People don’t know what they don’t know

Today I had a restaurant 'like' one of my photos on my Instagram page that I hadn't heard of before, so out of curiosity I did what I do a lot and jumped over to their profile to have a little look-see.
 
They had a beautifully curated feed of lovely photos of food, and wine and good-looking people, it looked good and sparked my interest as somewhere I might like to try, but I couldn’t for the life of me find out where they were located...

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They had no address in their bio, nor a location link…. I then thought, maybe the hashtags will have an answer… but alas no, they had no location hashtags and no website. Just a link to their Facebook page.
 
I could have clicked through to their Facebook page, but by this time, I was over it. So, I stopped looking and left their page.
 
This is close to someone walking into your store and you not saying hello, not looking up from the cash register and ignoring them to the point that they walk straight back out that door with their hard-earned cash still in their pockets.
 
We often assume when we are in our businesses that people know who we are, where we are, and what we are about. But people don't know what they don't know unless you tell them.
 
It seems like such a simple thing, right? You need to tell your customers how to find you and what you are about. But so many businesses fail to do so. And this is not the first time.
 
So here are some tips, suggestions, whatever you'd like to call them to give your business a little bit or a quick digital audit. And to hopefully help you look at your business like a customer would.
 
Get a website
For some time now there have been a lot of restaurants, cafes and venues choosing not to have a website. This is a big mistake. If you are investing in social media and any kind of digital marketing, you need to have somewhere to send people.
 
And most people still want to be able to head to a website to check your opening hours, your current menu and any specials that you might have. Not everyone wants to find your business on Facebook or Instagram. And if these social sites were to heaven forbid imploded tomorrow people could still find your business through your website.
 
So, if you don’t have one, get one. And, ensure that opening hours, current menus and facilities are easy to find on your website. 
 
Who are you?
You might assume that everyone that follows your business on social media knows that you specialise in vegan food or the meatiest of meat burgers going around.
 
But they might not. You do have to tell them what you are good at and why you are good at it. And on a fairly regular basis as part of your overall marketing strategy.
 
You might live and breathe your business, but not everyone does, so you need to give them the information. And nothing is more frustrating than convoluted bios that don't tell you what a business does. Make it simple for your followers to understand who you are by looking at your page.
 
 
Where are you
Make sure that your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Website, Google and whatever other marketing channels you use to promote your business has your address, and city location very clearly in the 'about' section or 'bio' so that people can find you.

There is no point having beautiful content if you belong to the number of venues that seems to live in only the digital realm and not a physical space that people can visit.
 
And another tip, ensure that your Google My business is up to date with your current opening hours and location too.

Try and see your marketing channels as a first point of contact with prospective customers. Make it easy for them to find you, book with you and rave about you.