Food for Thought: 5 Ways to Promote Your Restaurant on Social Media

Nothing connects friends, communities, or even strangers together quite the way that food or social media do. Both are continually evolving and influencing new ideas, making it essential for restaurants to utilize social and take advantage of the power that these two driving forces have. Here are 5 helpful ways to take your restaurant’s social media from bland to bite-worthy:

1) Distinguish a clear brand voice

As a social media manager, you are the voice of the restaurant. Everything you deliver through each social media channel represents the overall value and messaging of your brand. Capitalizing on the formality of the restaurant, brand mascots, or its geographical location, can all serve as influential factors in identifying a brand voice.

2) The quality of your content should represent the quality of your food

Social success is dependent on the visual aspects of a feed. Social is a great way to feature menu items, show the process of how your food is made, and highlight the overall atmosphere of your restaurant. Make sure that the images and videos you choose to include in your posts are high-resolution and show off the quality of food you provide.

*Pro tip: When taking pictures of menu items, identify a similar technique to editing photos so your feed blends together well and use the “rule of thirds” to keep things interesting.

3) Take advantage of user-generated content

People love to share what they are eating, which fortunately serves as free visual content that you can repost on your feed. Sharing customer pictures and reviews of your restaurant can serve as a tactic to engage your followers and build your audience. This interaction allows users to interact with the restaurant without being face-to-face.

*Pro tip: To find user-generated content, identify a simple hashtag for your audience to use and encourage them to tag you in their posts and check-in through the location function.

4) Identify food bloggers/influencers who can help promote your brand

Word-of-mouth marketing is essential to your marketing mix. Aside from everyday recommendations and reviews, identify key influencers in the area who can help get the word out. For example, if your restaurant’s main focus is using fresh, organic ingredients, find health bloggers with a substantial following that can post to an audience you might not have yourself.

*Pro tip: To onboard these influencers, be proactive in thinking of ways to compensate for the exposure they lend; or at the minimum use their hashtag in your posts…they might find you on their own!

5) Give a face to the people behind the kitchen

Your food doesn’t make itself. Include a personal component throughout your feed to show who is cooking the food your audience is eating. Spotlight chefs and servers. Interview management on how they got to where they are now. Your overall goal is to deliver a story that goes beyond your actual menu items.

Don’t have time to promote your restaurant on social? Visit our Social Media page or email [email protected]. We’ll provide the stimulus to get your followers drooling on the other side of the screen.