The 6 Clicks Facebook Advertising Strategy For Restaurants

Bonus Material: Watch how I executed this strategy in this video.

This post is specifically designed for restaurant owners and managers who want to get floods of customers to their restaurants in a consistent way without complicated targeting and setups, by using a hidden feature in the Facebook advertising system (not a trick, not a hack) that you have never noticed and is rarely used by the so-called pro. After going through this post, it is likely that you will not want to spend a dime on another paid advertising again.

This is for you if:

This is for you if you want to stop lowering your prices on platforms like Doordash just to stay competitive or appease the rules of the platform.

This is for you if you want to stop giving away huge amounts of discounts or profits on platforms like Groupon.

This is for you if you want to stop attracting casual and unserious browsers through Google PPC ads or Facebook ads that target the wrong people.

This is for you if you want to stop blaming slow sales on the season because this strategy has no respect for seasons.

This is for you if you’re sick and tired of up and down months in your restaurant. Some months are great, others suck and you’re burnt out trying to scale and seeing no results?

This is for you if you’re stuck at trying to scale your restaurant. The agencies and consultants you’re hiring aren’t working…

This is for you if you’re sick and tired of the old advertising strategies. The same old “ra ra” with high cost of clicks with no results.

It is a step-by-step process that is dead simple anyone can implement it after reading this article to start getting customers. I can guarantee that this will work for you even if nothing else like Google’s PPC Ads (with its high cost-per-click) and other forms of Facebook ads have not worked. Again, let me re-emphasize that this is not some guru hack, neither is it a trick, rather it is an underutilised ad feature in Facebook advertising, so if you are looking for a trick or some guru hack, this is not for you.

One easily noticeable benefit of this social media advertising for restaurants strategy is that one customer is worth more than a customer. It’s like using a single stone to kill more birds at the same time. I will explain how further down this article.

How I created the best social media advertising for restaurants

I spent a few months hanging around restaurant forums and groups online and found out one of the major problems that restaurant owners and managers face. One word – SALES! Most restaurants are looking for a way to generate consistent sales.

So I set out on a mission to discover the most cost-effective, low-cost way that any restaurant can implement to make consistent sales. It would be the dream of every restaurant owner or manager to have customers walk in to dine.

Drumrolls, please!!!

I found one that involves you clicking only 6 times of your mouse to complete the setup. The best part is that this method is so easy that anyone, even the newest newbie who has never attempted Facebook advertising before can implement it and be up and running in less than 10 minutes.

Before I start, let me clearly state that the strategy described in this article is not for everybody. It is specifically designed for restaurants who don’t want to waste another click on unprofitable or expensive advertising strategies.

However, you can apply this strategy to any business that requires someone to walk into your business. Examples include bars, spas, hotels, dentists, physical stores, etc.

So, if you want to get a steady stream of customers without having to worry about where your next customer is coming from then you need to pay close attention to every word in this article.

The 6-Clicks Facebook advertising strategy for restaurants

It does not involve complicated targeting and or all the usual stuff you may already know or heard about Facebook advertising. I hope to make the explanation as simple and straightforward as possible so that after reading it you will be able to implement everything in it without external help.

The Hidden Advertising Feature For Restaurants On Facebook

Today, I will be teaching you how to utilise a hidden Facebook advertising feature that not many people know.

Let me emphasize that this is not a trick or a loophole that may disappear someday, but an underutilized feature in Facebook Ads.

Some people may know it, but then, they rarely use it because they don’t know how effective this feature is.

Without taking any more of your time, let’s dive right in.

This is what I’m going to discuss in this post.

The step-by-step instructions
The rationale behind this system and why it works
Will this work for a long time?
Will this work for every type of business?
What is needed for this strategy to work effectively
What can make this strategy not work for you? Common mistakes to avoid.
What to do next

This strategy involves using a unique feature that’s available in Facebook advertising to target only people who are celebrating birthdays.

The step-by-step process

The process is simple: it only targets those celebrating their birthdays, though not in the usual targeting that you already know. Stay tuned for the dead simple step-by-step revelation…

If you ask most marketing agencies out there how to increase your restaurant sales, they will immediately tell you to run PPC Google ads or Facebook ads. Some will tell you to list your restaurant on business platforms such as Yelp, xxxx etc. Don’t get me wrong, none of those are bad but when you consider the competition, you need an extra-ordinary approach to break through the noise.

Here is what I came up with…

Step 1. Get your business Facebook page.

In order to look professional, you need to make sure that your business Facebook page is properly set up with the right profile picture and cover photo. (If you need help with setting this up, reach out to me and I can help.)

Now, it’s time for the first click.

The first click:

Go to your Facebook page URL which may look like this https://www.facebook.com/yourpagename Some of your pages may not contain your name at the end if it’s not properly set up.

This is where your first click in the 6-click process starts, so, put on your seatbelt because we are about to dive deep into this hidden-in-plain-sight Facebook feature.

Are you feeling nervous? Don’t worry, it’s not difficult.

While on your page, click on “Create Ads” as seen in the image below.

Here you go, you just made your first click in the 6-click advertising strategy that’s specifically tailored for restaurants.

Congratulations!!!!

The journey of a thousand miles indeed starts with a step. You’ve already taken the first step. Now, let’s dig deeper.

The next screen after the first click looks like the image below.

Permit me to take some time out of your busy time to explain what you need to fill in each section. That is the reason why I marked them out with numbers to make it easy for newbies as well. If you are already a Facebook ads pro, you can skip this section, otherwise, please follow me as I explain the numbers as stated in the image below.

Mark number 1: You don’t need to change anything here. Facebook will use its smart algorithm and AI to determine the best goal for your ad. Let’s not dig deep into what this “goal” means.

Mark number 2: This is where you write what you’re offering to your target. I presume you are not new to ads on Facebook? So, you might want to write something that the targeted audience would want to check out and would not want to miss. For instance a special promotion for 10% discount on their birthday etc.

Don’t know what to write or say in this section? Watch the video I created plus get access to 10 professionally written ad copies and headlines. All for FREE! Click here to watch the video plus access the add copies

Mark number 3: This is the option to choose and upload an attractive image. I highly suggest you use Canva – a free design tool to design the image of your ad. You simply have to choose Facebook ads in the templates section and you will have loads of inspiration. The free version of Canva is enough to do the job.

Mark number 4: This is another important section of your ad copy. It is a headline that is supposed to stand out but it has limited character space, so choose your words carefully. Here you can call out your target audience with an enticing headline. Something along the lines of: “X% off on your birthday!” You get the gist, right?

Let’s move on…

Mark number 5: When you click on the arrow indicated on number 5 in the image above, you will see different options. I suggest you the choose “Book Now” option since you want people to reserve a spot/table at your restaurant.

Mark number 6: This is where you are going to input your landing page. Your landing page should be exclusive to your ad and it should have only one goal/objective in mind – to make a booking or reserve a spot/table at your restaurant.

Please, please and please!!!! Never send your ad to the homepage of your website. Read the 4 most common mistakes advertisers make that are killing their ads. Even big corporations make these mistakes but because they have the resources to weather them, they seem not to acknowledge the impact on their ad spend. Don’t make the same mistakes in your landing page or else you will end up spending money with nothing to show for it.

Mark numbers 7 and 8: This is where our second click in the 6-click ad strategy comes in, so let’s skip this for now. We will look into it in more detail later in this article.

Mark number 9: This is where you decide to either run the ad for specific dates or let it run continuously. I will suggest you start by setting a start and end date, and if the ad meets your expectations (which depend on many factors such as the ad copy, the ad image, the optimisation of the landing page, etc.) then you can switch it to be on continuous.

Mark number 10: This is where you decide on the budget of your ad, that is, how much you want to spend on a daily basis. I suggest starting out with not more than $10 per day. Heck, you can even start with $1.

Mark number 11: Facebook will use its smart algorithm and AI to determine the best placement for your ads. However, if you want your ads to appear only in specific places like the news feed or sidebar and not on Facebook partner sites and audience networks, then this is where to change it. If you want to change it, simply turn this feature off, and you will see options where you would like your ads to appear, otherwise, leave it as is.

Mark number 12: This is where you will be required to add a payment method if you are new to this or do not already have one. Simply add your payment details here.

Mark number 13: This is the last click in the 6-clicks strategy, so hold on, we will come back to this later.

Now that you have filled out all those places that are needed for your ad to run smoothly, (I know they are a lot but you need to get it right), let’s move on to the second click in the 6-clicks ads strategy.

P.S. If you need help with what to write in those spaces marked, or the type of image for your ad, click here to watch a video of me doing it, plus get a “fill-in-the-blanks” prompt you can personalize for your restaurant. You can use this prompt with ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, or Anthropic AI. All these are free-to-use AI tools.

The second click:

Remember I skipped numbers 7 and 8 in the image above after the first click? Because this is where our second click is taking place. It is where you will choose your audience, and in a moment you will see how this is a goldmine in plain sight for restaurants.

First, select the radio button marked with the number 7 that says “people you choose through targeting”. If you don’t have that in your ad account because you are totally new or have not really set up your business page properly, you can click on the grey button that says “Create New”. If you choose this option, you will have to give your audience a name – this will be visible to you alone.

Alright! Time for the actual second click. Now click on the icon where the arrow marked number 8 is pointed to.

Have you done that?

Congratulations!!! You are 2 clicks in already…

After making your second click as shown in the image above, you will see an image that looks like the one below. This is where you are ready to make your third click. But first, you need to make some settings as shown below.

First, choose whether you want to target only men or women, or both men and women as shown in the first marked area of the image above. You will also need to decide what age you would like to target by using the slider as shown in the image above.

Second, you need to choose the location of your restaurant. You can do this by simply typing your city or location in the second marked area of the image above.

Let me clearly state that you need to be specific with the location in this section in order not to place your ad in front of people who cannot come in to dine at your restaurant.

>>>Want to watch over my shoulder how I set this up? Go here to learn more.<<<<

It’s time to move on to the third click.

The third click:

I promise that the clicks from here moving on are going to be much faster. Ready? Let’s go!!!!

The image below is where your third click will take place. Don’t worry, it’s on the same page as the image above, I only broke up the images to make it easier.

Simply click on “Browse” as shown in the image above.

This is what makes the difference between other forms of Facebook advertising and this particular strategy. In this strategy, instead of searching for interests to target by using the search box that’s written “detailed targeting”, we are rather clicking on browse to find the hidden gem. Many advertisers don’t click on that browse button but rather go on searching for interests using the search bar. I want you to unlearn that, and make your third click instead on the browse button.

Have you made your third click already? Interesting!!!

Now let’s move on to the fourth click.

The fourth click:

The fourth click is clearly marked in the image below. Without clicking on anything else after making your third click as shown in the image above, you will see the image below: click on “Life events”.

Congratulationssssss! You just made your fourth click.

Now that you have made your fourth click, it’s time to make some choices as displayed in the image below. This will lead us to our fifth click.

The Fifth Click: The Semi-final

Our main focus for this article in the fifth click stage is on the second red box marked with the number “2”. Simply click on “date of birth” and there you have the choice to tick the box that corresponds with “Upcoming birthday.”

Well done! You just completed your fifth click.

Before we move on to the final click, let me talk about why I included another red-marked box with the number “1”. This is not an error. The red box marked with the number “1” in the image above is also another opportunity for you to get more people who are celebrating their anniversaries into your restaurant.

Imagine for a second if you can target those who are celebrating one anniversary or the other, (I mean anniversaries like marriage, wedding, etc.) within the next 30 or 60 days with a special offer to dine at your restaurant. This will definitely open up more busy moments for your restaurant.

Please note: don’t target the two options in the two marked red boxes in a single ad. Doing this will mess up your messaging. It is better to create separate ads if you want to target the two options.

Before you move on to the final step, don’t forget to save your audience. Done? Cool.

1 more click to go to complete this simple process.

Easy, right?

Let’s move on to the final click

The “Sixth” Click – The Grand Finale

Congratulations in advance, you’ve reached the grand finale. It’s time to make the last click that will make your ad go live. But, just before we do that, let’s make sure that everything else is fine. I mean, your messaging (please check for typos), images, ad budget, and most importantly, you inserted the right landing page, etc.

Done?

Now click the “submit ad” button that is marked with the number 13 in the image below and take a deep breath.

Yes, you did it!!!

Give yourself a pat on the back because you just followed a step-by-step Facebook advertising for restaurants strategy from the beginning to the end.

How easy was that? I understand that there may be some technical bits such as making your landing page Facebook-compliant, and other stuff such as image design and ad copy, I want you to know that I’m here to help you. For your image design, use the free tool known as canva.com while for your customized ad copy, download my fill-in-the-blanks prompt that you can use with any AI tool such as ChatGPT, Bard, Anthropic, etc.

The rationale behind this online advertising for restaurants system and why it works

As you may have already noticed the process is simple, you may be wondering, will this work? In the US alone, over 800,000 people celebrate their birthday every day. And around the world? There are over 17 million birthday celebrations going on every day. Add these numbers to those celebrating their anniversaries every damn day and the sky is your starting point.

This advertising strategy for restaurants (which can be adapted to other industries) as you noticed above only targets those who will be celebrating their birthdays in the near future, maybe in two weeks’ time (the time frame for the targeting used to be available just like the one with anniversaries, but Facebook have removed that feature recently). Despite that, this makes this type of ad very targeted without competing for interests-targeting with the bigwigs.

Here are 5 reasons why this is the best way to advertise a restaurant and why it works…

The first reason why this 6 clicks advertising for restaurants strategy is the best way to advertise a restaurant is that people will not get tired of your ad due to ad fatigue. Ad fatigue is when people see your ad too many times that they get irritated by your advertising. With this strategy, people will no longer see your ad when their birthday or anniversary has passed.
The second reason why this strategy is the best way to advertise a restaurant is because people who are celebrating their birthdays or anniversaries don’t come alone, they come with colleagues, friends and families. This means a single booking is worth more. It’s like using a single stone to kill one, two, three, or more birds at a time. How cool is that?
The third reason why this strategy is the best way to advertise a restaurant is because people love discounts. If they find a restaurant within their locality that pops up in their Facebook newsfeed offering them a discount for their upcoming birthday or anniversary, they won’t hesitate to grab it. This is perfect timing!
The fourth reason why this strategy is the best way to advertise a restaurant is because setting it up is easy. You don’t have to be a pro or some guru to make it work.
The fifth reason why this strategy is the best way to advertise a restaurant is because you get to build a list of lifetime customers that you can market to over and over without extra advertising cost.

Note: for this strategy to work effectively, you should be willing to offer some discounts. My advice is that if offering a discount will affect your profit margin, you should consider raising your prices in proportion to the discount that you are offering. This will help you stay profitable.

Will this Facebook restaurant ads strategy work for a long time?

I understand your curiosity concerning this Facebook restaurant ads campaign strategy. But as I explained earlier, this strategy is not based on some tricks, tactics or loopholes that may suddenly stop working because it has been discovered by the platform (Facebook). This system will only stop working if people no longer celebrate birthdays or no longer remember their anniversaries.

Here are the main reasons why this Facebook restaurant ads strategy will always work and will continue to be effective.

People love birthdays and will always celebrate birthdays with friends and families.
Facebook knows the birthday dates of all its users whether you choose to make it public or not. While some people decide to put a fictional year of birth, they most times put their actual date and month of birth.
This type of Facebook restaurant ads are super targeted. No matter the operating system anyone is using (android or iPhone) their birthdays are mostly public.
This Facebook restaurant ads example does not rely on complicated behavioural targeting, so the iOS update will not impact your reach.
It’s not a loophole that will be closed someday, it’s just an underutilized feature in Facebook advertising.

Will this best way to advertise a restaurant work for every type of business?

The most effective niche that this best restaurant advertising strategy has been tested to work perfectly is the restaurant niche. I have not tested it out with other niches, however, it will work with any business that requires someone to walk in. For example, dentists may offer a one-off teeth check for those celebrating their birthdays as a birthday or anniversary gift, spars may also offer discounts, but this may need to be paired with additional targeting to those who like spars. Bars may also offer birthday celebrants a discount if they come for a drink… The ball is in your court to try it out.

What is needed for this social media advertising for restaurants strategy to work effectively?

For this social media advertising for restaurants ad strategy to work effectively for your business (restaurant), you need the following:

A website with a unique landing page. (Note, I can build a website for you if you work with me)
A booking system that can send reminder emails at different intervals before the booked time, and also a thank you email after they show up. Different emails/SMS need to be sent out when someone makes a booking at intervals such as 24hrs, 12hrs, and sometimes, 2hrs to remind them of their reservation to dine in your restaurant. (I can sort this out for you as well).

Don’t know what emails or SMS to send to get your would-be customers excited? I got you covered. I have a special package for you. Click the image below to watch the video as I do this live plus get professionally written email sequences for restaurant marketing.

Avoid the 3 advertising mistakes that businesses always make when running ads. I can’t stress this enough! It’s easy to fall for this and blame the system that it’s not working. Even big corporations make these mistakes.

What can make this “creative restaurant ads” strategy not work for you? Common mistakes to avoid.

Are you ready to dive in and explore this creative restaurant ads strategy? Please, before you do, take note of these mistakes and pitfalls that will make or break your advertising campaign.

Not setting up a separate landing page for your ad. You can find more details on this mistake in the article titled “The 3 Mistakes That Are Killing Your Ads and you are not even aware of them”.
Not having a proper follow-up email/SMS sequence. This happens when restaurants just don’t communicate enough with their customers and when they don’t use MULTIPLE forms of media to get their reminders out… Human beings are too busy, that’s why they require a little nudge now and then.
Your discount is not attractive. This does not mean you should offer discounts that will affect your profit margin. You may consider raising your price by the discount you are offering to cover this cost.

This is why this strategy is perfect for any restaurant that is already offering an insane amount of discount on websites like Groupon to finally take charge of their business and own their customers.

You may get the creative restaurant ads campaign settings right by simply following the instructions I have listed above, ignoring any of the above points can make or break your campaign.

What to do next

Ready to take the next step and finally take charge of seamlessly and effortlessly acquiring targeted customers who are ready to dine in your restaurant with their friends and family?

Option 1:

I hope the strategy I have outlined in this “advertising for restaurants” article was eye-opening, that you have learned something new and that you are now fully aware of the best Facebook advertising strategy to consistently acquire ready-to-eat dinners for your restaurant without a complex process.

You can easily implement all the tips outlined in this “advertising for restaurants” article which involves just 6 clicks on your mouse in less than 10 minutes (watch me do it here in less than 10 minutes) to start bringing in customers who are ready to dine at your restaurant. No guru-hack gimmick needed?

You are now free to race off to Facebook to start implementing this simple strategy.

Go, start clicking, and start getting those jolly fellows into your restaurant.

Option 2:

But if you would like help with deploying this social media advertising for restaurants method…

And you would like an expert to do all the heavy lifting for you so you can sit back, relax, and focus on serving your customers…

Plus, you’ll get ongoing support and all these additional bonuses:

Become the most-reviewed restaurant in your location. I’m going to give you a review software that you can use to collect reviews and testimonials from everyone who dimes at your restaurant. Yes, I said everyone would like to leave you a nice review because I’m going to show you a strategy that will make your customers reviewing your restaurant very attractive and irresistible. You will also be able to easily display these reviews anywhere on your website. The best part is that when someone leaves you a less than 4-star review, it doesn’t get published but rather gives you a chance to make things right with the person. So you will basically be collecting only 4 and 5-star reviews for your restaurant with this bonus.
Loyalty program booster. I’ll show you an incentive system that you can use to boost the digital loyalty program for your restaurant with irresistible offers to keep customers coming back without you spending a dime on marketing. You don’t have a loyalty program yet? I’ll create one for you.
Website (if you don’t already have one). You’ll get a GDPR and ADA-compliant website with a complete booking and reservation system that sends reminder emails and SMS installed and set up.
Your own customized Android and iOS mobile app that will enable you to reach every customer through push notifications, have your own customer digital loyalty program, collect orders in the app, chat directly with customers in the app, customers can create and update their profiles, etc. With this bonus, you now get the chance to own and manage your customers and can remarket to them without spending additional costs.
Google My Business profile optimization. I will personally optimize your Google My Business profile (including optimising images and a post) to make sure that you occupy that coveted top spot on Google.
Facebook page optimisation: I will optimise your Facebook page to represent the best of your business and to attract maximum clicks and engagement.
Promotional email marketing sequence for all the festive and holiday seasons of the year. You don’t have to think of what to send to your customers to promote your business, simply load them into your email software, and schedule them for the entire year.

Then..

Reach out by clicking here to first, watch the video and second, to chat with me directly on WhatsApp or click the image below to learn more about this exclusive package that I have created for you.

Is it not better to be the “Best known” in your industry rather than being just “the best”?

Once again, my name is Kinamabaiman Ikiogha (for the sake of simplicity, just call me Akins without a “t”). Let’s be cool – connect with me on LinkedIn. P.S. I’ll take no responsibility or pay any damages if you try to pronounce my first name and bite your tongue in the process. (Winks).

For the record, I provide “Integrated Digital Marketing Strategy” for startups and businesses. This strategy harnesses the power of content marketing, video marketing, and social media marketing to boost your brand awareness and create your own audience. I call it “Recession-proof Omnipresent Digital Marketing.”

Advertising For Restaurants: The 6-Clicks Strategy For Unlimited Customers