How do I advertise my small business? Constructive criticism welcome

[chikama]

Hi everyone.
I started my small business from home (catering business) but I'm quite new to it all.
I've advertised it by paying for Instagram ads but besides that I'm not sure what to do?

How do I create a clientele? How can I improve my page and offerings?
Here's the IG page: https://www.instagram.com/feskitchenuk/
The website is still under construction.

Could anyone please tell me what they think and what I should change?

Thank you for your time!

It doesn't look like a business page. Just someone who cooks Moroccan food.
You need sample menus.
I need to be confident you know how to present a meal.
Good luck!

Noted, thank you so much!

Maybe try and engage with some small scale local content creators. Gift them a meal perhaps and ask them to post about it on their stories. Also, there will be some other Moroccan food caterer out there who is making great content. Have a look at their socials to get some ideas. And make sure you get all your client pictures and testimonials up. If you have a fb page get them to leave you a review. And for some extra free traffic set up a google my business listing. Great way to capture people looking for Moroccan food in London. Good luck, food looks delicious.

The colours in your good photos are a bit flat. I'd maybe watch a couple of videos on how to do food photography.

If you want to increase your reach, is there a local person who promotes businesses. We have one in our County who you pay a fixed monthly fee to, she promotes some posts, organises Networking Events and gives advice on SM.

One great thing that increases your reach is a small competition.

Have you got your Business listed on google too?

Salam, I follow quite a few Moroccan/Algerian pages and I agree your photos aren't good. Also your menu states that price is dependant on how many you are cooking for. I wouldn't bother even enquiring about food on a page which gives no indication at all about price. I think you need to set a price and say there will be a discount for larger orders.
Bitawfik!

A few thoughts:
1.You need more followers (in order to appear credible) so start following other foody people and they will hopefully return the favour

1. I'd defo want to see the food 'in situ' so laid out nicely on a table. If I was looking for a caterer, I want to see how it looks when it's all put together. Defo look at food photography
2. Run some competitions too - a free meal for two in return for a follow
3. Defo get the website up and running asap. That all lends credibility to what you do and makes people believe you're a reputable trader.
4. If you have reviews from clients, post them (create images with text on Canva).

Good luck!

Thank you all so much for your advice! I'll follow them all

Thank you all again for your feedback.
I registered with Google My Business, took better pictures of the dishes and purchased table decorations for future pictures in situation that I'm planning to take over the weekend.
I also added price on the menu and bought a template for the website

That all seems really positive

I don't think you've made clear what you actually do, and I'm not convinced instagram is the right platform, or at least I wouldn't order based on just an instagram page. It's frustrating trying to find information and realising that the FAQs is a click through presentation/video thing with no menu/search/list of questions.

Is it just instagram that you have or is there a website/ability to order online/Facebook?

The kind of information I would want easily available is:
What size of catering events can you manage?
What type of events?
How much does it cost?
How do I order?
Is the menu fixed or customisable?
How do you meet allergy requirements?
How much notice?
How does delivery happen? Can I specify a time or do you only deliver at certain times?
What is your delivery area?

In terms of advertising, you need to get out to events related to your target demographic so if you're wanting to be a wedding caterer for example then you want to be going to wedding fairs ideally with samples, cards and fantastic pictures. If you can't physically go then you may still be able to advertise through these events. Contact event planners to make them aware of your services, go to food fairs, invite people to review your food who have a following.

Thank you so so much! This is really helpful.

I'm working on a website and hoping to get it live in the next few days.

I don't know if caterer is the right term, as I don't provide presentation, table decoration, etc... only the food in large takeaway boxes for events etc... but I am not sure what to call that.
I want to specialise in casual dinners, like family dinners, meal preps and birthday parties/mid size events.

For content, you need close ups of 1 main dish with side decorations/ ingredients/ background etc.

The first 1,000 followers are the hardest to get! It's a slog. Keep going

Thank you, that's a good idea!

Add the same caption to each pic that explains your business. Something like:

Catering events small and medium... big family dinner, birthday party, another example, we've got you covered. DM or call 07884679765 to book in at least 3 days in advance for your delivery to E11, E8 and E27 postcodes. DM if you've got a question. We look forward to bringing fresh authentic ready-to-eat Moroccan food to your door!

Then add in local hashtags.

I'd also add a clarifying line in your bio to say similar to above.

Get your friends or family to write testimonials of 1 sentence, make them look good in Canva and add 5*. In the feed add them about 1 every 10 posts.

It looks really good but it looks unclear whether it's a restaurant or big event catering with presentation or takeaway. So I think you need to be super clear and caption every image.

Change the font on the names of the dishes, the current one is too difficult to read.

Each dish name should have with it a description of the dish, a list of ingredients and if it's suitable for vegan/vegetarian/halal etc.

If you are an outside caterer/event caterer then think about a line summing up what you do eg Professional, quality outside caterer specialising in Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisine. Bringing the tastiest, most exciting dishes to delight your guests!

I think the pictures of your food you've put up make it look lovely 😍I'm vegetarian, so if I was to order from you I'd be looking at what proportion of the food you offer is vegetarian. Maybe you could put some Vs next to the items on the menu to make it clearer. I can see that things like the couscous come in vegetable, chicken or beef but I wouldn't know from the menu and pictures whether Rfissa, Dhaj Mhamar or the desserts are vegetarian. I also think it would be worth putting a post up saying you can cater for allergies, different dietary requirements such as vegetarian, vegan, halal etc.

I'd really recommend getting a Facebook page as well as your instagram. I have a Facebook page for my business and a website. I do get enquiries through my website but most of my business comes through my Facebook page. I think corporate clients may be more interested in your website, but most people are more likely to find you via Facebook. I tried paid Facebook ads a few years ago but never got anything from them. I have done really well though from posting on local Facebook groups-often they have rules that businesses can only post one day each week. I had one student get in touch because they'd seen my post on the group for their estate and saved my details- I had posted a couple of times on that group but they'd kept my details for over 6 months before getting in touch. So getting your business info onto community groups is really worthwhile. I've also done really well from the Next-door app. I just post occasionally when I am looking for new clients stating what I offer and my prices. Last time I did that I had three enquiries within 24 hours.

I hope that helps, your food looks delicious 😊