Every day, guests snap photos of your dishes and decor to share with their followers on Instagram. There’s no reason you shouldn’t set up an account and start sending out posts of your own. In addition to giving long-time fans a new way of engaging with your restaurant, promotion on Instagram exposes you to a huge audience of potential new customers.
QSR Magazine reports that nearly 50% of diners have visited a restaurant they first learned about on social media. If you’re not making the most of Instagram, you may as well not exist for some influencers.
When it comes to restaurant promotion on Instagram, your potential audience is vast and the list of options for engaging them is nearly as large. Here are nine tried and true Instagram post ideas for restaurants. If you need extra inspiration, competitor research or a consultation with the experts at Back of House can uncover even more options for driving revenue and building a satisfied community of customers.
Showcase New and Popular Menu Items
Your Instagram-ready decor and personable staff may wow customers once they’ve entered your restaurant, but your menu gets them there in the first place — and ultimately keeps them coming back. No subject is more important for your Instagram feed than the meals and cocktails your staff serves up.
Reward your loyal followers with sneak peeks of upcoming drinks and dishes. You may see a surge in reservations as hungry diners rush for an early taste of new and limited-time items. Seasonal dishes and specials do especially well with Instagram audiences.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. Over time you’ll see what inspires action and learn to post precisely what your followers are looking for.
Share Cooking Tutorials
How-to content is a huge hit on Instagram and just about every social network. Your staff will love an opportunity to ham it up a little and followers will thrill at this look behind the swinging kitchen door. Who knows, you may inspire some amateur chefs to share their own approximations of your dishes!
If you’re wary of revealing the secret recipe of your trademark dish, you could host lessons on essential kitchen skills like the best way to peel and chop vegetables or help followers wow their dinner party guests by showing them how to plate an entree like a pro.
Give Followers a Look Behind the Scenes
If you’re staging cooking tutorials from your restaurant’s kitchen, you might consider offering a more comprehensive back-of-house tour as well. Most restaurants are filled with mysterious doors leading to employee-only spaces. A peek into these areas will make followers feel like insiders. In addition, footage of your staff members working together will build a deeper relationship by demonstrating the culture you’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
You can also use your phone to post from an off-premises location like the farmer’s market or, if you’re comfortable with it, your kitchen at home.
Spotlight Your Staff
Getting the chance to meet your staff through social media will foster a personal connection with your customers and employees on both sides of the house. Short video interviews give the team a chance to share their stories and showcase their skills. Though shyer staff members may opt out, your big personalities are sure to welcome the moment in the spotlight.
Mike Price, director of Brand Development for Peter Breslow Consulting, says this is one of his favorite Instagram post ideas for restaurants to share with operators. He suggests first surveying your staff to see who’s on board. Next, ask them to write short biographical statements to help you create an outline for an Instagram interview. You don’t need (or even necessarily want) your staff members to read from scripts, but a few rehearsal sessions can help you find the balance between polish and spontaneity.
Leverage User-Generated Content
If your patrons are already taking photos of your restaurant, why not give them an unofficial role on your marketing team? Posting user-generated content, also known as UGC, allows you to repurpose high-quality posts from customers to get some free support.
If you see yourself tagged on Instagram alongside an eye-catching photo or a rave review, don’t hesitate to add it to your story. UGC can be an especially great choice for operators struggling to get their organic marketing programs off the ground.
Make sure to tag the user who generated the content you’re sharing. It’s not just the right thing to do, but it will add a seal of authenticity. If you’ve tagged the customer, no skeptic will be able to suggest you planted the positive review or relied on professional support to capture such an appealing picture.
Demonstrate Your Online Ordering System
Don’t stop at announcing your new online ordering system on your site and social media feeds. Use Instagram videos to walk customers through the process of filling out an order. Less tech-savvy customers will appreciate a tutorial in what may be a new method to them. Everyone will appreciate the heads up that enjoying your menu just got more convenient.
Spread the News
Instagram is the ideal outlet for sharing big news. Upcoming events, seasonal promotions, new menu items, and important updates like changes to your operating hours all qualify as Instagram-worthy headlines.
Interact with Followers Through Polls and Contests
Surveys, polls, and contests all work wonders for drawing impressions, clicks, and active engagement. Offer gift cards, merchandise, or special one-of-a-kind experiences to people who engage. Once you’ve picked a winner, you’ll gain some free advertising and a lifetime fan. All the while, you can also collect valuable contact data and customer insights from anyone who participates.
Price recommends inviting your Instagram followers to play a role in creating a new dish, saying “Everyone loves bragging rights.” Poll your customers on names or flavor combinations to give them a taste of restaurant life. You can even make it a team effort — start by polling your staff to narrow down a list of choices before opening up voting on Instagram so that your followers can make the final decision.
Take a Bite Out of Viral Trends
The restaurant tech experts at Toast shared a few trending dishes in their look at restaurant promotion on Instagram. They list charcuterie boards, cinnamon rolls, and cross-hatched vegetables as foodstuffs that Instagram users can’t get enough of. Try putting your own spin on viral dishes by cooking them live for followers or even adding them to your list of specials.
You can find inspiration on other popular social networks such as TikTok, which is filled with both professional and amateur chefs. Some popular recipe sites have even compiled lists of TikTok-approved recipes. The popularity of certain dishes may prove to be a flash in the pan, but not every one of your posts needs evergreen appeal.
Customers who discover your restaurant thanks to savvy use of trending keywords and hashtags could soon become dependable followers and repeat customers. Plus, it’s another way to show off your staff’s skills and personalities without the risk of competitors learning how to mimic your best-loved menu items.
Learn More About Social Media Marketing For Your Restaurant
Restaurant promotion on Instagram should make up just one piece of your overall marketing strategy. You’ll find ideas for Instagram posts as well as additional marketing strategies and tips by signing up for our newsletter.
