Food Truck Promotion Ideas: How to Grow Your Food Truck
Running a food truck can be a challenging yet rewarding business. One of the keys to success is to consistently promote your business to attract new customers and keep existing ones coming back. In this article, we'll explore some creative food truck promotion ideas that can help you stand out from the competition and grow your business. As a sponsor of and promoted by the Washington State Food Truck Association, Entrust Marketing offers food truck marketing services that can help you put these ideas into action.
Partner with Local Businesses and Organizations
Partnering with local businesses and organizations can help you reach new customers and build relationships within the community. Consider teaming up with local breweries, wineries, or coffee shops to host joint events. You could also collaborate with community organizations, such as schools, churches, or non-profits, to support a good cause while promoting your business.
Offer Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs can be a powerful tool to incentivize repeat business. Consider offering a discount or free item after a certain number of purchases. This can encourage customers to come back and try more of your menu items. Plus, it's a great way to show your appreciation for their business.
Attend Festivals and Events
Food truck festivals and other local events such as farmer markets, night markets like the one here in Tacoma, or other local community events can be a great way to get your name out into the community and attract new customers.
Word of caution: As a food truck owner, only consider attending events that align with your brand and menu. We've seen food trucks go to events that aren't a good fit for them and they ultimately pay the price in the form of little to no sales or little to no interest from attendees. This can be dangerous as attendees may see a lack of interest in your food truck and assume the worst about your truck.
Create Shareable Food Truck Content
Social media is our favorite tool for promoting food trucks around the country, as it allows us to create shareable content that can help you reach more potential customers along with nurturing and engaging your current customer base. As you develop your menu, consider creating Instagram-worthy menu items or hosting contests that encourage customers to share photos of your food truck on social media. One thing we implemented for a food truck here in Seattle was "Fan Friday" where we share user-generated content (UGC) that our fans have tagged us in.
Use Location-Based Advertising
Location-based advertising, such as geofencing or targeted Facebook ads, help you reach customers in specific areas. When we set up our client's Facebook ads, we make sure to only target the areas they're looking to book events for their food trucks in.
If you're looking to build up interest in your truck for an upcoming event, consider targeting areas close to where your food truck will be parked. We've found that a 10-mile radius for event promotion is a great balance of reach and budget. This can help you attract customers who may not have otherwise known about your upcoming food truck location.
When looking to grow the overall following of your food truck, expand your targeting and target the entirety of the region you're looking to serve. This is a great way to build up a demand from customers while also building up a demand of locations. Don't be surprised if event coordinators begin reaching out to you for upcoming bookings because they saw your food truck on social media.
Collaborate with Food Influencers
Influencer marketing can be a powerful way to reach new customers and build brand awareness. Consider partnering with the local food influencers in your market, such as food bloggers or social media personalities, to promote your business. You could offer free meals or other incentives in exchange for a social media post.
One of our favorite social media influencers here in Seattle is a Dog, yes a dog, that goes by the name of Dash Dog. His owner tagged our food truck client in a post and we featured him the following Friday as part of our "Fan Friday" promotions, and our client received a ton of interest in their food truck after being re-shared by the Dog.
Offer Catering Services
Catering services can be a great way to generate additional revenue while promoting your Food Truck. Consider offering catering services for corporate events, weddings, or other special occasions as you have the availability. This can help you reach new customers and build relationships within your local community. Most of our Food Truck clients that take on catering gigs are very selective about the catering events they take on as they don't want to pivot their entire business to that model.
Create Seasonal Food Truck Menu Items
Seasonal menu items can help you stay relevant and attract customers throughout the year. Consider offering items that are popular during different seasons, for example, in October you can have a "Spooky" menu item. Or, in March, many food businesses have a green item to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. This can help you stand out from the competition and encourage people to visit on those days as they'll have a serious case of FOMO (Fear of missing out.)
Entrust Marketing's Food Truck Marketing Services
Entrust Marketing is a marketing agency based in Tacoma, Washington, and is the one and only marketing agency that is a sponsor of and is promoted by the Washington State Food Truck Association. We offer a range of food truck marketing services that can help you put these promotion ideas into action.
Our team of experts can help you develop a customized marketing plan that includes social media management, email marketing, and location-based advertising. We help our food truck clients create shareable content, develop loyalty programs, along with many other elements of a successful food truck marketing strategy.
In addition to our marketing services, we can also help you with website development and search engine optimization (SEO) to help you be found on search engines in your local area. Our goal is to help you stand out from the competition and reach your target audience and build the food truck business of your dreams.
At Entrust Marketing, we understand the unique challenges that come with running a food truck business. That's why we've developed a specialized approach to food truck marketing that takes into account your specific needs and goals, at a price point that's worth the investment. Our team has years of experience working with food truck businesses, and we're passionate about helping food trucks around the country succeed.
If you're looking to take your food truck business to the next level, Entrust Marketing can help. Contact us today to learn more about our food truck marketing services and how we can help you grow your business.
We offer free food truck marketing consultations to food truck owners looking to understand how to best promote their business. If you're looking to book a call, please visit our Food Truck Marketing page to schedule a time that works for you!