The Importance of Food Photography for Your Restaurant Marketing
The culinary industry is a labor of love. This isn’t a field of work one just falls into. Starting your own shop has more than likely been your dream for several years; if not your entire life. Whether it is a small bakery cafe, a bar & grill, or a fine dining establishment; restaurant owners and operators are a particular type of people filled with passion and dedication. That being said, it doesn’t take away from the facts of opening a restaurant in the United States today.
There are close to 1 million restaurant locations in the United States with more opening every month. With that, though, is the statistic that the average lifespan of a restaurant is about 5 years; with over 90% failing within just the first year! Those numbers are bleak even for the most optimistic restaurateur. But it highlights the importance of having a well-rounded marketing plan in place before opening your new shop! One key component of any modern marketing plan is professional photos and videos for your business. While you could always opt for generic stock images via Adobe Stock or Shutterstock, you’re missing the unique appeal of your true dishes.
Presentation Counts in Our Visual-Based Culture
It’s no surprise that we as humans eat with our eyes first before our stomachs. It is an evolutionary defense so we do not just go putting whatever crosses our path into our mouths. In the modern era, this “visuals first” reflex can be the make or break point for the online persona of your restaurant business. Delivery apps that have allowed customers to order their favorite dishes from the comfort of their homes have merged the world of brick-and-mortar restaurants with the customer trends of eCommerce. Essentially, instead of buying goods from Amazon customers are now shopping for their next meal from the web or a smartphone delivery app such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash. Think about how you shop for goods via the internet. If there isn’t a decent image or no image at all for that matter, how likely are you going to tap the “Add to Cart” button and make a purchase?
Probably not nearly as likely if you saw competitors with professional product images.
Food Photography Builds Trust and Credibility
What is often the first thing you do when you hear about a new business, restaurant, or venue? Most people would say they look them up through Google or social media. When a customer is met with images that are not only high-quality but are posted consistently, it signals that you are a legitimate business and are still in operation. It moves you and your restaurant into a higher class and makes a prospective customers more eager to give your shop a try on their next evening out! Making sure you are constantly putting your best foot forward in the digital space is crucial to your business's long-term branding and marketing.
Good photos are often the first impression of your brand. It allows a hungry prospecting customer to see the delicious nuances of your entrees and sides before they arrive at their front door or on their table. When someone looks up your restaurant the images need to speak for themselves and convey a positive message. Whether it’s through your website, a delivery app or your social media photography creates a sense of professionalism that can easily set you apart from other food shops in the area.
Increase Sales
Data from GrubHub, one of the largest delivery apps operating in the US, shows that there is a clear winner between businesses that utilize food and beverage photography and those that do not. Online menus which incorporate food photography can expect to earn upwards of 30% more in sales than restaurants that do not. Cut-and-dry numbers like that are hard to come by in the marketing world and they speak for themselves. Professional food photography that accurately depicts your dishes can help increase sales conversions on mobile delivery apps and your website ordering system.
Build Customer Expectations
Food photography, whether used on your website menu or a delivery app menu, shows a customer what to expect when ordering your food. The tantalizing placement of every ingredient in the image and the editing build anticipation before a customer ever places the order. They know exactly what the food will look like when it arrives and they’re eagerly waiting for it the entire time. Instead of blindly ordering and not knowing how the dish will be presented, beautiful food photography sets the expectations upfront that this restaurant is high-end and stands by its products.
We’re More Likely to Remember Content With Images
There are a variety of factors that lead a user to make a final purchase decision, but one major factor which you can influence is helping a customer conclude quicker and easier! Data from 3M shows that our brains are capable of processing visuals 60,000 times faster than just plain text. Put that into the context of a smartphone screen when a user is eagerly searching for their dinner through DoorDash or GrubHub. Having quality images paired with beautifully written product descriptions will increase the likelihood of visitors choosing your restaurant over competitors!
Food and Beverage Photography in Your Marketing Strategy
One of the most beneficial aspects of incorporating professional images into your restaurant marketing strategy is that they can have a long usage lifespan. Unless you are constantly changing the items on your menu or removing certain items than media created for your restaurant can go a long way in giving you a positive return on your investment. A monthly batch of images can be utilized across the digital landscape from multiple delivery apps, printed on your physical in-house menus, used for various marketing and advertising collateral such as email and print media, website content, and of course your social media presence.
Food and beverage photography allows you to constantly put new content out on social media and the internet to get in front of your customers as frequently as possible. In the grand scheme of most marketing and advertising investments, photography and other forms of digital media are some of the best places to focus the spending.
Focus On Your Craft
At the end of the day, as a restaurant owner, your expertise lies in creating delicious food and providing an excellent customer experience. You’re likely managing a busy kitchen, sourcing ingredients for your dishes, managing front-of-the-house staff, and a mess of other stressful tasks. Social media and general internet presence often fall below the radar! This is why outsourcing to a professional can have an extremely beneficial impact on the sales of your restaurant. Whether you train an in-house staff or look outside the business to hire a professional, don’t overlook the importance of food photography in your restaurant’s marketing plan!
