Restaurant Marketing on Instagram: Tips and Examples

May 29, 2019 5 min read

Social media strongly influences customer behavior. In fact, brands can be built on social media channels. Similarly, established brands use social media to build recognition and increase sales. The restaurant industry is heavily influenced by this trend. There are several ways to approach social media for restaurants and Instagram is one of the most popular platforms for food photos. It’s simple to use and allows you to connect directly to your customers and better your brand.

Here are some tips to take your Instagram presence to the next level, along with businesses doing it right:

6 Tips to Improve Your Restaurant Marketing on Instagram

Focus on the first impression. A platform like this requires creativity and innovation. Here are a few tips to improve your instagram marketing:

Post content on a regular basis – If you want your customers to connect with your brand and be consistently aware of it, post regularly. Maintain a schedule and be consistent to help gain new followers.
Post quality content – The restaurant industry is competitive on Instagram. Posting quality photos and videos will increase your visitor engagement and consequently gain you more followers.
Don’t be too “salsey” – You can post new dishes to built interest, but be subtle about how you message. It comes across more genuine if you share content from a conversational angle rather than a salesy one.
Interact with your followers – Interact with your customers! This will demonstrate the human nature of your brand. It will make you more approachable among customers.
Use your story – Instagram Stories are a newer but but useful feature. It helps you communicate with customers in a different way. Instagram Stories provide a great opportunity to play with different elements that make photos and videos more interesting.
Run targeted ads – Ads are a great way to expose your brand to people with similar interests to your customers. These people are your potential customers and can easily be turned into regular ones.

Examples from Top Restaurants on Instagram

Taco Bell
Taco Bell’s social media presence has always been ahead of the curve. Taco Bell chose a creative way to display their food and brand position on Instagram. Targeting the younger demographic, they often leverage experiential photos and humor.

View this post on Instagram

Tacos aren’t just for Tuesdays. #TacoAnyDay #reBellion

A post shared by Taco Bell (@tacobell) on Apr 24, 2019 at 6:25pm PDT

Piada Italian Street Food
Piada Italian Street Food has a classic take on their Instagram profile. They know what people like and they stick to it. Pasta, pasta, and more pasta! The brand posts frequently and their photos and videos are high-quality. This tells their audience that their food is high quality as well. They also interact with their audience occasionally and are not “salsey” on their posts.

View this post on Instagram

?BOGO Alert? New meatballs are here and we’re celebrating this Meatball Madness all day on Friday (3/8) with a BOGO! Buy a meatball entrée, get any entrée FREE. Show or mention this post to the cashier to redeem. Spread the word to your friends! *while supplies last*
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A post shared by PIADA Italian Street Food (@piadaitalianstreetfood) on Mar 7, 2019 at 12:04pm PST

Shake Shack
Shake Shack is a great example of embracing everything the customer base cares about. For example, a new initiative to eliminate plastic straws is emphasized. Photos are high-quality and food is always at the center of attention. Shake Shack also has story highlights.

View this post on Instagram

Sip your heart out… We’re excited to share that we’re eliminating plastic straws + rolling out compostable, plant-based straws to our U.S. Shacks! Environmentally conscious business practices are at our core, and we’re constantly thinking about how we can reduce, reuse + make more of our packaging earth-friendly. Our shake + beer cups are also made from biodegradable, plant-based materials. We use soy ink for the printing on our packaging. Most of our paper comes from recycled sources. We know we’ve got more work to do, but we’re pumped to take this next step in helping to protect the environment + making our Shacks a little greener. ?? #shakeshack #earthday

A post shared by SHAKE SHACK (@shakeshack) on Apr 22, 2019 at 1:27pm PDT

Dominos
Let’s face it. It’s hard to mess up an Instagram account dedicated to pizza, but Dominos goes beyond that. Their frequent posting schedule and vibrant photos make their account a delight. On top of that, they often use popular slang and speak to their young audience in a way that feels closer and more personal.

View this post on Instagram

TAG a friend who would totally do this. In case anything happens to your ? on the way home, our Carryout Insurance has you covered. Just bring it back to the store and we’ll remake it for FREE.

A post shared by Domino’s Pizza (@dominos) on May 19, 2019 at 4:00pm PDT

Author Bio: Ujëbardha Bekolli is passionate about lifelong learning and self-development. She writes for Kiwi, a restaurant LMS that aims to help restaurant owners train their staff in an easier and more effective way. Moreover, they offer online training courses for different Restaurant services.

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