Restaurant Instagram Marketing

Take a moment to think about what’s the first thing your customers do when the food has been served. Well, the most “normal” answer will be eating it, but if you think about it twice, that’s not what happens. Most of the time, the first thing they do is take out their mobile phone, prepare the perfect set for the picture and capture the amazing dish they have in front of them 📱 After that, of course, what they do is share it with their followers on Instagram. That’s why nurturing your restaurant instagram account has become more important than ever and we are going to give you some useful tips to be the next restaurant star on Instagram. 

What should I post on Instagram for my restaurant?

If your restaurant isn’t yet on the metaverse, you should consider that option to boost your online visibility and get new customers. Hence, today we’re going to give you the main reasons why an Instagram marketing strategy for restaurants is important. Instagram has become one of the main favorite social media platforms of users, being the second most downloaded app in the world and the fourth most used*. If that’s not convincing enough, bear in mind that 1.22 billion people use the platform every month.*  

Instagram would not only allow you to build the perfect showcase for your restaurant but also it will allow you to interact with your potential diners, get insights from them and make improvements that will drive your restaurant to success. 

How can you introduce your restaurant on Instagram?

Getting started might sound a little overwhelming, but all you need is organization and a coherent strategy. 

1. Define the essence and identity of your restaurant. Firstly, you need to know what image you want to transmit and the differential trait that you want to highlight from your restaurant. Does your restaurant have the best healthy food? Or is it because it has got international cuisine? After that, you’ll need to define the style and look and feel in order to make your Instagram page more attractive. 
2. Define different and clear content lines according to the type of content you want to display. For that, analyze and define the target of your restaurant. Remember that they need to be visually appealing but the most important thing is that the content is interesting for your followers. So make sure you have storytelling within your feed. This way, you’ll engage with them and you’ll be able to maintain them interested in your account. Finally, establish a calendar to distribute your content and keep regularly.  
3. Set up your feed by creating story highlights, creating a unique hashtag which identifies your restaurant and let everyone know partnering with small influencers, and your closest circle so then they’ll share it in their accounts. 

What is the best way to promote your restaurant?

🤳 Combine attractive pictures both of food and the restaurant. Visual content is the main attraction of Instagram. Therefore, you need to make sure that you post attractive images of your dishes. Dedicate time to plan, prepare and photograph your gastronomic creations in the most appealing way and also make sure that you provide a caption that it is both original and descriptive for the user. You can also include pictures of the ambiance of the restaurant in order to create an artistic and creative feed.

🕐Use stories to interact with your followers. Did you know that 500 million accounts use Instagram stories daily and 58% of users say they’re more interested in a brand after seeing it in a Story?** Hence, stories will become your best ally to provide complementing content to the one in your feed. For example, use it to launch polls, open questions or new topics to the community and it is probably that you get new ideas that you can use to incorporate to your menus or your local. Last but not least, you can also use them to show the day to day life of the restaurant and let the customers know how your team works while preparing the dishes! 

⏩ Boost videos and reels. Videos are a key format on Instagram because it performs best with most algorithms as it retains the user’s attention for longer. This means that your account will be better positioned and you’ll be able to present the content in a more entertaining and original way. Put some music in the background, film the preparation of your dishes or take a tour of the restaurant.

💬 Engage with your community. Don’t only use your Instagram account to showcase your restaurant but also take it as an opportunity to get to know more of your diners and get insights from them. Do this by replying to comments, sharing user-generated content and reposting on stories. 

💶 Social media paid. Sponsored or advertising content is a way to reach more people on Instagram or any other social media platform. Due to the high amount of profiles and competition to have more followers, it has become more difficult to acquire more reach. Therefore, one way to achieve this is to invest on paid posts or have collaborations with micro or macro influencers. 

As you can see, you can’t miss the opportunity to be present in one of the most powerful social media platforms. Then, prepare your camera, take the most amazing pictures and videos of your culinary creations and build the perfect showcase on Instagram! 📸

*Hootsuite. 35 Instagram Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2022 

**Omnicore. Instagram by the Numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts

***Later. Why Video is Hottest Growth Hack Right Now