There have been many closures throughout the world due to the pandemic and many businesses had to close their doors to the public due to the closures across the globe.
As we’ve seen on television, social media, and heard during talks within our communities, local restaurants are one of the many businesses that are getting hit, and they are losing their revenue and employees as well. During this time, many restaurants have resorted to curbside pickup or delivery to keep the customers coming in and continue making a profit.
For some local restaurants now relying on other forms of communication has been their only hope of getting the word out that they are open for business. Still, they are doing things differently to promote business from putting out flyers, making huge signs, word of mouth, and even social media. Right now, most restaurants are relying on social media to get the word out. As everyone is glued to their phones or other electronic devices, getting the word out online may be the only way, and one social media platform took that first step to help out these restaurant owners.
A New Partnership
Instagram has partnered with ChowNow to make this process easier and more effective for different restaurants. ChowNow is an online ordering platform that connects customers to local restaurants, similar to a DoorDash or UberEats. What this new feature on Instagram does is make pictures and stories from local restaurants shoppable by adding “order food” buttons and stickers to their images and videos. These buttons will be linked directly to ChowNow to complete the order. This feature is entirely free, and restaurants can add these stickers to their stories or Instagram page for a way to make ordering as easy as clicking a button.
If you’re looking to order food from one of the local restaurants you follow and they are using this feature, you click on a button or sticker that is located either in their story or on their page. Then, this will take you straight to ChowNow’s page, and you will pay directly through them.
Raising Awareness
Restaurants can also use these stickers to drive awareness to the new feature for other restaurants and let others know about this new feature. Since this has made its way to Instagram, it has gained more than 13,000 independent restaurants on the ChowNow platform. Also, with this new feature, the app Instagram isn’t charging commission fees on the orders.
ChowNow CEO, Chris Webb stated in an article by Restaurant Drive that, “This Instagram feature is yet another valuable tool we’re offering our restaurant partners — at no cost to the restaurants — to help them drive more revenue and boost order volume without suffering the outrageous commissions and fees imposed by other delivery apps.”
We all know how much local restaurants, as well as larger restaurant chains need the business to keep their doors open and functioning correctly. Incorporating a feature to a popular social media platform could be a new way to get transactions to any business right now during the pandemic.
