Paid advertising is like fire: used well it warms the house; used badly it burns money. Many owners are afraid of it, or throw euros at it with no strategy. At the right moment it is a lever that multiplies sales.
Why it has become almost essential
Social platforms show less and less free content. You can have followers and your post still reaches few. A paid ad takes your message to exactly who you want: people near the restaurant, or interested in what you offer. It is the fastest route to new customers.
When it makes sense
When the house is ready:
- You have an ordering channel of your own to send people to.
- You have the capacity to handle the orders that will arrive.
- You have a clear offer: a promotion, a menu, a first-order incentive.
It doesn't make sense when you have nowhere to send people, or when you advertise just to advertise.
How much to invest
Start small, measure, scale what works. Set an amount you can afford to lose, run a simple ad with a clear offer and look at the numbers: how many orders, at what cost. If every euro invested brings back more than a euro of profit (counting the customer's value over time, not just the first order), scale up. If not, adjust before spending more.
The fatal mistake: not measuring
Without measuring you can't tell what to scale and what to cut. Before investing, make sure you can link the ad to the result.
Value over time changes the sum
Looking only at the first order, almost no ad pays off. But a customer you win can return dozens of times. With loyalty and a channel of your own, the customer you paid to win becomes a long relationship.
How GetFoodies and Get Social help
GetFoodies is the right destination for your ads: your own channel, which keeps the contact of people who arrive and has loyalty to bring them back. Paid ads are an optional extra of Get Social: they run on your own ad budget, which is not included, plus a 10% management fee to GetFoodies, with no minimum.
Start with a small test
One clear offer, an audience near you and a budget that doesn't hurt. Run it for a week, measure the orders and decide with numbers.