8 Tips On How To Promote Your Restaurant On Social Media

If you’re a business owner, you’ll know that it’s important to promote your restaurant on social media.

Social media is free to use and has a large number of active users, promising great reach so it’s no wonder so many restaurants already use social media marketing.

But where do you start? And what should you be doing?

This blog post will teach you the basics of promoting your restaurant on social media so that you can start getting more customers through your doors.

Stay tuned for tips on creating effective social media posts, using hashtags to your advantage, and more!

Table Of Contents

1. Start by creating a social media profile for your restaurant on the major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

2. Make sure to include photos of the food and interior/exterior of your restaurant

3. Keep your posts interesting and engaging with trivia questions, behind-the-scenes looks at your kitchen, employees, etc.

4. Use hashtags to reach a wider audience – for example, #restaurant #delicious #localbusiness

5. Run social media contests and giveaways

6.) Share customer reviews: Use user-generated content and encourage followers to take part in interacting with the business

7. Respond to comments and messages promptly

8.) Create a “Google My Business” Profile

1. Start by creating a social media profile for your restaurant on the major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

Social media is a powerful way to promote your restaurant business. By creating profiles on the major social media platforms, you can reach a large number of potential customers.

Social media platforms will operate and cater to different audiences. For example, Instagram and Pinterest are platforms focused on visuals – for photo and video content sharing. Others will be more focused on writing and copy, or perhaps a mix of both.

A good place for social media beginners to start is with Instagram and Facebook, since they are platforms already owned by the same company (Meta), you will be able to use and interlink your Instagram and Facebook page. Both platforms are also extremely popular: Facebook has around 2.91 billion monthly active users Instagram has around 1 billion.

When creating your profiles, the main things to consider are:

• Page name or username
• Profile Picture (and banner)
• Basic information (Who you are, opening hours, location, etc.)
• Link to your website if you have one (or menu)

Try and fill out as much information on your profile – leaving no blank fields if possible. This will help potential customers find out more about your restaurant.

Once you’re done setting up your profile – check that your information is correct and that you can tell what kind of business your page represents. Can viewers tell that you’re a restaurant?

2. Make sure to include photos of the food and interior/exterior of your restaurant

Photos and videos are a great way to promote your restaurant on social media. They give potential customers a taste of what they can expect, and can help persuade them to visit your restaurant.

When taking photos or videos of your food, make sure to:

• Use high-quality images (use natural light whenever possible)
• Use attractive and interesting angles
• Use props or dishes that will make your food look good 

When photographing or filming the interior or exterior of your restaurant, make sure to:

• Take photos or videos in good light
• Show off your best features (a cool mural or exterior structure that your restaurant is built around, interesting decorations, etc.) 

Try and fill out as much information on your profile – leaving no blank fields if possible. This will help potential customers find out more about your restaurant.

Once you’re done setting up your profile – check that your information is correct and that you can tell what kind of business your page represents. Can viewers tell that you’re a restaurant?

Restaurants that have exciting interior themes like Elan Cafe will have an easier time creating exciting content for their social media.

Elan Cafe promotes themselves as “the most Instagrammable cafe in the world” adding excitement to the customer experience. Having a good interior/exterior design means that it’s easier for them to take photos and videos to showcase their restaurants as not very much setup is needed since it’s already been done to such a high degree.

If you don’t have an extravagant theme like Elan Cafe, it’s still possible to promote your restaurant on social media – you just need to put more effort into the lighting and set up of your photos to make your food look appetising. 

What sets your restaurant apart from the others? Use this to your advantage to curate a unique experience to promote to your future customers.

3. Keep your posts interesting and engaging with trivia questions, behind-the-scenes looks at your kitchen, employees, etc.

As a restaurant owner, it’s important to keep your social media posts interesting and engaging for your followers. Taking photos and videos of your food can provide good content for your social media, but if you want to keep it exciting, it’s best to add a range of content to your page.

Break down the walls of your restaurant by adding a touch of personality to your content. This can be done by sharing photos and videos of your restaurant kitchen, showcasing employees, and giving your followers a personal glimpse into your restaurant.

Some tips for keeping your social media posts interesting:

• Share photos and videos of your food preparation process. This can be very appealing to some customers. It’s also a good chance to give some preparation tips on your dishes
• Share behind-the-scenes looks at your kitchen/workplace and restaurant culture
• Showcase employees: introduce your employees, their skills and artisanal techniques, what they bring to your establishment, etc.

4. Use hashtags to reach a wider audience – for example, #restaurant #delicious #localbusiness

Hashtags are a great way to reach a wider audience on Instagram and can be very effective in promoting your restaurant business. By using hashtags that are relevant to your restaurant, you can reach people who might not have otherwise seen your posts.

Some tips for using hashtags effectively:

• Use a combination of general and specific hashtags – this will help you reach more people
• Keep your hashtags short and easy to remember
• Make sure your hashtags are relevant to your restaurant and the type of food you serve
• Research what hashtags other restaurants in your area are using, and try to use some of these too

You can even use hashtags in your Instagram stories too.

5. Run social media contests and giveaways

When you run social media contests and giveaways, your followers will be more likely to engage with your content and promote your restaurant. This is because they will want to enter the contest to win a prize, and they may also share your posts with their friends to increase their chances of winning.

If you’re looking to run a social media contest or giveaway, make sure to:

• Make the prize worth winning – this could be a gift card, a free meal, or an item related to your restaurant
• Keep the contest rules simple and easy to enter
• Announce the contest on all of your social media platforms – this will help you reach more people
• Make sure to follow through on the winner announcement and prize delivery 

This is a great way to not only increase engagement on your social media pages but also to get new followers who may convert into new or loyal customers.

Make sure to announce the contest on all of your social media platforms, and make sure that the prize is worth winning. Following through on the winner announcement and prize delivery is important to ensure a good reputation for your business.

Risks

There are a few risks associated with running social media contests and giveaways, the first of which is that followers may unfollow you afterwards. This is because they may have only followed you to enter the contest, and they may not be interested in your restaurant otherwise.

Another risk is that the followers you gain from the contest may not be high quality, and may not be interested in your restaurant. This could mean that they are not likely to convert into customers.

It’s important to weigh these risks against the benefits of running a social media contest or giveaway. Overall, using giveaways and contests is great to increase engagement with your followers but it is not something you should do too frequently or rely on.

6.) Share customer reviews: Use user-generated content and encourage followers to take part in interacting with the business

Sharing customer reviews on social media can help promote your restaurant by showing potential customers what others have said about their experience, boosting your credibility.

You can share them as posts or stories, and it’s important to always ask for permission first.

Additionally, user-generated content (like photos and videos) can be used to get followers to interact with the business. This could involve asking followers to submit photos/videos of their meals, tagging your restaurant in a post they think is amazing, or using special hashtags related to your restaurant.

Tips for sharing customer reviews and user-generated content:

• Make sure to ask for permission before sharing or tagging someone’s review/photo/video publicly
• Keep the content authentic – don’t try to make every interaction seem like an amazing experience, be real about it
• Encourage users to tag your restaurant in their posts – this will help you engage with your followers
• Re-share user-generated content on your blog or website – this will increase the amount of user-generated content you have to share, and it will help improve your SEO rankings

7. Respond to comments and messages promptly

When it comes to customer service, responsiveness is key. This means that you should always be prompt in responding to comments and messages on your social media pages. Not only is it important to ensure that customers feel heard and valued, but it’s also a way to show that you’re paying attention to what they have to say.

You should pay attention to every type of follower, customer or non-customer. If they are a non-customer, respond to queries or general comments to build that connection with them – perhaps they will visit your restaurant in return.

For customers – respond to reviews, queries and make sure they had a great experience after visiting your restaurant. If there were any mistakes, offer a chance to fix them.

Good customer service extends beyond just responding to comments. It’s important to go above and beyond to make sure that customers are happy with their experience at your restaurant.

To keep on top of your social media accounts, you can always download the social media app on your phone to get notifications of new comments and engagements on the go.

8.) Create a “Google My Business” Profile

Taking in the previous tips, take your restaurant to Google My Business so customers can find you easily on Google.

This will create an official storefront for you where you can add information to your business profile such as:

• Location: customers can follow directions to your restaurant address
• Contact info
• Opening hours including information about holiday hours
• Business type: dine-in, take-away, delivery, etc.
• Link to menu
• Link to your website
• Reviews and photos that customers can upload

This will create a credible source of information for customers looking for you via a quick and easy Google search. It may be good to at least upload a photo of your restaurant to start, but as you build your business, customers will eventually do this by uploading their own photos and reviews to your Google Business page.

Be sure to respond to reviews, good or bad as mentioned before to build customer relationships.

Here’s our complete guide on how to set up your own Google My Business account for your business.

In conclusion, social media is a powerful tool for promoting your restaurant.

By following these tips, you can start to create an online social media presence that will help bring in new customers and increase sales.

Be sure to remember the “social” in social media: interacting with your followers and customers will bring more engagement and increase your reach. Whether you choose to promote on Facebook, Instagram, or another social media platform, learning how to utilise each one will help you get the most out of your social media accounts.

Once you’ve learned the basics of social media, you can also begin to implement paid ads as part of your restaurant social media strategy. Whilst social media is free to use, social media advertising will require a budget so it’s a good idea to have a feel for social media basics before jumping into paid ads.

It’s time to kickstart your restaurant’s social media marketing strategy today!

If you’re unsure on where to begin, Gastronomic Agency can also step in to help you get started. 

We are a food marketing agency that has helped build up food & drink brands as well as sectors in hospitality all over the world. Contact us below to find out how we can help you.

Have you tried any of these methods to promote your restaurant on social media? What other techniques have been successful for you? Let us know in the comments below!

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