In part 1 of our series on digital marketing with Facebook for restaurants, we covered the fundamentals of Facebook marketing, including our six rules to success.

In this, our second installment, we'll dive deeper into creating a successful Facebook marketing plan for your restaurant.

We'll be looking at some additional rules to success, and then we'll take what we learned in part 1 and apply it to a digital marketing strategy that will help you get more customers and repeat orders.

Even if you think you know everything there is to know about Facebook marketing because you have a personal account and post to it regularly, you might be surprised by the nuances of marketing on Facebook for restaurants.

Let's begin by looking at what we want to see in our any plan for Facebook marketing for restaurants.

Facebook Marketing Plan for Your Restaurant

Create a plan to use Facebook for more customers and repeat orders. You can do this without hiring an agency or spending lots of time.

Follow these steps to succeed on Facebook.

Step 1: Set Goals

What do you want to achieve with Facebook?

Some examples:

• ✅ Get 20% more customers in 3 months

• ✅ Gain 500 new fans in 2 months

• ✅ Promote an event and see how many show up

• ✅ Increase online orders on slow days

Make sure your goals are clear, measurable, and time-bound. Don't just say “increase brand awareness.” Focus on actual outcomes like orders received or tables booked.

Step 2: Create a Content Calendar

As mentioned several times by this point, being consistent when it comes to posting on Facebook matters a great deal. Plan the places you'll visit each week with your calendar.

Post your content directly on Facebook with Meta Business Suite for free.

Anticipate devoting 1-2 hours each week for planning and scheduling.

Step 3: Use Paid Advertisements Effectively

Use Facebook Ads as an opportunity to invest wisely. They yield measurable returns when implemented correctly. The following are the purposes of ads:

• ✅ Grand openings or seasonal promotions

• ✅ Online reservations and menus

• ✅ Attract locals without prior dining experience

Suggested ad campaigns:

• ✅ Awareness ads targeted within 5 miles

• ✅ Event promotion advertisements connected to live music, wine nights, and more

• ✅ Offer-driven ads such as “Free Dessert with Entree — This Week Only”

Budgeting pointers: start small at $5 - $15 per day, then experiment with your messaging. Consistently, you will discover what converts.

Step 4: Boost Top-Performing Organic Posts

When your regular posts have great engagement (likes, shares, comments), click “Boost” to invest about $10 – $30 to reach more people. It’s an immediate win that yields faster results.

Boosted posts are effective for:

• ✅ Limited-time specials

• ✅ Weekend promotions

• ✅ Popular menu item photos

• ✅ Holiday hours or announcements

Step 5: Track Performance Weekly

Check your Insights and Ad Manager reports every Monday as a routine habit.

Key metrics to monitor:

• ✅ Engagement (likes, shares, comments)

• ✅ Reach and impressions

• ✅ Link clicks and website visits

• ✅ Event responses

• ✅ Cost per click (when advertising)

This way, you refine your strategies while understanding audience preferences better.

Step 6: Engage With Comments and Messages Daily

Answer questions like “Are you open tonight?” or “Is this gluten-free?” to build trust and spur actions.

Pages that remain active get rewarded by Facebook by being shown to more users.

Daily engagement time: 10–15 minutes. Set reminders on your phone or assign someone trustworthy to do it.

Step 7: Rinse and Repeat With Seasonal Focus

Every 30 days, check your calendar and ad results. Adjust your strategies according to what works.

For example:

• 🚀 Feature more Friday’s fish fry photos if people seem to like them.

• 🚀 Run your combo ads again next month if they made calls.

• 🚀 Add common questions to your Messenger auto-replies if customers frequently ask.

Also, base your plans on seasons:

• 📆 January: New Year menu

• 📆 February: Valentine's dinner promos

• 📆 Summer: Happy hours on the patio

• 📆 October: Pumpkin spice or Halloween specials

• 📆 December: Holiday party bookings

Rolling Out Your Restaurant's Facebook Marketing Plan

Facebook can boost your restaurant's sales now. But will you know how to use it?

You can plan things out. Then, when you execute with clarity, consistency, and measurable progress, it will show success!

Here’s how to implement an effective Facebook marketing plan:

Step 1: Roll Out Your Facebook Marketing Plan with Confidence

To execute successfully, organize beforehand. Confirm these foundational steps before posting or launching ads:

Assign Ownership

Who manages your restaurant's Facebook page? Ideally, it should be someone who:

• ✅ Knows your brand's voice

• ✅ Takes decent photos/videos

• ✅ Has 15–30 minutes daily to engage with comments/messages

A full-time social media manager is not necessary. Many successful restaurants have a front-of-house lead/managers/tech-savvy servers handle this.

Use a Scheduling Tool

Meta Business Suite (free) or Buffer lets you post content in advance for one week/month, etc, so it can flow smoothly during busy nights too.

Upload Brand Assets

Ensure the profile and cover photos align with the brand identity, as well as create reusable templates in Canva for specials/events/holidays messages, etc. to maintain visual consistency.

Launch Your First Campaign

Start with one of the following:

• 🔥 A boosted post of a special announcement.

• 🔥 An invitation to a live music event.

• 🔥 A local ad for online orders.

Set a small budget of $10 to $20 for 3-5 days. Learn what works before increasing your ad spend.

Step 2: Maintenance

Good food places do not post the most. They just post a few times regularly on Facebook, reply to clients, and adjust the posts based on feedback.

Step 3: Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Restaurants

Check that you are getting enough profit from your restaurant by measuring the following:

Engagement Rate (Likes, Comments, Shares)

• ✅ Indicates how much customers are interested in your posts

• ✅ The goal is for more people to know about your restaurant

Post Reach / Impressions

• ✅ Displays how many people viewed your posts, whether through organic means or advertising

• ✅ The objective is for your restaurant to be frequently seen in customers’ feeds.

Clicks to Website or Menu Page

• ✅ Tracks the level of interest in placing orders or learning more about the restaurant

• ✅ Try to increase the number of visits to the ordering platform or reservation system.

Message Volume / Response Rate

• ✅ Signifies customer intention (enquiries generally lead to visits)

• ✅ Quickly respond (preferably within an hour) to secure bookings or orders

Ad Performance (CPC, CTR, Conversions)

• ✅ Shows if your advertising investment has led to actual actions by potential customers

• ✅ Target below $1 per click and test various creative ads every week

Event Responses / Reservations from Facebook

• ✅ Direct measure of the effectiveness of promotions

Use Meta Business Suite and Google Analytics (if connected) for a thorough analysis.

“What gets measured, gets improved.”
— W. Edwards Deming

Conclusion

Much has been said about the size of the social media platform Facebook.

When numbers reach into the billions — either for the number of monthly users or how much the company is valued in dollars — things can almost seem unreal because our brains tend to tune out information that we can't rationalize easily.

As a digital marketer, you can tame the Facebook behemoth and have it work for your restaurant.

Digital marketing on Facebook for restaurants can be challenging, but it’s far from being impossible. Many restaurants have used Facebook to great success and there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.

Facebook is not just for you to post your food. It is a very important way of marketing that is cheap. It can be as strong as old-time ads when it is used right.

Key Takeaways:

• ✅ Just having a Facebook page does not work. Use ads and boost posts to see results.

• ✅ Start with a small budget. You can still get results.

• ✅ Consistency matters: keep being regular in your posts. Remember, posting once in a while is the same as not posting at all.

• ✅ Organic posts are free advertising, but you still need to draw users to them. Creative Facebook posts for restaurants is an effective way to draw curiosity and engagement to a post.

• ✅ Measure your results against your digital marketing plan’s goals. Look at the numbers and make changes. Use data, not guesses.

• ✅ Be real. Reply to questions, thank those who comment, and treat followers like visitors.

If you spend 30 minutes to 2 hours each week, you can have a Facebook page that gets more tables full and repeat customers.