Thai restaurant sees massive spike in followers, thanks to digital PR and social media experts

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Creative campaign helped Passorn Thai boost its social media presence while coming out of lockdown

Digital PR photography Passorn Thai Restaurant success post graphic

BOUNCING back from adversity is the hallmark of a strong and well-run business. But even the very best need additional help when the going gets really tough. 

What counts as really tough? How about the carnage facing the hospitality sector after pubs and restaurants were crushed by the pandemic lockdown? Yup, that probably qualifies.

Despite a decade of healthy trading, the team behind one of Scotland’s finest Thai restaurants, Passorn in Edinburgh, knew they needed help to bounce back. So, they called on the social media and digital PR experts at Holyrood PR to give them that vital assistance.

Despite the twin challenges of a modest budget and incredibly tight timescales to work with, we produced a campaign which:

  • Positively transformed the restaurant’s social media presence
  • Delivered a 76% increase in Passorn’s Instagram following – its main objective for the campaign
  • Served up a 14% increase in the venue’s Facebook following
  • Drove major engagement with a slew of local food and drink influencers with a combined following of 85,000
  • Planned, secured and shared a promotional video for social channels
  • Captured vital coverage on a major digital news platform creating tens of thousands of “opportunities to see” Passorn’s messages
  • Helped ensure the restaurant was fully-booked for its reopening – while also delivering a healthy bump in its takeaway service.

So just how did we deliver such stellar results?

DIGITAL NEWS COVERAGE

It took a ton of carefully coordinated work – starting by securing promotion of the restaurant’s imminent opening in the Edinburgh Reporter’s influential “Best of…” guide, perfectly timed just as lockdown restrictions on restaurants were eased.

That coverage alone would have more than justified our fee, since the content appeared in 6000 print copies of Edinburgh Reporter, while its digital version gets 100,000 readers every month. The story was also shared with Edinburgh Reporter’s  60,917 Twitter followers, 7115 Facebook followers and 2721 Instagram followers. Proper digital reach.

SOCIAL MEDIA REFRESH

From the outset we planned a full overhaul of Passorn’s social media presence, updating all profile information and images to ensure each platform was as fresh and relevant as possible, while we also conducted a basic audit of the content shared to date – and identified what had performed and what hadn’t.

BRINGING THE INFLUENCE

Immediately we began identifying and following the most relevant influencers on Instagram to get Passorn’s name out into the competitive Edinburgh restaurant market.

Meanwhile, we also reviewed numerous existing posts and optimised them – refreshing them with with clever @mentions and use of hashtags – to ensure they would catch the eye of the relevant foodie audience.

The results were immediate and highly impactful, with many important influencers interacting with the account, reposting the content and commenting.

Digital PR photography Passorn Thai social media success graphic

TASTY SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

Working closely with the client we agreed key messages to include in all media and digital content to ensure consistency. That provided the guiding principles for all of the lively new content we would share over the next few weeks, while also setting the tone of voice.

Our inventive team devised interesting, timely and lively content, creating a detailed calendar for the weeks ahead – so the client knew exactly what would be shared where and when, winning their trust and confidence.

Those content suggestions sailed through the sign off process and we used one of the best social media management platforms available to schedule the posts, making sure they were tweaked and optimised to appear in places Passorn customers would look in real time for inspiration and ideas of where best to eat in Scotland’s capital.

RECIPE FOR COMMUNITY SUCCESS

In managing Passorn’s social media accounts we replied to comments and messages from followers on a daily basis – vital to let customers know the restaurant valued their opinions.

We also ensured Passorn was seen reacting to content shared by a host of influencers in Edinburgh and beyond, further cementing and amplifying Passorn’s name.

This resulted in influencers taking notice of the restaurant, with many including it in their ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ guides.

EYE CATCHING VIDEO

Producing a short, social-media friendly video was one of the client’s top priorities, because short videos have been been proven to catch attention and increase click through rates.

After brainstormign a series of ideas and suggestions, we worked with Passorn to refine that into a plan they were delighted to press ahead with.

We also sourced and secured the services of a top videographer with plenty of restaurant filming experience.

Next we secured a date and time for the shoot, arranging the food and drink that would be included. We were on site with the videographer to help make sure filming went as smoothly as possible, then played a crucial role in ensuring the footage was edited to exactly meet the client’s satisfaction.

The Passorn team were thrilled with the end result and the final promotional video was posted across social media securing a ton of engagement – while creating an online asset which will deliver value for months and years to come.

Find out how public relations – especially digital PR and social media – can benefit your business

It’s never been more important for your business to have a clear and compelling digital footprint. That means potential customers can see your business and products 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – 365 days per year.