In today’s competitive dining landscape, finding creative ways to market your restaurant on a zero budget is more important than ever. Whether you’re a new owner or a seasoned operator facing tight margins, effective marketing doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With the right strategy and tools, you can attract customers, build loyalty, and boost visibility—all without spending a dime. In this guide, we’ll explore proven tips to promote your restaurant for free in 2025 using digital platforms, community engagement, and smart resource planning.
Restaurants are looking at marketing from a new perspective in today’s uncertain times, and need a way to spread the word about offers without a marketing budget. With revenue and profits down for most restaurants, it’s time to get creative with content marketing campaigns, social media, and the free tools available to business owners for no-cost advertisement.
Now is not the time to stop marketing and close up shop, it’s time to double your efforts and keep providing people with delicious meals. Your customers want to hear from you a survey conducted on March 8, 2020, found that 56% of consumers want to hear from you now, and they want to know what steps you’re taking to ensure you’ll be around after the pandemic. Your customers are worried about you, and they want to support you. Show them how they can help by getting your message out with these free marketing tactics and tools.
Here’s what other industry leaders in foodservice are doing to market their business with little to no budget for marketing.
How Big Restaurant Chains Market Their Restaurant on a Zero Budget Using Free Tools
Most restaurants spend a large percentage of their revenue on ad spend, in 2018, Panera Bread spent 56 million according to Statista, and they were on the low end. The biggest ad spends in 2018 for restaurants came from McDonald’s with a whopping $761 Million in ad spend according to Statista’s results. While these large restaurant chains have enormous budgets for their ad spend, they’re still taking advantage of no-cost advertising and marketing campaigns, which is a great place to start when you’re on a tight budget for your restaurant.
Panera is reaching its audience on Facebook with engaging posts like this one outlining their new Panera grocery program. Getting the word out to local consumers who share an interest in what your restaurant offers is the primary goal of free marketing tactics, and Panera owns their pivot to provide groceries via delivery. In contrast, many grocery stores are low on stock of essential items.
Proven Ways to Market Your Restaurant on a Zero Budget Without Hiring a Marketing Team
These are no-cost ways to get your restaurant’s information in front of your target audience and start taking more curbside pickup and delivery orders.
Use Location Tags and Hashtag Campaigns to Market Your Restaurant on a Zero Budget via Social Media
When you use location tagging and hashtags, you open your social media posts up to new viewers and focus on those who are in your area and interested in your offers. You can tag your own restaurant’s address, but what’s even more compelling is using a hashtag for your city and surrounding areas where you can deliver.
Trending hashtags helping restaurants during COVID-19
– #takeouttuesday – Restaurants are banding together with this hashtag to encourage takeout orders on Tuesdays. Add this hashtag to posts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to reach new customers that are searching for this promotion.
– #greatamericantakeout – Check out how Jack in the Box is storming Twitter with this hashtag and keeping the orders coming.
– #[yourcity]delivery – This one is a bit like location tagging, but instead add the city you’re in and delivery to your hashtags to reach customers searching for delivery options in your area.
Market Your Restaurant on a Zero Budget by Highlighting Your Safety Measures to Customers
As we stated earlier, customers want to hear from you now, and what they want is to feel assured their health is a priority when they order from you. This is a great time to show them rather than tell them, like El Pollo Loco did in this Instagram Post highlighting their sealed delivery bags. The restaurant told it’s supporters, “Our delivery bags are sealed to be tamper-free for your safety. El Pollo Loco Delivery.” Such a simple message can go far to show your compassion for your customers, when people feel their needs are put first, they are more compelled to support your brand.
Go Live on Social Media
Going live on social media is the number one way to reach more people with your restaurant’s message. You can host impromptu live videos of kitchen staff preparing meals while using safety precautions, of deliveries going out, or even ask me anything live video so you can address your customers’ concerns as they come up.
Use your live videos to drive customers to an order portal, and be sure to attach a link to your order page to your live video.
Utilize Google My Business Features
Update your COVID-19 posts in Google My Business to add an online order option. This is a simple step you can take that will put you above other restaurants who have not added this option to their GMB profile yet. For a more in-depth look, Google My Business features, and local search results boosts, check out Lavu’s comprehensive guide to local SEO here.
Let Your Restaurant Patrons Serve Others With Your Meals
When nothing is within our control for the majority of the public, they look for ways to serve others and bring back a sense of power. Consumers want to support brands they trust and those that share their values. Across the world, more people are becoming food insecure each day as a result of COVID-19, but the good news is you’re in a position to help. Let your customers know they can gift a meal to a friend, or set up hospital deliveries to support local healthcare workers as Sauce Pizzeria did.
Market Your Restaurant on a Zero Budget with Targeted Email Campaigns to Loyal Customers
Take your email list and your loyalty members list and start sending email sequences showing your current promotions during COVID-19. Right now is not the time to pay for more leads, but instead to get your loyal customers to support you. At a minimum, update your email list subscribers on your COVID-19 response measures and give them peace of mind.
Looking for tools to help you market your restaurant with ease of use? Check out our previous article: Restaurant Technology for Marketing and Customer Engagement
FAQs:
1. How can I market my restaurant on a zero budget in 2025?
Marketing your restaurant on a zero budget in 2025 is possible with smart use of digital tools and community engagement. Focus on free platforms like Google My Business, social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), and email newsletters. Encourage user-generated content and online reviews. Leverage your staff and customers for word-of-mouth promotion. Tools like Lavu POS can help streamline loyalty programs and track marketing effectiveness without added cost.
2. What are the best restaurant marketing ideas that don’t cost money?
Top free restaurant marketing ideas include using social media reels, running hashtag campaigns, offering referral rewards, collecting reviews on Google and Yelp, and sending personalized emails to loyal customers. You can also host local collaborations or pop-up events. Pairing these ideas with Lavu’s customer data tools can help personalize and track your campaigns more effectively.
3. What are low budget restaurant promotion tactics for new businesses?
Use location-based marketing, loyalty programs, and community outreach. Offer a “customer of the month” spotlight or create themed nights. Tools like Lavu POS support low-budget promotions by offering analytics and customer profiles to understand what works best—without extra marketing costs.
4. What free restaurant marketing tips actually drive traffic?
Focus on optimizing your Google Business Profile, encourage check-ins and reviews, go live on social media, and post behind-the-scenes content. Engaging with your audience regularly helps build loyalty. With Lavu, you can automate customer follow-ups and loyalty rewards—no extra tools needed.
5. Why is it important to market your restaurant on a zero budget effectively?
Because every dollar counts, especially for small or new restaurants. Learning how to market your restaurant on a zero budget helps you grow sustainably, avoid unnecessary expenses, and stay competitive. With Lavu’s built-in analytics and customer engagement tools, you can make every effort count—at no added marketing cost.
