As an entrepreneur, one embarks on a journey filled with learning, sleepless nights, failures and, hopefully, success. My entrepreneurial journey started when I decided to take over my family’s Italian restaurant business and grow it with a modern twist. Little did I know, this journey would provide me with unique insights about the best times to post on social media for an Italian restaurant.
One of my many tasks was to revamp our promotion strategies. I knew we had exquisite food loved by locals but the reach was limited. I decided an online presence was crucial and started exploring social media to engage our customers and attract new ones.
However, gaining traction on social media for an Italian restaurant was not an easy task. Through trial and error, I soon realized the importance of timing to capture my audience effectively. I could not just post a delicious picture of lasagna at 3 am expecting an enthusiastic response. Illustrated and timed posts were more critical than I had surmised.
My first point of research was to look at statistical data. There were quoted ‘best times’ to post on various platforms. Instagram suggested posting between 11am-1pm and 7pm-9pm. For Facebook, the best times were proposed as 1pm-4pm. It all seemed very general, but it was also supposed to have been backed up by mountains of data.
I applied these statistical ‘best times’ diligently. Initially, the response was quite encouraging. Likes and shares increased by a decent rate, but the conversion to actual diners did not improve significantly. Despite the frustrating results, I didn’t stop; I tweaked and pursued.
After analyzing our demographic, I noted a significant portion of our customers were hard-working professionals looking for a refreshing lunch or a relaxing dinner. Also, locals would search for places to dine during the weekends. I realized we were in a unique business that should not blindly follow generic social media schedules.
Therefore, we changed our approach and started tracking interactions closely. We realized posting during lunch hours was still beneficial, but the window extends a little further from 11am-3pm. Sharing posts around this time intrigued users, showing them what they could be having for lunch. For dinner ads, we realized 5pm-9pm worked incredibly well as people wrap up their work and start considering their dinner options.
Weekends presented a different scene; here, our posts at 10am-1pm worked the best, just when people start planning their day or meals. We found high engagements during these periods, leading to an increase in bookings for the same evening or next day.
I also noticed the type of content was just as crucial at the timing. During weekdays, quick glimpses of our culinary creations with inviting food photography worked as the best lure. On weekends, sneak-peeks into our kitchen, customer testimonials, or featuring our specials for the day got us higher engagements.
This journey of finding out the best times to post on social media for an Italian restaurant played a significant role in increasing our online footfall, driving up bookings, and walk-ins. We witnessed a considerable increase in our revenues and a substantial growth in followers from locals and tourists alike.
To wrap up, persistence, patience, and being open to learning played a crucial role in my endeavor’s success. While generic statistics can provide a good starting point, as an entrepreneur, one should never shy away from testing new timings or strategies and keep your audience interests in mind. Keep refining strategies through testing and learning!
My entrepreneurial journey taught me that social media, when understood and used effectively, can be a powerful tool to transform your business. Ultimately, the best times to post on social media for an Italian restaurant, or any business for that matter, is something you learn through your unique journey.