Facebook Ads Lead to 32% Sales Increase

Through our first quarter working together, Turkey Burg helped the Laurier Lounge Restaurant realize an 18% sales increase with Facebook advertising. I recapped those results with a three-month review back in May.

Solid Marketing ROI!

The start of August marked the six-month milestone of Turkey Burg managing the Laurier’s Facebook page and advertising so we thought it would be a good time to review the results. They were even better than last quarter, with monthly year-over-year sales up 32% since January 2016!

A sales increase of 32% is incredible for a Calgary restaurant in the midst of the fiercest economic downturn Alberta’s energy sector has seen in decades. The Calgary Herald recently reported the city is on pace to see a record number of business closures in 2016 and many of them will be linked to #yyc’s hospitality industry, which depends heavily on disposable income from the oil patch.

Indeed, these are scary times for small businesses in western Canada.

So, what is the Laurier Lounge doing to increase its sales while so many other Calgary businesses are shutting their doors due to the downturn?

The Laurier’s success stems from a combination of many factors. But in general, we’re following my 6 Business Marketing Tips to Survive the Downturn. Of course, the Laurier’s sales boost is also a result of the restaurant’s commitment to consistently delivering quality food and exceptional service at prices that have been adjusted for current market conditions.

Great Reviews

The Laurier receives awesome reviews from its clients. On a 5-star review scale, it ranks…

While the Laurier Lounge is great at following strategic marketing best practices, it is also focusing on delivering a quality product. This is what I’m getting at with Tip #6 on my list of downturn marketing techniques. A big advantage of outsourcing your marketing needs to a consultant is that it frees up your time to focus on other areas of your business.

Facebook advertising: an effective business marketing strategy when properly executed

Let’s take a look at what happened in the second quarter of working together.

• Monthly Facebook page contesting: Who Am I poll
• Launched a new website, complete with Facebook pixel tracking and SEO tactics
• Started a delivery service with Skip the Dishes
• Ran special promotions for Canada Day and Calgary Stampede

Ideal for Facebook Marketing

For a number of reasons, restaurants are an ideal business to advertise on Facebook. Here are a few that we’ve noticed:

1. Looking at food photos is a social media phenomenon. People like to Like food pix!
2. Restaurants typically have several menu options, which means there is no shortage of content to advertise. In the case of the Laurier Lounge, they’re open for brunch (on weekends), lunch and dinner, and also offer a daily $5 afternoon menu. These menu options help create a healthy library of ad material that can rotate during different times of the day and week.
3. Food service is something many people take seriously and client’s aren’t shy about sharing their opinion of a restaurant, especially on social media.

All these things make Facebook an amazing avenue for a restaurant to engage with its fan base. Managing this social media engagement is one of the pieces Turkey Burg handles for the Laurier.

Facebook Ad Results

Under Turkey Burg’s management, the Laurier Lounge realized the following Facebook results from sponsored page posts and placed advertisements running May 1 – Jul 31, 2016.

While Facebook stats are a good indication of audience reaction, it’s important to have a strategy that uses likes and shares to drive sales. As illustrated by the graph above, the Laurier Lounge’s monthly sales have seen a year-over-year increase of 32% since Turkey Burg began managing their Facebook page in late January.

• Page Likes: 179
• Post Shares: 244
• Post Likes: 2,921

Facebook Advertising Examples