Pizza Today - May 2019 - 38

identify the bid range, keeping in mind
it updates every seven days," Thiesen
says, adding that a more targeted
audience doesn't necessarily translate
into higher rates.

8 WAYS TO ENHANCE PAID
SOCIAL ADVERTISING
1: Define precise campaigns
objectives. Whether it's promoting a new
restaurant opening or driving catering sales,
Liu suggests restaurants define a clear
goal for their paid advertising campaign.
Otherwise, efforts can too easily wander and
fall flat.
2: Know the ground rules. Liu advises
restaurants to familiarize themselves with
a given advertising platform, its options
and its pertinent details. For instance, are
costs associated with clicks or impressions?
What's the campaign's run time? When will
charges occur?

"Understanding these parameters and
then keeping a close eye on your campaigns
is key to avoiding surprising charges," Liu
says.
3: Pay for the "right" play. Particularly
for beginners, Thiesen suggests restaurants
use the cost-per-click model rather than
the cost-per-impression option. This way, a
restaurant only pays when people engage
with an ad.
4: Identify the target. Avoid default
targeting, Thiesen says, and instead
specify audience, which can be based on
geolocation, gender, age, income, parental
status, marital status and interests. Then,
craft content - video as well as text and
imagery - as precisely as possible.
"For example, if you want to promote your
new pet-friendly patio, use images of dogs
in your ads and target pet owners who live
nearby," Thiesen says.

Other potential targets might include
happy hour specials for nearby workers,
game-day promotions for fans of a
particular team or family-friendly events
aimed at parents.
5: Consider the customer. Much
too often, restaurant owners push what
makes them excited with nary a concern
for what the customer cares about or how
the restaurant can address an existing
customer need. "Put yourself in your
customers' shoes," Liu directs.
6: Don't yo-yo. Wiley acknowledges
that social media advertising can be "very
temperamental" with factors like weather
or national news impacting results. Even
so, it's important operators commit to
an overall strategy, including timeline
and budget, and resist the temptation to
change campaigns in a willy-nilly fashion.
"Give your strategy time to work and
also to deliver enough data so you can
figure out what is working and what
isn't," Liu says.
7: Measure constantly and adjust
accordingly. Timely data is one of digital
advertising's premier advantages, so use
it. Dig into the numbers to see if certain
copy, images, promotions, descriptions or
targeting parameters are resonating more
than others. Then, pivot accordingly.
"Measure everything you do so you
can figure out if your assumptions were
correct," Liu says.
8: Defer to the pros. If no one in the
business is willing to do the research to
master paid social media ads, then hire
an outside expert.
"Otherwise," Thiesen says, "it's literally
money down the drain." n
Chicago-based writer DANIEL P.
SMITH has covered business issues and
best practices for a variety of trade
publications, newspapers, and magazines.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - May 2019
