10 Restaurant Social Media Tips to Make It Big

You may own the best restaurant, but if nobody knows about it, you won’t be making the necessary profit to stand the test of time. Therefore, how can you get the word out about your food business with the least investment?

One of the more efficient answers is by using social media. It requires almost no money to promote your restaurant and, if you know the right techniques, you can make your restaurant the most popular spot in the area.

Read on to find efficient restaurant social media tips that will help you leave your mark:

The importance of social media for restaurants

Did you know that 3 in 4 customers have used Facebook to pick out a restaurant? And that 80% of users follow at least one business on Instagram? There is no denying that social media plays a big part in your customers’ lives.

Here are the benefits you will enjoy if you ace restaurant social media:

• Increased visibility: by constantly posting on social media, you are making people aware of your delicious food. With time, you will gain loyal followers who will recommend your business and make it a known brand in the industry;
• More traffic to your website: you can use social media to persuade people to visit your website. The more traffic you get, the higher you rank in Google searches where even more potential customers can find you;
• Ability to connect with clients: the great part about social media is that it allows two-way communication. Whenever you post, clients can comment, giving you a chance to win them over;
• Grow sales: you can create persuasive posts to convince viewers to either book a table or order online. If you use professional photos and add some promotions in the mix, people won’t be able to resist;
• Affordable advertising: you could use social media with no monetary investment, but it will take longer to achieve the desired results. If you want to grow your following fast, you can take advantage of the paid ads feature of each platform to reach your target audience.

Read more: Why Restaurants Need Social Media to Succeed in the Long-term

10 Restaurant social media tips for success

Posting something on social media whenever you remember you have an account won’t help you grow and attract more clients. Follow these restaurant social media tips if you want to use this type of marketing to its full potential:

1. Start with a convincing bio

When a person considers being your future client, they will check the social media description to find out more about your business. This is your chance to get their attention and persuade them to place an order.

Therefore, while you must keep it short, ensure you include the following in your bio:

• Unique Selling Proposition: highlighting what makes your restaurant special and why clients should choose your business over your competitors;
• Your address: so clients can easily find you on the map and plan their journey;
• Link to website: to increase traffic to it. Even better if you have an online ordering system installed, because clients will be able to order your food with just one click, directly from the social media platform.

Read more: 7 Food Business Tagline Ideas to Get You Noticed

2. Make your branding visible

Branding is the process of creating a cohesive image for your restaurant that will differentiate you from other businesses and make you easy to recognize for any client. Ideally, it should be done before opening the restaurant, but it is never too late to rebrand.

Read more: Branding for Restaurants: What Is It, How To Do It, and Tips for Success

When creating a brand, you will have to choose:

• A tone of voice: that you will use to write the bio and the post captions in order to be consistent and increase your reputation;
• A logo: you can use it as your profile image and add it to various images and videos;
• Color, fonts, and other design elements: stick to the chosen brand items when you create illustrative images so your profile will be cohesive and eye-catching.

3. Increase conversion with menu links

Social media isn’t just about showcasing your delicious menu items and your inviting restaurant décor. You can use it to directly generate sales if you have the online ordering system from GloriaFood installed.

You only need 10 free minutes to add it to your website (or even generate your sales-optimized website) and the set-up process is intuitive. Check out this informative video:

After you have prepared your website for online orders, go to Setup -> Publishing, and choose Facebook for a link to insert in the bio and Facebook (Sharing) for a link to add in the post captions. While the links were originally created for Facebook, they work without problem on Instagram and TikTok.

Now all you have left to do is to use the links to allow customers to order fast and easily, directly from your social media account.

Read more: How to Take Orders and Increase Revenue Using Your Restaurant Facebook Page

4. Use mouth-watering imagery

Most social media users won’t pay much attention to the caption, but a good image will immediately capture their attention. If you want to impress customers and get them to try your food, you need to have mouth-watering images.

You have two options:

• Hire a professional photographer: to get a large database of pictures that you can use to illustrate your posts;
• Learn more about restaurant food photography: phones nowadays have great cameras and, with knowledge and practice, they can be used to produce hunger-inducing images that clients won’t be able to resist.

Read more: How to Perfect Restaurant Food Photography: Tips & Tricks for Beginners

5. Create a variety of video content

Let’s do an experiment. Pick a day at random and start observing how the people around you spend their time on their phones. You will soon notice that the general preference has shifted toward video content that is easier to consume and provides instant gratification.

Jump on the trend and start creating restaurant video content that will draw more customers in. Here are a couple of ideas:

• A day in the life of your restaurant’s chef;
• Behind the scenes in the restaurant kitchen;
• Online order unboxing;
• Employees presenting their favorite dish;
• Simple how-to recipes.

6. Take time to interact with followers

Social media gives you the unique opportunity to interact with your followers, and you must take advantage of it. Reserve one hour each day to look over your messages and comments and reply to them. It doesn't always have to be a long message, even an emoticon will show people you care.

When you reply promptly, people will appreciate that you take time out of your busy day to build a connection with them. This will make them more likely to return and live a positive review.

7. Organize contests to reach a new audience

If you are at the start, your followers are probably just friends and family. If you want to gain access to a bigger audience, consider organizing contests. The contests generate a lot of engagement that spikes visibility.

Try out these ideas:

• Like this post and share it in your stories to win an all-expenses paid meal for two;
• Like this post and leave a comment with your favorite menu item for a chance to win an online order with a value of $70;
• Post a photo from our restaurant and tag us to win a special meal for four people.

Read more: 21 Restaurant Competition Ideas to Gain Visibility and Attract Customers

8. Take advantage of user-generated content

One of the best restaurant social media tips is to use the free advertisement in the form of user-generated content. If you have a great décor, enticing plating, and other elements that lead people to take a photo, your restaurant will surely get tagged in a variety of photos.

Share those images in your stories and even create a post with them (after you ask for permission) to grow your reputation and show other potential customers your place is worth visiting.

9. Consider paid ads for a larger following

When you don't have many followers, your posts may not reach your target audience. If you want to reach more people fast, you can invest in paid ads.

You can customize the ads to only be shown to people who are likely to buy from your restaurant so you get a bigger conversion rate.

Read more: Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Ads for Restaurants

10. Monitor your restaurant analytics

When you have to make decisions regarding your restaurant, you usually use data from analytics tools, such as the Reports module from GloriaFood. This gives you access to valuable information such as website traffic, number of clients, and the most popular menu items.

Social media platforms also have embedded analytical data that can let you know if your efforts are working or if you should try a different marketing strategy.

Read more: How to Grow Your Food Business by Using Restaurant Data Analytics

Final words

By using the above restaurant social media tips, you get to take advantage of all the features of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and grow your number of new and returning clients. Ultimately, a good social media strategy will be visible when you check your profit at the end of each month.