Boston is one of the most happening cities in the world. Home to about 700,00 people, it is known for its rich history and culture. It is also an extremely progressive city with an active and socially aware population.
One of the many social issues that Boston’s youthful residents are passionate about is animal rights and welfare. While the state of Massachusetts may not rank as highly as California when it comes to veganism, it is catching up fast.
A recent study by Myprotein found that Boston was one of the best cities for vegans. That makes it a promising place for anyone who wants to start a vegan restaurant here.
However, how does one go about marketing a vegan restaurant in Boston? Here are three tips:
#1. Create a Comprehensive Online Presence
It is almost impossible to start and grow a restaurant business by solely relying on the quality of your food. A major part of building your customer base comes from having a great online presence.
This includes well-managed social media profiles and a stunning website that offers not only online menus and ordering services but also publishes insightful content on veganism.
You might wonder whether it’s worth publishing articles on your website, and that’s a great question.
You see, well-written articles and blog posts about vegan life allow the visibility of your website to shoot up significantly. People are more likely to come across your website and brand through these well-written pieces.
In these posts, you can discuss cool recipes, vegan-life benefits, vegan-related news, and the latest trends. All of them help push organic traffic to your website and, ultimately, to your restaurant.
However, it isn’t as simple as writing a few random articles. You need to optimize the content on your website for search engine algorithms.
This process is also known as SEO and is one of the most important forms of digital marketing out there today. As a prospective vegan restaurant owner, it would be wise to invest in hiring a Boston SEO consultant that can closely work with you to draw in more web traffic and, ultimately, more customers.
It is in these delicate moments of entrepreneurship that people like Peter Rota play a huge role. Rota is an SEO consultant with extensive experience in wielding SEO strategies to help his clients build their brands and businesses. With over a decade of industry experience, Rota is precisely the kind of consultant that businesses can benefit from.
Many of his past clients highlight in their testimonials the growth in website traffic they experienced as a result of Rota’s SEO services. As you can imagine, the use of such consultants can be invaluable when trying to start a vegan restaurant.
#2. Use the Movement to Your Advantage
The vegan movement is closely associated with a number of other social causes. Getting your brand involved in social movements and sponsoring meals at events and rallies is a great way to get your name out and connect with your target audience.
Remember, even though Boston is a city with a lot of vegans, this is still a niche lifestyle for a lot of Americans. It makes sense to actively find and engage with other vegans who are likely to support you when you support them.
You can do this by finding local groups on sites like meetup.com and joining online vegan communities.
Reddit and Discord are great places to begin, but it’s important to keep your approach organic. These sites and communities dislike overt marketing, so try to actually participate and be a part of the community.
#3. Encourage Customer Interaction
This is one of the oldest ways to engage with an audience. It is often used when people are giving speeches or lectures, but the concept has the same effect in business relationships.
For example, a good lecture often contains moments where the audience is involved in some way or the other. This may range from questions like “How many of you…” or having a volunteer come up on stage with you.
In the context of a restaurant, one example would be hosting social media contests where customers share pictures of their own vegan meals, and the winner gets a free meal or a 50% discount on their next visit to your restaurant.
Many restaurants also have customer walls, where reviews, photos, and testimonials can be shared. It enhances user engagement, and customers are likely to provide some of the much sought-after word-of-mouth marketing.
Conclusion
Starting a vegan restaurant in Boston can be a great idea. The city offers a lot of scope for innovative restaurants and boasts the demographics that are likely to engage in such lifestyles.
However, marketing a restaurant is still a difficult task, and professional help can go a long way, especially in areas where you need to optimize your online content for search engines.
Proper networking with vegan communities and taking steps to increase customer engagement are only some of the many ways that can ensure a greater chance of success.