How To Promote A Restaurant On Instagram

Today, almost over 69% of people love photographing their food before eating it. All these pictures often go to social media platforms to share it with your followers. This is why Instagram, a popular photo and video-sharing platform, has become more valuable for marketing businesses. 

To spread the word about your restaurant, no other medium can be better than Instagram. It is a savvy move to create a worthwhile presence on social media for your restaurant business and attract footfall. 

People admit that oftentimes they hear about a new place in their city through Instagram. Having said that, it is the best place to connect to your target audience. 

Thus, let’s take a deep dive into some of the best strategies that will help bring your prospects straight to your restaurant’s door. 

Why Promote Your Restaurant On Instagram?

More than 50% of diners have admitted that they visit a restaurant for the first time after it pops up on their Instagram feed. By using Instagram for restaurant promotion, you will help those diners choose you over your competitors. 

Some other benefits of including Instagram in your marketing strategy include; 

• Increase website traffic: Including Instagram in your marketing plan will direct more people to your website. If your prospects are attracted to your business, they may visit your website to learn more about your business. 

• Create A Stronger Brand: When there is a lot of buzz for your business and people mention your name in their posts, your brand name gets more awareness. 

• Build a community: People when interested in your brand, will follow your profile to get regular updates. Instagram marketing will help you build a strong community. 

Now that you know that it is critical to promote your restaurant, let us know how you can do it. 

How To Successfully Promote a Restaurant On Instagram?

Below we mention some of the timeless marketing strategies to help your restaurant gain a competitive edge on Instagram. 

• Write A Compelling Bio 

An attractive bio is the key to promoting a restaurant on Instagram. The bio should speak about what makes your place different from others. You create the first impression through your bio, and so it should spruce up your profile. 

If you have a booking portal available, make booking tables easy for your Instagram profile visitors. Add the link in your profile bio and also the website link, if you have one. Do not forget to add the keywords, too. 

• Create A Solid Content Plan

Plan a content calendar for your Instagram profile well in advance. Instagram for restaurant promotion works excellent, when you have engaging content posted on your profile. If you prepare something special, post fantastic pictures of the dish. 

Put some effort into planning posts for your Instagram account. Your posts should be worthwhile and should be able to stop a user from scrolling through their feed. 

• Use Relevant Hashtags

Do some research before using hashtags in your posts. Hashtags play a major role on Instagram and work as keywords. Hence, do not use any random hashtag. Hashtags have the potential to push your brand in front of the right audience. 

Try different combinations of hashtags to grow your restaurant's Instagram account. Using a few niche hashtags to promote your restaurant on Instagram will make your posts reach better. 

• Collaborate With Food Bloggers

Find some of the best food bloggers to partner with, and make your posts reach more people. Influencers will start promoting your restaurant's business on Instagram in the best way possible. Also, you will attract a large audience base who will stay loyal to your brand. 

The fan base of such bloggers or influencers trusts their suggestions, and you will get a good chance of attracting customers. Also, it helps boost your restaurant’s popularity among the right audience set. 

• Interact With Customer Comments

Promoting your restaurant takes much more than only attracting visitors to your Instagram profile. Having said that, you should make your audience feel like a community where you are also interacting with them. 

Respond to their comments and, at intervals, reward them for interacting with your brand. When you see people commenting on your posts, post the best-suited reply or simply like their comments to show some kind of interaction. 

• Run Contests And Giveaways

To keep your present audience engaged and to attract new audiences, host giveaways or run some contests. By letting your followers tag their friends and family on the post or sharing it with them will get you maximum traction. 

Your followers will tag you in their posts, and also tag their friends in the comments section, thereby increasing your brand awareness. Outline the rules of the competition or giveaway beforehand to avoid any conflicts. 

• Post High Quality Content Regularly

Consistency is the key when it comes to promoting your restaurant on social media. We are sure your business must have something unique, and take advantage. With your posts, try to create a unique and memorable brand voice. 

When a new visitors land on your Instagram profile, they should get the feeling that they don't get elsewhere. Each post published on your profile should have something in common. 

• Add Location Tags And Geotags 

Instagram allows business profiles to add all critical details about their business to the profile. That said, you can add your place’s address to the bio section of your profile to attract more visitors. Also, when piblishing posts, add location in them. 

Adding location to the posts will help your viewers know about your existence when it reaches their feed. Get as much creative as possible to yield the maximum benefits of the platform for restaurant marketing. 

• Feature Instagram Feed On Website

Integrate the posts from your Instagram feed to your website. It will help your website traffic know about your Instagram account. The highly intuitive posts added to your account will encourage your visitors to follow. 

More followers will increase your restaurant’s visibility. Your profile will start appearing in your target audience’s feed, and it will help attract traffic both ways. 

•  Repost Tagged Photos By Your Customers

Your customers will post beautiful pictures of the place after their visit. Make the most of such user-generated content and manage your restaurant's Instagram account. If you notice tagged photos of your restaurant, reshare them. 

User-generated content will work best when you start promoting your restaurant’s business on Instagram. Also, it will work as word of mouth for your prospect, and they will be inspired to try out the food of your place. 

•  Use Instagram Reels And Highlights

Posting only photos on your profile will not attract much of an audience. Regular stories disappear after 24 hours, but highlights will stay on your profile forever until you delete them. Highlights and the reels section are the best places to show your prospects what your restaurant is about. 

Make your content irresistible by adding custom thumbnails to the reels and cover pictures to the highlights. Such elements will make your posts visually appealing, and attract more people too. 

•  Utilize Instagram’s Food Ordering Features

It is critical to evolve the marketing strategy of your restaurant business. The best Instagram restaurant marketing plans make great use of all available features. You should leverage online food ordering features. 

The key here is to make it easy for your prospects to order food from you. Besides promoting your business, it is critical to make it easy for people to try the food of your restaurant. 

By using the Instagram food ordering feature, your consumers will not have to leave Instagram and go to your website. 

•  Invest In Instagram Ads 

Traditional advertising will no longer work for your restaurant. Moreover, reaching people organically will also be limited. Hence, considering an investment in Instagram Ads is the best way to reach the masses. 

Instagram ads will expand the reach of your brand on social networks and attract more visitors to your profile. Also, these ads will make your posts reach prospects who are beyond your reach organically. 

Furthermore, Instagram ads are affordable, and so it yields greater results on investment. 

Final Thoughts

Instagram is one of the highly recommended social media platforms for restaurant owners to promote their business. It is a cost-effective way of reaching people beyond imagination, and driving traffic to your website. 

Be it promoting a new dish that you have introduced, or an offer that you are running on your outlet, Instagram will help you spread the word. Follow the best practice of Instagram for restaurants, and attain a wealth of opportunities to grow. 

To increase audience reach, engagement and brand awareness, follow the tips listed above. Keep producing fresh content and connect with your audience to reach a wider range.