Meta held its “Restaurants Summit” in Chicago earlier this month, where over 100 marketers from the food industry came together to learn the latest ad and creative tips to help boost their promotional efforts in Meta’s apps.

And Meta shared some interesting data points, exploring the most effective and engaging ways to utilize its tools, which are relevant not only for restaurant marketers, but really all businesses using Meta ads.

Here’s a summary of some of the key notes:

“Webrooming,” or researching online before buying in person, has risen 1.95x over the last four years. Meta says that this is reflective of the broader shift in consumer approaches, where people are seeking more information online to help guide their decisions.
According to Meta, 74% of online adults want to be able to communicate with businesses in the same way they communicate with friends and family through messaging. That feels like a lot, but the broader shift towards DM engagement, as opposed to public posting, had led to a significant shift in how people use social apps to connect. As such, brands need to consider how they can best align with this.
A study of over 12,000 adults across 12 countries found that more shopping journeys that lead to purchases begin on Meta technologies than on any other platform. I mean, this is also reflective of scale, as Meta reaches billions more users than any other company, but it’s still a potentially relevant consideration in your marketing approach.

Meta also provided notes on the effectiveness of its AI-powered Advantage+ campaigns, which are generating strong results, despite diluting the influence of human ad managers.

Meta says that a study of over a million ad campaigns showed that every dollar spent on Facebook/IG ads drives an average $3.71 in revenue for businesses, and when advertisers use Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns, that increases to an average of $4.52 in ROAS.

Meta also notes that over a million advertisers are now using its Gen AI tools every month, and those ads, when used in conjunction with Advantage+, have resulted in an 11% higher click-through rate, and a 7.6% higher conversion rate than non-AI ads.

It may feel counter intuitive to leave your ad process to AI, but the data shows that many brands are seeing strong performance when automating elements of their approach.

In terms of restaurant brands specifically, Meta also shared some key notes to help drive audience response to restaurant campaigns.

Restaurant ads that emphasize human connection, with techniques like tight framing and eye contact, are 81% more effective than campaigns without. Showing people along with the food helps to capture attention and interest.
Featuring the brand/packaging in situation is also important: “Don’t be afraid to show a close up of your packaging early in video content to create the crave and deliver your brand message.”
Quick pacing, fast transitions, and movement help to keep viewers engaged.

These are some valuable tips and insights from Meta’s ad team, which as noted, would also relate to brands outside of the food and restaurant sector as well.

Worth considering in your holiday planning process.

You can check out the full listing of tips from Meta’s Retaurants Summit 2024 here.