There are dozens, if not hundreds, of restaurant marketing blogs available. If you want to start learning from people who live and breathe restaurant marketing, it may be hard to know where to begin.
This roundup of some of the most comprehensive and user-friendly restaurant marketing blogs is here to start on your journey to building skills and discovering new tips and trends.
Must-Read Blogs
1. The Digital Restaurant
The Digital Restaurant's blog is all about marketing. They update their posts about need-to-know tips and trends regularly, talk about how to communicate with target audiences, provide ideas for digital marketing, and discuss how to manage seasonal and holiday fluctuations, among other topics.
The Digital Restaurant is a marketing agency based in Chicago, helping grow small restaurants and pizzerias.
Their posts are intended to be user-friendly in the hope that both seasoned marketers and independent restaurant owners trying to bring in customers can find the information they need.
2. Modern Restaurant Management
Modern Restaurant Management is a magazine featuring all aspects of the restaurant industry.
Modern Restaurant Management understands how busy restaurant marketers are. Their blog posts have approximate reading times under their titles, allowing you to plan accordingly. Most articles take no more than five minutes to read.
If you want to learn on the go, they have a podcast you can listen to; if you're more of an audiovisual learner, MRM offers video posts. Blog topics include nitty-gritty data solutions, lighthearted instructional guides, and everything in between.
3. Next Restaurants
Next Restaurant is a great source for creative restaurant marketing & promotion ideas.
If you want to have an easier time finding the exact information you're looking for regarding specific restaurant marketing subjects—email, social media, mobile, and websites—NextRestaurants has you covered.
When you click on each category, you find blog posts directly related to topics of your interest. They also have content specifically for sports bar marketers, a directory of vendors to help with specific tasks, and lengthy guides about subscribers’ marketing techniques and tools.
4. National Restaurant Association
While The National Restaurant Association is a foodservice trade association, they have several blog categories covering all aspects of restaurant management. Learn from the leading industry experts in their ‘Expert Exchange’ section.
The National Restaurant Association serves the foodservice industry by providing insights into the latest business trends.
The readable posts include details about trending marketing strategies, the newest restaurant technology, and even the latest COVID-19 information. If you're a restaurant owner who's trying to figure out how to optimize operations, they have posts for you as well.
5. Nation's Restaurant News
Stay up-to-date on the latest industry news with Nation Restaurant News.
Nation's Restaurant News focuses on the foodservice industry as a whole. Whether you're marketing for a major chain or a small, independent restaurant, chances are they have blog posts for you.
While they have created content featuring all sorts of topics, they have a section just for marketers. This portion covers new marketing strategies, rebranding updates, news about what companies are doing to keep up with their competitors, and more.
6. Restaurant Business Online
The latest updates from the Restaurant Business Magazine.
Restaurant Business Online provides comprehensive information about restaurant trends and news for all aspects of the restaurant industry.
Their marketing blog covers a bit of everything—special offers that businesses are trying and their levels of success, profiles on restaurant marketing professionals, how to leverage holidays, tips for local marketing, and various other topics. They employ a variety of formats, including slideshows, listicles, and traditional content pages.
7. Menufy
You're already here on Menufy—why not take a look around? Our blog is here to help both consumers and those in the restaurant business learn all about food, customer service, industry trends, and, of course, marketing skills. (If you're looking for additional help, we offer marketing services as well.)
Menufy offers online ordering capabilities and digital marketing services to restaurants as well as creates informative industry-themed blogs.
Final Thoughts
Whether you're an independent restaurant owner trying to bring in customers or an experienced marketer working for national chains, there's always more to learn.
However, chances are you're pretty busy and may not be able to attend seminars, or perhaps you're strapped for cash and are looking for free resources.
Reading restaurant marketing blogs can be a fabulous (and free) way to expand your skillset, have data broken down for you, learn about trends, and more. If you have a restaurant marketing question, chances are there's a blog with an answer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Dimmitt, Marketing Communications Coordinator
Melissa began her digital marketing career nearly a decade ago at a restaurant group. She worked with restaurant managers and executive chefs while coordinating seasonal menu releases, executing photoshoots, and creating fresh digital content.