The Instagram guide to getting your restaurant off the ground (15 expert tips)

It's impossible to ignore social media when you're a restaurateur. With over 1 billion monthly active users and 100 million posts a day,Instagram 's success is unquestionable. Today, the network is a must for maximizing a restaurant's online visibility: every month, the hashtag #food accounts for more than 250 million publications on Instagram.

There are certain rules to follow on Instagram to get the most out of it. Objectives: attract and retain more customers.

In this article, discover our 15 tips for handling your restaurant's Instagram account like a chef!

Want to go one step further? Take advantage of Malou's expert tips and download our Instagram guide for restaurateurs👇

1) Create an Instagram account for your establishment and restaurant

The first thing to do: list your restaurant on Instagram.

Once you've created your account, simply check the "switch to professional profile" option and fill in the required information:

Nb: you must have a Facebook page to upgrade to professional status.

You'll be able to :

• Access your account statistics (number of views, number of profile visits following a publication, number of clicks, etc.);
• Create advertising and sponsorship campaigns, a powerful way to boost your restaurant's visibility.

💡Attention: Internet users must easily identify you. Your nickname must match your restaurant's name (or be consistent with it), so that users can find you easily.

Then :

• Set your profile to"public" so that people who don't follow you can also see your posts (and start following you!);
• Mention in your Instagram bio all the essential information about your restaurant (restaurant phone number, opening hours, address...) ;
• Finally, add a Linktree link in your bio. This unique link allows you to redirect a customer to your reservation module, your delivery module, your menu, your website... Any link you feel is important for your restaurant.

Now all you have to do is use Instagram effectively to achieve your goals!

2) Publish beautiful photos and videos to whet the appetite

Instagram's principle is visual : photos and videos that capture the interest of Internet users.

‍Aspace of predilection for restaurateurs to make their targeted clientele want to come to them. So beneficial that today, some establishments have gone viral via Instagram, and the majority of restaurant professionals systematically work on their image there to raise their profile and increase their notoriety.

To attract customers with visual content, it has to be qualitative, reflecting the atmosphere of the restaurant and the deliciousness of the dishes. And above all: it must look like you! And don't forget to show human faces (staff, customers, friends), as these are the posts that generate the most likes.

Examples: Kafkaf and Bon Bouquet Café, two brunch establishments in Paris, have succeeded in turning Instagram into a real lever of notoriety. With photos and videos that reflect the "foodporn" of the plates, playing on textures and different angles of view, and the sunny atmosphere of the 2 restaurants. To achieve this, the founders called on photographer Patrik Sater aka @thetravelbuds!

But how do you produce quality content without hiring an expert? Take a look at our 35 inspiring real-life examples for your restaurant.

3) Create a visual and editorial identity for your online brand

The identity of your place and your dishes must be recognizable at first glance.

To achieve this, your page needs to have an aesthetic overview and its own common thread, which will make people want to stay and consult the publications.

The right reflex : use the same filter for all your published photos to create a harmonious, coherent effect! When it comes to publications, don't hesitate to use words and expressions that set you apart. This is how people will recognize you: you create your brand identity, as the Dalmata group does so well, for example:

The same goes for your editorial line! Create a primer for your restaurant, and develop your own vocabulary so that people immediately notice your tone, your "personal touch". It can be pop and fun (for a burger restaurant, for example, like PNY's excellent language) or sophisticated and artisanal.

For example, you can :

• First name, last name;
• Give your team a nickname;
• Make puns with the name of your establishment or your dishes;
• Use pop culture expressions such as "How's your blanquette?

4) Talk to your subscribers to create a lasting bond

Engaging with your followers and other Instagram users allows you to create a bond with them and build loyalty. Find out what interests engage your audience, what your followers like, where they hang out, what accounts they follow... and interact with them!

👉 Reply to their messages and comment on their photos to show them you're interested in them. Be careful: don't overdo it either, or you'll be considered spam.

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👉 Use the features implemented by Instagram to interact with your community.

Your best ally: stories! You can :

• Ask questions (about the venue, the menu, your community's tastes, the mood of the day...anything goes!);
• Ask our visitors for their opinion;
• Start countdowns (before a new release or a new card);
• Launch surveys or quizzes.

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Involve your followers in the day-to-day running of your restaurant! Listen to their advice, challenge them, ask for their help... Not only will you get closer to your customers, but you'll also please the social network algorithm !

Example of engaging stories in images:

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What time should I post? Which posts work best? Find the rundown of Instagram tips in the guide below! 👇

5) Encourage customers to share content

Creating content about a customer's experience in your restaurant has as much impact as a Google review.

Authentic content tends to convince future customers. So indirectly invite your customers to share their experiences. One of the best ways to do this is to provide "Instagrammable" elements, whether on the plate or in the dining room. For delivery or takeaway, use the packaging, with a little written attention that specifies your Instagram handle... to encourage them to generate content.

Then keep these "testimonials" as anchored stories. They won't disappear! Mama Nissa does it very well!

6) Publish useful content (tasty, entertaining, interesting)

Many restaurants make the mistake of publishing for the sake of publishing!

For example, you can :

• Create content that makes your subscribers salivate, giving them the impression that they're actually savoring it. That's what foodporn is all about!
• Describe your photos with precision, your dishes with passion: flavor, smell, mouthfeel, imagination about the origin of the dish or the atmosphere of your room;
• Create interesting content: "did you know", the origin of your products, the history of a dish (personal stoytelling, invention of the dish), riddles, voting ("do you prefer Margarita or Pineapple Pizza?").

‍Don'thesitate to use humor! Content that makes you smile is always more successful.

‍BigMamma combines "food porn" and humor to great effect, generating excellent engagement rates on its publications. Another inspiration: the puns of the Monoprix brand .

7) Use current events to raise community awareness

Because some events deserve to be highlighted by your establishment, both on-site and in online content. Take the Euro or the Olympic Games, for example. Setting up a broadcast of the games in the restaurant and communicating this on your networks: actions that meet the demand of many customers, raising their awareness and generating traffic to your establishment. The events highlighted must nevertheless remain relevant to your identity.

The calendar gives you plenty of opportunities to share post ideas with your subscribers throughout the year. For example: April 1, International Burger Day, Italy Day, Planet Day...‍

Malou's tip: identify the days that are relevant to your establishment in terms of your values, your products and the origin of your dishes, and prepare posts in advance!

You can send greetings for New Year's Eve, Christmas, Mother's Day, Candlemas, Easter... Find all the celebrations you could use and come up with creative posts to make your subscribers smile and engage.

We also advise you to share your achievements with them: your chef winning a star, your restaurant's anniversary... This way, you'll maintain a close bond with your customers!

8) Share videos to reach and engage more accounts

Videos do two essential things:

• Reach more people (more universal, more watched);
• Pleasing the Instagram algorithm (stories, but more importantly, Real).

Reels consist of a short, playful video that links together different video or photo sequences. An ideal format for showcasing your restaurant and raising its profile!

👉 Very popular with web users, Reels show what's happening in the kitchen, the dining room or on the plate. So get creative and activate this effective conversion lever.

A good example is the food porn videos from Kafkaf and Bon Bouquet Café, which reach tens of thousands of views and bring many customers to the restaurants every day.

👉 A more "contextual" format (by the day or "pinned"), stories are highly effective for reinforcing your storytelling strategy by communicating directly with your customers.

Don't hesitate when you're tagged on one of your customers' stories to repost it on your own account, identifying it! This allows you to pool your followers, attract influencers, but also show that your customers are happy they came to eat at your establishment.

A sign of confidence for potential new customers!

9) Organize contests to raise your profile

Competitions can rapidly grow your audience and increase your online visibility!

The interactive format of contests encourages subscriber participation and engagement. We recommend that you encourage participants to like your publication, follow your establishment page and tag friends.

If the prize turns out to be sufficiently attractive, you can also ask for your publication to be re-shared with a dedicated hashtag. In this way, Deia and Dalia restaurants take advantage of competitions to raise their profile, give pleasure and thank their community:

10) Use the right hashtags to maximize visibility

When posting content to your restaurant's Instagram account, use hashtags. Some people greatly underestimate this practice, thinking it's purely humorous. Not at all! The hashtag is actually a tool.

Hashtags are valued by the Instagram algorithm, which will give your content greater prominence.

... As long as you use them properly!

A hashtag is relevant if it refers to the content in question and illustrates your post.

👉 The two best practices :

• Use precise hashtags that are specific to you. For example, your location, #Paris8 or #Montparnasse, a keyword related to your restaurant like #terrasseausoleil, or a made-up keyword that's specific to you like @teambistrotX etc.
• Use broad culinary hashtags.

For example:

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‍Rangingfrom very broad #s, to more specific hashtags, you thus show that you ' re "playing the game" of a rotation that the algorithm values.

11) Create a hashtag dedicated to your restaurant to anchor its identity

The best example here is Big Mamma, with its hashtags specific to each establishment #PinkMamma, #NapoliGang... which each count thousands of publications. An excellent way to encourage users to specify your restaurant in their posts, and ideal for retrieving authentic content!

12) Publish backstage content to strengthen the bond with your subscribers

In addition to photos of your dishes, don't hesitate to publish behind-the-scenes content about your restaurant. Introduce the members of your team, their personalities, anecdotes, photos of your cooks in action during service... It's rewarding for your teams and helps to accentuate the human side and deepen the closeness with your community.

Example: Dalia restaurant regularly shares content about its team members. Every week, it introduces a new person, their hobbies...

13) Share ephemeral content to generate interest

To attract new customers and build loyalty, you can publish original content on your restaurant Instagram account: special offers, promotions and news, exclusive collaborations...

The scarcity effect makes you want to rush to the post. For example, "A free dessert will be drawn if you tag your BFF".

14) Collaborate with influencers and other industry players for more traffic

A relevant collaboration with an influencer will boost the visibility of your restaurant Instagram account, and ultimately of your restaurant. For a collaboration to be effective, you need to select influencers carefully: "macro" or "micro" influencer, the menu and mindset of your establishment must be in line with the type of content published by the latter.

Using food content creators allows you toraise your profile thanks to the influencer's reputation, resulting in increased traffic to your restaurant and therefore more bookings. And all within an almost immediate timeframe. It's an approach that requires a much lower budget than media advertising. Experienced intermediaries for whom social media holds no secrets. A loyal community that deliberately follows the influencer, and thus an image that is far removed from intrusive advertising.

But it's not just the influencers! With a chef, a brand or another restaurant: collaborations are all the rage! They're becoming a trendy way to promote your restaurant. It's a strategic communications operation that reaches a second audience! And the ephemeral effect of collaborations creates curiosity and a feeling of rarity.

The Plus de Piment group is the perfect example! Present on ephemeral events, an offer in collaboration with a well-known chef, or a piece of music filmed in the restaurant's kitchens.

15) Sponsor your content to reach a wider audience

Instagram offers businesses the opportunity to promote certain publications to reach a wider, targeted audience, in a short space of time and at a reasonable price. A few clicks are all it takes to make your posts visible to thousands of users. Combine this approach with your influencer strategy, which requires more organization!

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So, ready to attack your Instagram account? 💪 We hope you become the new must-have restau on the networks!