If you’re not on Instagram, you don’t exist. That’s the hard truth. The social media landscape has quickly become the dominant marketing tool for restaurants to connect globally and directly with existing and potential customers. No biggie, there are just around 1 billion of them.  

The “gram” user, combined with Instagram algorithms, continues to challenge restaurants to push creative limits, in order to achieve Follows, Likes and Comments.

What are some social media tactics your restaurant can employ to develop impactful social campaigns?

Start with a monthly plan

Take the time to plan out your key messages and posts for the upcoming month by developing a social media content calendar. Your goal should be to support and highlight initiatives within your restaurant operation that set your brand apart, while reinforcing key brand messages.

Put your best post forward

Instagram can be a powerful tool to stay in touch with your loyal customers, to let them know what you’re doing:

• How you’ve changed your menu for takeout and delivery
• Strategies you’ve put in place to retain staff
• Gift cards and other loyalty promotions to keep customers engaged if your restaurant is closed to eat-in dining

Times to post

Social media reporting suggests that the social guest is most engaged in the early mornings, lunch and dinner hours, and later in the evening. These moments tend to be when we are taking a “break,” which results in spikes in social media activity. Instagram for businesses also provides effective reporting on your social guests’ most engaged days and times per day. Utilize this data to identify the optimal days and times of when to post.

#Hashtag

Hashtags can make or break the effectiveness of your content strategy by how relevant they are to the content you are posting. Digital users can follow hashtags to collect content on their feed that is of interest to them. The goal is to use hashtags that will place your content on the feeds of your target guests. Popular hashtags are identified in the “TAGS” search bar on Instagram by the number of times they have been used in a post.

Follow these five top tips to develop a list of hashtags relevant to your brand content:

1. Research what competitors and the foodie community are using as popular hashtags.
2. Identify 30-50 hashtags that align with your menu offerings and location, and are popular, and reference them selectively within your content calendar.
3. Post hashtags that match the photography or video content you are sharing.
4. Post the hashtags as a “comment” to your post, versus within the post.
5. Post between 15 and 30 hashtags from your list per post.

As you monitor the effectiveness of your social campaign, be aware of spikes in your engagement when certain hashtags are used in your posted content, to identify your top-performing hashtags.

Utilize apps

Developers are launching innovative useful social media content editing, organizing and publishing apps on a monthly basis to support small businesses in managing digital campaigns. We recommend downloading a few different apps to test them out and understand which will be most effective in supporting your social media goals.

Using Instagram and Facebook to build a community of engaged brand advocates can seem intimidating, until you realize what makes them work. Implement these tactics to see what a powerful tool social media campaigns can be for your restaurant business.

To say that Instagram’s food community is an impactful marketing channel for your restaurant business is an understatement.  

Restaurateurs need always to be thinking about how every element and square inch of their restaurant can be used to create their unique brand and be “Instagram worthy.” The more potential photo opportunities designed within your restaurant and menu, the more diners will want to snap and share, and the bigger your following will become. It’s that simple.

So first off, who is your customer base?

Of the current 800+ million Instagram users, the majority are Millennials with 90% of the Instagram user base 35 years and younger. That’s not to say Instagram can’t be effective connecting with a mature restaurant clientele, you just might experience slower growth through the platform.

Cater your Instagram content to your demographic by sharing photos and messages that will matter to them.

What should restaurants posts?

Before it was just about food, now it’s about sharing everything about your restaurant that is consistent with your brand.

• TIP: Organize your Instagram feed as a story of six posts; each post should depict a different part of your restaurant brand.

1. TEAM
2. MENU ITEM
3. DÉCOR
4. DRINK ITEM
5. SERVICE
6. BRAND ELEMENT

#Food #Drink

When designing your food and drink menus, create three to five items that will become your “Instagram stars” in addition to your other items. The “Insta Stars” should be unique to your restaurant — for example, in their presentation, the ingredients, or the way they’re prepared or consumed. Snap these items with a consistent aesthetic to your brand and add a custom hashtag so you can track how many times they’re posted.

Your Insta Stars will be the key elements that get you the most #instalove, and are likely to be snapped and shared the most, garnering your brand the most attention. Try to create new Insta Star dishes seasonally so Instagrammers and diners continue to come back to see what’s new.

#InstaDesign

Your restaurant’s design and décor provide endless opportunities to incorporate Instagram-worthy elements that are consistent with your brand.

• TIP: Consider messaging in tiles or signs, unique wallpaper, interesting colour palettes, feature photo walls, and themed sitting areas.

Exterior to interior design, nothing should be over looked as Instagrammers flock to restaurants for the trendy design photo opp, but then stay for the food.

#GoTeam

Action shots of your chefs cooking or plating, servers sharing their favourite dishes, bartenders shaking up fancy cocktails are all great photo opportunities. It is an Instagram fact that photos featuring faces get 38% more likes than those without, according to Sproutsocial.com.

#PicturePerfect

A professional photographer will always take the better shot and edit it to perfection, hands down. But for restaurateurs who are managing Instagram in-house it is most effective to have one team member manage the process for consistency.

• TIPS:

• Take your shots in natural light or bright, well-lit spaces.
• Purchase a Selfie Right Light to attach to your phone for immediate lighting.
• Avoid using a flash.
• Use a tripod built for phones.
• Figure out if the shot will be of one item or a few items to create a scene.
• Use props to help fill in the shot.
• Try different angles.
• Add a human element. Maintain a consistent filter.

#Hashtags

1. Hashtags allow users who are searching that hashtag to connect with your post.
2. Hashtags allow your posts to be part of a trending topic.
3. Hashtags allow you to track the number of posts associated with the hashtag, for effectiveness.

• TIPS:

• Create unique brand-specific hashtags.
• Post hashtags that are relevant to the image and message being posted to capture the RIGHT follower attention.
• Be aware of the trending food holidays on Instagram to join in the conversation when appropriate for your brand.