Restaurant: the complete guide to success on social media (in 8 steps!)

8 times out of 10, a customer first chooses a restaurant on the Internet. There's no doubt about it: for restaurateurs, it's all about online. Just after the essential referencing platforms (La Fourchette, Yelp, TripAdvisor...), social media are themost important tools for implementing a digital communications strategy for a restaurant.

How do you make your mark on the networks? Should I use Facebook or Instagram? What are their advantages? This guide provides an overview.

Why use social media for your restaurant?

In just a few years, social media has invaded the foodservice sector.

Facebook, Instagram or even Tik Tok, they represent a huge opportunity for a restaurant because :

• Food" is one of the Internet users' favorite themes;‍

1 in 5 people share at least one photo of what they're eating with friends and family every month, and 300,000 people visit at least one restaurant page every day. Simply put: your potential customers are online ! It would be a shame not to go and find them where they are.

• Networks are one of the first points of contact between your restaurant and its customers;

What do you do when you hear about a restaurant? You search for it online. Just like a Google My Business listing , a restaurant's Instagram or Facebook page is the first thing people see about you. These digital showcases can convince a web surfer to come to you.

• The social media website can boost an establishment's reputation;

Many restaurants have made a name for themselves solely on Instagram. All it takes is a well-written post, a collaboration or a mention from a food influencer for an establishment to sell out in a matter of days. Some restaurants, like the incredible PNY (Paris New York), have mastered the art of using Instagram to the point of creating a community of fans.

• Visit social media to keep in touch with your community;

Posts, stories, real... All this content animates your "community", informing it about your news and making it want to come back. Even more impactful, the networks are an opportunity to tell the story behind your restaurant: your teams, your products, your history, your daily routine...

• Investing in networks pays off: they can boost your bookings !

‍Whileimplementing a digital communications strategy is tedious and time-consuming for many restaurateurs, they're adamant that the return on investment is real.

93% of restaurateurs surveyed considered the time invested in social media to be worthwhile, and 52% reported an increase in sales.(Source)

At Malou, our Earnings feature allows you to precisely measure the revenues and time saved thanks to digital marketing.

Simply put: a community management strategy is now essential to a restaurant's success.

💡 Community management refers to the strategic management of an establishment's social media . In the restaurant industry, hundreds of "community manager" positions open up every year.

Which social media to use for a restaurant?

At Malou, we like efficiency. Rather than being everywhere at once, it's better to choose a network and be regular.

The two networks that generate the most revenue and visibility for our customers are Facebook and Instagram.

1. Facebook

With over 3 billion users, Facebook remains the world's most popular network.

The majority audience: men aged 25 to 34, representing 18.4% of global users. 

Gradually abandoned by young people, Facebook is still very popular with the 40-50 age group.

Facebook helps restaurateurs :

1. Targetmiddle-aged customers;
2. Animate a community with dedicated posts and private messages;
3. Publish sponsored posts (the famous Facebook advertising campaigns);
4. Offer a"reservation" function.

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💫 To find out more, discover our 10 tips for maximizing your restaurant's visibility on Facebook !

2. Instagram

The influencer network par excellence, Instagram boasts 1.3 billion monthly users .

Instagram is essential for restaurateurs because:

1. It is THE culinary network for all food influencers;
2. It allows us to reach a younger, trendier clientele (complementary to Facebook);
3. It allows you to sponsor your posts to make yourself known.

💫 To go further, discover our 15 tips for optimizing your restaurant's Instagram.

👉 Already have Instagram but struggling to get your account off the ground? To go further, download our free e-book "Le Petit Guide Instagram du Restaurateur"!

🔥 Out of inspiration? 

Take advantage of our 35 Real Ideas and best post ideas for Instagram.

7 steps to success on social media

1) Create an editorial calendar

This is THE first reflex that will enable you to create posts effortlessly! Especially if you lack inspiration.

A calendar lets you plan your posts in advance for :

• The major events of the year (Christmas, the 31st, Easter, Candlemas, etc.);
• The year's theme days (Cheese Day, Italy Day, Planet Day, International Women's Day...)

At Malou, we have created a social media 2024 calendar to help you prepare your ideas!

2) Draw inspiration from the best

For your page to be highlighted by the algorithm of a social network (Facebook or Instagram), it's best to post on a regular basis (i.e. several times a week). This indicates that your restaurant is active. In this case, inspiration can sometimes be lacking.

Our advice: take a look at what the competition is producing. And above all, the best!

Like the top 20 restaurant Instagram accounts. 

On the MalouApp, we even offer a section dedicated to monitoring trends and the competition.

To be effective on Instagram and Facebook, it's essential to be inspired by what others are doing, to keep abreast of what's going on around you, and to apply these best practices to your own social strategy.

You can also take a look at what's happening in all the other sectors (arts, crafts, beauty, etc.). These new uses can stimulate your imagination and create different content (e.g. a trend on Tik Tok).

3) Please the algorithm with formats that attract customers

Another tip is to keep up to date with the latest algorithms.

Do you post photos from time to time and not see any results? That's normal! Some formats have a much higher conversion rate than others!

Just take the example of stories. This social format, originally developed by Snapchat, has become established on Instagram and then on Facebook. Result: the story format is now evolving 15 times faster than posts. Same evolution today for Reels or Threads!

To know exactly which formats to use for your restaurant, use our article " 6 secrets to boost your restaurant on Instagram ".

4) Build a unique identity

For a community management strategy to be effective, it's still important, even before launching your restaurant's Instagram account, to put into words the singular identity of your establishment.

What are its qualities? What are its weaknesses? What makes this place unique? Why would you want to walk through the door rather than another?

These are just some of the questions you need to answer before embarking on this social adventure. These are the questions you need to ask yourself before embarking on this social adventure.

There's little point in copying what's being done around you. It will keep you on the sidelines, but won't have enough impact to stand out from the sea of competitors on these platforms.

Stand out from the crowd: humor (puns, hashtags), values (ecology, terroir). Give your teams a nickname (e.g. "La Squadra" at Big Maman), highlight a star dish or unique dessert (Donald Trump cheesecake at PNY), showcase your decor or interior...

5) Observe the statistics of your actions

The application of these principles would be meaningless without regular monitoring of the results! The social media website is the perfect place to try, test and take risks. The aim is to understand what works and what is less effective.

Instagram and Facebook offer a host of tools for this purpose, and it would be a shame to do without them. The number of likes on your posts is not enough to analyze.

Which publications were most effective?

What was the reach of these publications? How many interactions were made on his account? How many people discovered his profile? How many people called the restaurant, visited its website, sent an e-mail thanks to Instagram? Who are his restaurant's subscribers (age, location, gender...)? What are the habits of its community (when do they log on to Instagram...)... So much information to which Instagram and Facebook give access and which enables you to adjust your social strategy, to reproduce successes or, on the contrary, to avoid repeating failures.

6) Building a global strategy: local referencing

‍Aswe said, 80% of French people choose a restaurant on the Internet. This means they first come across your restaurant's listing, which is the first validation step (average rating on Google, number of reviews, review content, etc.).

Then, as a second step, visitors can check out the quality of the establishment on Instagram or Facebook.

Your first objective is therefore to arrive first in the search results to be found as quickly as possible!

For example, when a customer searches for "restaurant nearby", or your own keywords, "brunch Paris 13", "brasserie Lyon avec terrasse, etc."

To improve your local referencing :

1. The first step is to list your restaurant on the right platforms (Tripadvisor, La Fourchette or Yelp);
2. Then, think about the relevant keywords and position yourself on them to appear in the first Google results.

To go further and work on your restaurant's SEO, take advantage of our free e-book below!

7) Use influencers

For a community management strategy to be effective, it must be accompanied by an influencer marketing strategy. This means that restaurateurs have every interest in working alongside the most relevant Instagram professionals.

By approaching food or lifestyle influencers with values close to your own, you can reach a much wider audience and use Instagram as a customer acquisition tool rather than just a shop window. Influencers who have had a good time at the establishment share publications within their social media, particularly on Instagram (in the form of stories or posts).

Their main characteristic is to maintain a close, trusting relationship with their audience, making them excellent ambassadors for the brands or companies they work with. Obtaining content on the Instagram accounts of several Instagrammers with communities close to your own, enables you to extend your visibility to millions of potential prospects.

We saw this with Pizzou, a 100% French pizzeria we worked with when it opened: we organized a special influencer evening one month after its opening, and the result was clear. The day after the event, the restaurant recorded its best ever sales figures, thanks to the content dedicated to the restaurant published by influencers.

8) Don't neglect traditional media

Last but not least, the traditional media remain particularly relevant relays for restaurants. Establishing a press relations strategy with culinary journalists can help your establishment gain notoriety and credibility.

Soliciting journalists to visit the restaurant complements an influencer marketing strategy. If they've been won over by the restaurant's universe, they'll write an article about it for their media outlet. This promises particularly high visibility for the restaurant, as well as strong brand awareness.

What's next?

"Many restaurateurs think it's essential to have a presence on social media... And they're right ! What's more, it's essential to stay constantly alert on these social platforms. Facebook and Instagram are constantly evolving Facebook and Instagram are constantly evolving: habits change very quickly, trends change just as quickly, and competition is fierce. Keeping abreast of new features and adopting them enables you to stay up to date and stand out from the crowd. Finally, while we're talking here only about Facebook and Instagram, which have established themselves in recent years as the two giants of social media, it's also important to keep an eye out for appearances from outside these platforms. Let's not forget that Snapchat, creator of stories, has already fallen into oblivion among the over-25s, that Facebook has given way to Instagram on social to focus on more professional use, and that Tik Tok ... How will today's social media be used in 3, 5, 10 years' time? We'll only have these answers thanks to constant monitoring and attention to new uses!"

Valentine Cuzin, journalist @Malou