10+ Instagram Content Ideas for Restaurants to Get Noticed

Marketing your restaurant on Instagram is a great idea if you want to appeal to the younger generations. Studies confirm that 38% of Instagram users look at food content and 27% of users share food content, so there will surely be interest in your posts.

If you want to increase your restaurant’s visibility and attract more customers, you will need a variety of Instagram content ideas for restaurants.

Read on for inspiration:

Instagram content ideas for restaurants:

You chose a very competitive industry, so you must do your best to stand out from other restaurants in your area. Here are a few unconventional, yet efficient restaurant Instagram post ideas:

1. Start a how-to food series

If you want to form a connection with your followers and motivate them to interact with your page, start adding educational videos to your page. You and your team are experts on all things food, why not share some of your knowledge with your fans?

Here are a few ideas to incorporate into your how-to food series:

• How long certain cooked dishes can be kept in the fridge and freezer
• How to cook the perfect French omelet
• How to get a perfect poached egg
• How to clean oily dishes
• How to cook al dente pasta

2. Fill your stories with user-generated content

People who visit your restaurant or order from your place sometimes take pictures of your food and location and tag you. Show them that you appreciate their effort and share their posts in your stories.

This way, not only will you always have content on hand to post on your social media, but you will also show other potential customers that other people appreciated their experience with your restaurant and motivate them to become clients.

3. Let people know how easy it is to order from your restaurant

Are you looking for Instagram content ideas for restaurants that increase conversion? Then you must promote your online ordering system. Don’t have one already?

This is your chance to get the best free online ordering system from GloriaFood that allows clients to order directly on your website, in just a few clicks, with no human interaction needed. If you don't have a website, we can help you with that as well.

All in just ten minutes. Follow this easy tutorial:

After you are all set, get the link we provide in Setup -> Publishing -> Facebook and copy it into your profile's description in the website category. It may say Facebook, but it works perfectly for Instagram, and it will lead people directly to your menu where they can order.

Here are a few ideas you can use to promote online ordering:

• Make a video showing the whole online ordering, from opening the website and browsing the menu to receiving the order
• Share a picture of your menu items and tell people to check your bio for a direct link for ordering

4. Encourage customers to make a reservation

How will your followers know they can make a reservation if you don’t tell them? If you are on the lookout for new Instagram content ideas for restaurants, consider adding some posts where you promote your table reservation feature.

Change the link in your bio to your website, so that when clients access it, they have the option to either reserve a table or place an online order.

Show people pictures of your delicious dishes and let them know they can book a table in seconds by just clicking the link in the bio. You can even share a picture of your reservation form to encourage people to make a reservation.

5. Showcase your irresistible restaurant promotions

Do you know what the best motivator is for undecided customers? Promotions! Hungry followers can’t resist a free delivery, 2+1, 1 free item, or 10% of the whole order deal.

The first step is to set them up on your menu and restaurant’s website. You can easily do so with our online ordering system, it will only take a few seconds and the promos will be visible at the top of your menu:

Afterward, you can just take the image used for restaurant promotion and share it on your Instagram to persuade people to order and increase their average order value.

6. Make a day-in-the-life video for every position in your team

Build your community by allowing them to see how life behind the scenes is at a restaurant. Some of the best Instagram content ideas for restaurants are ones that get people to create a connection with your restaurant.

Show your followers how life is at your restaurant from the perspective of every employee, from the servers, and bartenders to chefs and restaurant owners. Keep it under 30 seconds and only show the highlights that would attract people.

7. Host out-of-the-box giveaways

The classic contests that promise a meal for two for a comment or like are fine and they usually work. But if you want to stand out from the rest of the businesses in your area, you must try ideas that are out of the ordinary, such as:

• Guess the ingredients in the new menu item
• Add a drawing of your favorite dish from our menu to win a coupon for $60
• Find our restaurant stickers within a 1-mile radius of our location. Be the first to find three and you win an all-paid meal for two.

8. Share positive reviews

Show people who visit your Instagram page that your business is trustworthy, and your food is good by sharing positive reviews previous clients left. Ensure you ask for their permission before you do so.

You can also take advantage of the caption to encourage people to leave you more reviews. You can even motivate them with a free dessert per review.

9. Partner up with small local influencers

If you don't have a big budget for marketing but would like to achieve big results, you need some Instagram content ideas for restaurants that don’t cost a lot of money.

For example, you can search for some local food influencers in your area that are at the start and send them a message. You can ask them for their prices or offer a barter contract, where you give them food for free for a positive review.

10. Share photos of your food in natural settings

On top of the classic images of your menu items that resemble product photography, you can also stage your food in more natural settings such as:

• On the table with clients, ready to be enjoyed
• In the servers’ hands, about to be laced on the table
• On the kitchen counter, about to be brought in the restaurant
• In the making

11. Make polls part of your marketing strategy

If you are on the lookout for Instagram content ideas for restaurants that generate engagement, then polls are your solution. You can add them to some of your stories, here are a couple of suggestions (all should be accompanied by mouth-watering pictures):

• Do you prefer menu items with meat or vegetarian?
• What is your favorite sauce from our offer?
• What dessert should we add to our menu?
• What dish would you eat right now?
• What menu item do you want to share with your significant other?

12. Create get-to-know-us type of videos

Allow people to know more about your restaurant than just your delicious food. Schedule one video a week where you tell people more about:

• Your history. Why did you open your restaurant?
• How was the first opening day?
• How have your menu items changed over time?
• What improvements have you made to your restaurant?
• What makes your ingredients special?

13. Share pairing recommendations

Some Instagram content ideas for restaurants can be both educative and salesy. You know which food item goes best with which type of drink, but your followers might not know. Give them a helping hand and you might just win over some new clients who won’t be able to resist your recommendations.

You can pick certain menu items and share the pairing in a photo or choose to give a more detailed explanation on video.

Conclusion

Trying new Instagram content ideas for restaurants can help you reach a new audience and get more customers. Ensure your social media posts not only encourage engagement but also persuade people to order from and visit your restaurant.