Editor’s note: This is the third in a new weekly series of PMQ-exclusive articles about pizzeria marketing from Matt Plapp, CEO of America’s Best Restaurants and Dryver Powered by Repeat Returns.

By Matt Plapp

Last week, I wrote about how to attract attention for your pizzeria; check out that article before reading this one. My goal was to cover the entire topic of getting attention, but I got sidetracked explaining how to use social media, email and text marketing for your pizzeria. So consider today’s article as Part 2 of getting attention, the A in my ABR plan.

In Part 1, we learned about the power of attention and how it’s basically your secret to success. The big question is: What do we use, and what content works best? Do I use Facebook, TikTok, Linkedin or Twitter (sorry, X), email, text, etc.? There are so many places I can get attention; do I use them all, and what do I post?

Your secret to dominating your customer’s attention is my 3-2-1 Strategy: three platforms, two types of content and one action.

Related: Matt Plapp: Why getting customers’ attention is easier than ever for pizzerias

First, I want to paint a picture for you. Picture a bridge that crosses a river near your pizzeria. Imagine you’re standing on the bank, looking at the bridge. It crosses the water, right? But imagine if it didn’t. Imagine if the bridge was built halfway across the river and then stopped! Now, look to your right; there’s another half-built bridge. And another. 

My point is this: A half-built bridge doesn’t do you any good. So let’s stop worrying about building a lot of partially built bridges and finish one instead. This is the problem I see many of you have: You want to post on every social media platform versus just crushing one.

So, with that in mind, let’s dig into my 3-2-1 Strategy. This strategy is not a full-blown marketing plan; it’s your foundation. The goal is to get focused and really good at these items and then add others to the list. Here it is, in a nutshell:

3. Pick 3 platforms.

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Text

2. Create 2 types of content.

  • Storytelling
  • Offer

1. Post 1 time.

  • One Facebook post per day
  • One email per week
  • One text per month

So the 3-2-1 strategy is pretty simple:

3: You will focus on marketing on three platforms: Facebook, email and text. There are many more, but let’s conquer these three first.

2: There are only two options for your content: Tell me a story or make me an offer.

1: You’re going to post on Facebook one time per day, email your customers one time per week, and text them one time per month.

Why Facebook?
Facebook is the No. 1 platform for most of your customers. In 2024, it’s seen an uptick. People of all ages use it, and it’s easy to use. Plus, many of your competitors are terrible at using it, making it a great place to steal the attention of their customers. I’m 48 years old and on it all the time, as is my wife. My 78-year-old parents are as well. And guess what? My 20- and 22-year-old kids are, too—just not as often. It’s the best place you can reach everyone you need to.

Why Email?
I was told in 2008 that email marketing was dead when I started my company. Well, it’s not. In 2024, email is alive and well. Everyone has an email address, and many depend on it daily for important information. All of my daughter’s communication from her college comes via email, and our emails are what we use for countless online portals, like banking. I’ve seen pizzerias get open rates in the 30% to 40% range and drive sales of more than $50,000 monthly through email marketing. Email is a great way to not only capture your customer’s attention but to drive an action, like a link click to a Facebook contest.

Why Text?
Text message marketing is great. Texts have a 99% open rate. Texting is the most intrusive and effective customer communication medium right now. But if you want your pizzeria’s texts to continue to land in your customer’s phones, next to the texts from their family members, you’d better use it right. That’s why I suggest one text message per month. And that message must be robust—either a high-value offer or an engaging contest.

Choosing the Right Content
I won’t lie—content creation can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be. The two most impactful pieces of content are storytelling and offers. The most watched content on TV in the past 20 years has been reality TV; well, storytelling on Facebook is your chance to become the show.

So 50% of your content each week should revolve around you, your employees, your community and your food. Pull out your smartphone and shoot a video about why you started your pizzeria, talk about the fundraiser the high school band is doing, tell a story about a longtime employee, or simply build your favorite pizza for them. You have the chance to become the show, so do it!

Offers can be tricky, because pizzerias abuse offers every week. Most of you have offer fatigue, and so do your customers. Your offers should do one of three things: drive a new visit, drive visit frequency, or increase check average. So, when you build your offers, you must remember that.

Here are some other general rules to keep in mind when it comes to offers:

Amazing offers, like a free pizza, should be reserved for when you are gaining a customer’s information for the first time or a day/daypart to which you need to drive massive traffic.

Give an offer that forces me to change my pattern and opens up the chance for future spending. Larosa’s Pizza sent me a free cookie offer many years ago. Since then, I’ve ordered cookies with 99% of my orders. They bribed me with a great offer to get my business, introduced me to a new product and got me to spend more on future visits.

Finally, here are six tips to keep in mind when using my 3.2.1 Strategy:

1. Don’t email your entire list every week. Segment your list: new customers, frequent customers, lost customers, etc. Find some way to segment your email list. If you don’t have those options, maybe you can go by who opened or clicked the last email. But whatever you do, do not email everybody every week. At minimum, split your list into two and alternate. Your email list should be treated with care; don’t abuse it.

2. Don’t send bad offers. If you’re trying to fight for my attention, don’t give me a free soft drink with the purchase of two pizzas, two breadsticks and 10 wings. Create strong, easy-to-follow offers that make people feel stupid if they pass it up.

3. Tell stories, especially yours. There’s a reason reality TV has dominated for the past 20 years. Facebook is a great place to create your own reality TV show.

4. Pictures tell stories as well. Got a picture from a long time ago, like one of you and your dad in the kitchen? Then use that and tell a story.

5. Facebook contests rock. There’s something about guessing a number or arguing about something that excites people. A box loaded with pepperoni asking people to guess how many are in the box for a chance to win a $25 gift card crushes it. And, of course, debate posts also do great, like “Pineapple on pizza—yea or nay?”

6. It’d better be a fun contest or a high-value offer when you’re texting me. This is why you should limit it to one time per month. This way, you’re not giving away the house every day.

Next week, we’ll tackle the B in ABR, which stands for Build. I will show you how to leverage the attention you get to build your email and text list.

My name is Matt Plapp. I’m the CEO of Restaurant Marketing That Works. I’ve worked with thousands of restaurants since 2008 when I started this company, and over the next 12 months, we will help 2,500-plus restaurants with their marketing. This is the third article in a new weekly column for PMQ to help restaurant owners understand the gold mine we have to market in 2024—and beyond.

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