Instagram post ideas: the best content for your restaurant

Need ideas for posts on Instagram to boost your brand awareness? How can you turn your page into a real lever for customer acquisition? Make your posts more effective? Increase awareness of your restaurant? Find ideas for daily Instagram posts? Malou tells you all about it in this article!

Which Instagram post ideas work best for a restaurant?

Before talking about post themes, let's start with the most important thing of all: post formats!

Many restaurateurs complain that they can't get off the ground on Instagram. Among the most classic mistakes, the one that persists is the abusive use of formats that perform poorly, such as simple photos. However, between posts, videos, reels and carousels, certain publications are more effective in attracting more customers.

We talk about this in our latest article on new Instagram trends for restaurants. The most effective formats are :

1. ‍ Reels to attract new customers (beyond your page);
2. Carousels to bring back existing customers (your subscribers).

Carousels engage 3 times more than traditional posts and generate 1.4 times more impressions.

In this article, we'll share lots of Instagram carousel ideas to help you communicate about your establishment regularly while diversifying your content.

And to go further? What time should I post? How many times a week? Find all our tips in the infographic👇

Instagram Carousels: the ideal format for creating desire and engaging users

The carousel lets you share up to 10 photos and/or videos in a single publication. It's a godsend for creating even more appetite with more content! A single series of posts that invites you to tell a story, immerse the surfer in your restaurant, make them salivate with different angles of the dish... When a single post can leave a taste of "too little", not enough to convert the surfer.

Like video, carousels give you the opportunity to go deeper into your content, show more of it and arouse the curiosity of your visitors.

But unlike videos and Reels, carousels don't require editing and production time, just attractive, high-quality content.

If you can't call in a professional photographer, it's up to you!

10 Instagram post ideas to showcase your restaurant

1. Conduct a step-by-step tasting (e.g. series of photos)

The more the user scrolls through the images, the more he or she is drawn into the food, as if tasting it for themselves. It's an ideal way to make subscribers salivate, akin to "stop motion" .

👉 Our 4 best examples:

1. The "spoon plant" as Dalmata does in her cappuccino-style tiramisu

2. Reverse tasting (starting at the end), as here with Big Mamma's pavlova.

3. The cut-out (revealing the inside) as shown here for gourmet desserts at Quelquepart

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4. The "pour gourmand" : pour a liquid or make a melted element appear, as here at CUT street food.

2. Highlight volumes from different angles (zoom, etc.).

The user can thus visualize the volume of the plate and its various components.

For example, the top view of a burger doesn't emphasize the deliciousness of its ingredients.

Some dishes therefore deserve to be immortalized from different angles, to bring out the cuts, details, products, etc. , of the dish.

1. Polpo makes the most of every stage in the tasting of his croquetas(filling, inside, dipped in sauce).

2. Flora Danica shares her strawberry dessert from different points of view.

3. Maythai zoom in several on a plate

3. Recreate preparation steps (set-up)

It's an approach that offers Internet users a complete experience. It's like being in the kitchen yourself.

Bricktop shares the steps a pizza maker takes before putting a pizza in the oven.

4. Recreate the "before and after" from product to plate

Carousels allow you to play with the "before/after" effect, or vice versa. Some restaurateurs use them to share a finished dish before discovering the products that come from this beautiful plate.

This technique is excellent for promoting your producers and the quality of their ingredients.

From a refined, worked plate of asparagus, 39V highlights the provenance of the raw product.

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Conversely, the San Sebastian shows how to create a gourmet plate from fresh sardines.

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5. Recount the menu from starter to dessert

The more you scroll through the photos, the more you get into the tasting experience. You can share appetizers, main courses, desserts and accompanying drinks.

Internet users will also be indirectly tempted to take a menu if they visit you.

BMK Paris Bamako shares a series of photos, starting with the appetizer, to the sweet doughnuts, to the side dish of French fries.

6. Bring the visitor inside your restaurant and have a seat at your table.

Carousels allow you not only to give your subscribers a taste, but also to seat them in your establishment, and get a feel for the atmosphere of the place. To do this, you have several options for perspective:

1. Share different areas of your restaurant, as Sir Winston does with his terrace

2. Start with the exterior facade and work your way inside, right down to the decorative details at Dalmata .

3. Sit at Augustine's table and enjoy a glass of champagne

7. Give choice: interact with subscribers to maximize engagement

The different posts can be like multiple choice!

‍Askyour community which options (and therefore photos) their hearts are swinging for. This way, you can start a discussion with them.

Maison Pradier asks web users which desserts they choose.

8. Dedicate a publication to recruitment

Are you recruiting? Use the carousels to display your various vacancies!

Judy's Restaurant is recruiting for a variety of positions and sharing it in one post.

9. Share the steps of a star recipe

Unveil your secrets!

Sharing one of your magical recipes creates a bond of closeness and a feeling of exclusivity.

Carousels invite you to present each step of your recipes, without spoiling the aesthetics of your news feed!

Well-known for its must-try dishes, Big Mamma decided to share a few recipes, such as their famous vitello tonnato.

10. Present restaurant news (events, outings, etc.)

Do you have any upcoming events in your restaurant this month? Have you just released a book? Let us know what's new at your establishment.

‍Fitzroy dedicates a post to the events scheduled each month.

Bao Family takes us inside its new book.

How do you come up with ideas for successful Instagram posts on a daily basis?

To engage your community and win new subscribers, you need to share content that appeals to Internet users and sparks their interest. And you need to do this regularly, to create a real bond with them and anchor your restaurant in their minds.

Posting engaging content on a regular basis will also enhance your standing with the Instagram algorithm, so your posts will gain visibility with web users, be highlighted on subscribers' News Feed but also in the Discovery section. Because Instagram wants to offer its customers the best possible experience! The algorithm values accounts that create value.

To succeed in pleasing not only your community, but also Instagram, you need to keep up with trends on a daily basis and remain constantly in tune with current events, the weather... How? By keeping up to date, subscribing to relevant newsletters and following inspiring accounts. Then publish and feed your page several times a week, at regular intervals.

But how can you find the time to keep an eye on the market, create content and publish it, and do so every day in addition to your job as a restaurateur?

Malou helps you find inspiration without wasting time for everyday Instagram post ideas!

From within the Malou solution, a dedicated tab provides the restaurateur with inspiration for generating content. Here, he finds publications from accounts close to his concept, to be sorted according to their rate of engagement, date, number of likes or comments. And from his dashboard, he has access toa complete calendar of the year's key dates: full of good ideas for his content. Public holidays, symbolic dates of the year such as Bastille Day, Christmas, Autumn and Thanksgiving, as well as more specific events in the world of gastronomy, sport, technology and so on. For example: International French Fry Day, Emoji Day, the Olympic Games, World Photography Day, Oktoberfest... And just as important: the restaurateur can create events specific to his establishment, such as the venue's anniversary.

From a single interface, you can generate content for your Facebook and Instagram pages. Creating and scheduling publications, and previewing your feed, from the Malou interface allows you to anticipate and organize your editorial planning. Upload images, resize them before publishing or scheduling them, as well as automatically rename photos: everything happens on the interface. When creating posts dedicated to social media, the restaurateur adds a caption, a location, can tag accounts, modify the image, insert hashtags, and even duplicate the post for Google in a single click! The restaurateur can also plan and publish carousels, content that is more appreciated not only by web users, but also by the social media algorithm! In this way, they can maintain rigor, avoid regular omissions, take the time to take care of their posts at regular intervals, and publish at key times.

Want to find out more? Contact us! 🔥