Most diners discover restaurants online long before they decide where to make a reservation. Whether it’s scrolling past dishes on Instagram, saving TikTok videos, searching for places nearby, or reading reviews, paid media helps you show up online. The goal isn’t to force an instant booking – it’s about staying top of mind so when someone is hungry for a dining experience, your restaurant is already familiar.
Let’s dive into how paid media works, and how restaurants across South Africa can use it to build awareness.
How paid media supports your business
Paid media marketing helps your restaurant stay visible, build awareness, and reach diners whether you are in Joburg, Durban, Cape Town, or a small town with only a handful of restaurants. It also supports organic content, keeping you top of mind during quieter seasons.
What it doesn’t do is guarantee bookings on the same day you run an ad. It won’t replace good food, great service, and a strong online presence!
Paid media works best when it’s simple, visual, and properly tracked. Restaurants don’t need huge budgets – they need consistency and clarity around the objectives of their ads. – Daniël Nortjé
Choose the right platform for your goals
Different platforms play different roles in how users find restaurants. Knowing the strengths of each one helps decide on where to focus the budget. Here are three channels most useful, plus best practices for each.
Using Instagram and Facebook ads effectively
Meta (Instagram and Facebook) remain the strongest platforms for restaurants – it’s visual, location-based, and widely used.
Best practices:
- Use appealing, high-resolution photos or short videos
- Keep your message short
- Target users within a chosen radius
- Link to a booking page, menu, or key action
- Keep tone and branding consistent
Common mistakes:
- Boosting posts without a strategy
- Using low-quality visuals
- Overwhelming with too much detail
- Running ads without tracking
Why TikTok is fit for food content
TikTok has quickly grown into a high-value platform for discovery. Users enjoy real, unscripted moments and BTS content, which is why food performs well – according to TikTok’s own insights, it’s one of the top categories on the platform!
Best practices:
- Keep videos short and authentic
- Show real dishes, people, and experiences
- Use simple text overlays or trending audio
- Test a few to see what people enjoy
Common mistakes:
- Making overly scripted or obviously staged content
- Avoiding video entirely
- Not highlighting food or ambience clearly
Google Ads for restaurants
Google is a high‑intent platform reaching people who are already close to a dining decision. Searches like “restaurant near me” come from users who are already motivated. According to recent Google data, “food near me” searches increased by 99% year on year.
Best practices:
- Use simple, relevant, location-based keywords
- Add call extensions for mobile
- Make sure landing pages load fast and are updated
- Add negative keywords to keep your spend focused
Common mistakes:
- Going too broad with keywords
- Sending traffic to slow pages
- Forgetting clear calls-to-action
Simple metrics can help you understand if your ads are performing well.
Understand ad performance
You don’t need to be an expert marketer to understand the basics – A few simple metrics can show whether ads are performing well:
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): How engaging your ad is – percentage of users who clicked on the ad after seeing it.
- CPC (Cost Per Click): How much was paid for a click – cost of someone visiting the destination link.
- CPM (Cost Per Mille): Cost to reach 1,000 users – the lower the CPM, the more users you can reach with your budget.
- Engagement: Includes link clicks, likes, comments, shares, and any interaction – high engagement means your content resonates.
There aren’t perfect stats, universally. Cities, cuisines, and seasons all perform differently. Metrics should, however, give you an indication within 3 – 4 days on how the ads are performing. Based on these, decide whether to pivot or double down.
How paid media supports long-term growth
Remember: paid media is not a quick fix. It’s a steady, reliable way to build awareness around your restaurant.
Users often see your brand a few times before clicking or making a booking – they might notice you by scrolling, or search online for restaurants in the area. In summary paid media keeps you in those moments, even when users aren’t ready to act yet.
Too busy for paid media? We’ve got you.
Our team works with restaurants nationwide and knows how diners think. Leave the admin of ads to us so you can focus on what you do best: Serving great food.
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