customers organically on social media, you can also pay to reach more people.

Before launching the marketing campaign, make sure you display basic business information on your profile such as restaurant name, phone number, address, and hours of operation. This way, customers will know where and how to find you.

Be active and answer questions that users may have in the comments. For example, someone might be interested after seeing your video, but they have food allergies. They want to ask about the ingredients that you use so that they don’t have a medical emergency if they decide to visit.

You can also think of answering questions as another marketing opportunity. Now that you have people interested, convince them to visit by using vivid adjectives and additional media files such as high-quality photos.

4. Form partnerships with influencers

There are food-themed Facebook pages that feature different restaurants and what they have to offer.

Likewise, some YouTubers dedicate their entire channel on food. They travel all over to try new foods and talk about their experiences.

There are also food-themed Instagram pages.

Influencers have audiences, sometimes consisting of hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers. Reach out to these pages to get your restaurant featured.

In exchange for free food or payment, influencers will help get the word out about your restaurant and hopefully get you more customers.

5. Make the order experience efficient

College students have packed schedules. They have to go to class, study for exams, and maybe even work a job on the side.

When grabbing a bite to eat, college students will think about the amount of time that they have. If they have only a few minutes, they will 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 order for pickup.

6. Provide free Wi-Fi

College students are always looking for good internet access. The college library might not be good enough.

Plus, they probably want to get away from the crowds once in a while. It can get hectic on campus during midterms and finals week.

If your restaurant has good Wi-Fi, then it might just become college students’ new favorite studying spot. They will order something to eat while they study. Lure them in with free Wi-Fi. They will stay for the food.

7. Give a student discount

College is expensive.

Tuition.

Room and board.

Buying new textbooks just to get the access code to do homework.

Students have to spend a lot of money just to get through college. As a result, they are always on the lookout for ways to save money.

Taking advantage of a student discount is always a good reason to eat at a restaurant.

8. Connect with student groups

Organizations on campus know that students are more likely to go to events if there’s food available. Learning is more fun when lunch is provided. As a result, groups order from nearby restaurants to help feed hungry students.

You can benefit from this as a restaurant owner by establishing relationships with these student groups. They will call you whenever they need food. Thus, establishing relationships leads to more regular customers.

9. Offer healthy options

Even though college students are health-conscious, it’s difficult to stay healthy when there’s so much going on.

You can help by offering options that are organic and/or gluten-free. Include this in your marketing materials.

Make it easy for new students to avoid the infamous Freshman 15. People will keep coming back if they know your food is healthy and delicious at the same time.

10. Hire college ambassadors

Get outgoing students and student leaders to represent your restaurant. You can package the position as either a marketing internship or a part-time job.

Students can effectively market your restaurant for you if they have a lot of Facebook friends or Instagram followers. You can align payment with performance.

For example, in addition to a base salary, college ambassadors can get commission for every person they convince to buy something.