21 Instagram tips for restaurants

Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms. Everyone from new businesses to market-leading brands puts considerable effort into its marketing opportunities. An active Instagram presence is especially important for restaurants because the platform focuses primarily on visuals and attracting attention through photographs. If you want to make your restaurant better known and more popular, read our advice on getting more from this marketing channel. Our ideas can help you discover opportunities and turn greater popularity into more revenue.

1. Complete your profile

This may seem basic, but many people leave their profile incomplete or provide only a few details about their restaurant. Be consistent. Use the same name as on Facebook and the same information as on your website and other profiles. Include your exact address, phone number, website and opening hours. Remember to describe the type of restaurant. Use a sentence or list to explain what guests can expect and what makes you special, for example Traditional Italian pizzeria in the heart of Szeged; Breakfast and brunch restaurant for lovers of gourmet food; or Buffet lunch and dinner; room hire; corporate and family events; cocktail bar; live music. Follow this with your own hashtags and other links. Finally, use your restaurant logo or the same image you use elsewhere as your profile picture.

2. Create your own hashtags

Create hashtags guests can use when tagging you. Include your unique hashtag in your bio, the introduction on your restaurant profile, so people can find it straight away, and ask guests to use your hashtags. Turn your restaurant name, slogan and distinctive qualities into hashtags to make it easier for people to find you. For example, if you run a Japanese sushi restaurant called Hana, use the restaurant name, #hanarestaurant, your slogan, #atasteofjapan, and other relevant hashtags such as #hanasushi. Hashtags let you follow all the content guests create. Occasional promotions can encourage their use. Offer a discount to guests who include your unique hashtag in their photo posts. The more people use your hashtag on Instagram, the more easily others can discover you!

3. Use hashtags

It is not enough for guests to use the hashtags you created. You need to use them consistently too. Add relevant, appropriate hashtags to every post so Instagram's algorithm can identify your target audience and recommend the post to people with similar interests. Avoid generic hashtags such as #restaurant and use #restaurantszeged instead. Choose terms specifically related to restaurants, such as dish names, ingredients and words connected with dining and gastronomy, so Instagram does not confuse your audience with a completely different one. End posts with at least 8-10 hashtags to target your photos or videos more precisely.

4. Take photos, photos and more photos!

Well-composed photographs can take your branding to a new level! Photos remain at the centre of this popular platform, so keep adding new ones to your feed. Most smartphones now take excellent pictures and let you post immediately, without professional equipment. Flat lay photography is a major trend, showing tastefully arranged dishes and decorations from above. Make sure you photograph the dishes on your menu and new dishes coming soon. Remember impressive furnishings and ornaments too, as these convey the restaurant's atmosphere.

5. Introduce your new menu

Upload your updated seasonal menus as swipeable images. Add mouth-watering photos of new dishes and show followers what to expect when they order. Presenting new dishes matters to both returning and new guests. Regulars often order familiar favourites and hesitate to try something new. A photo can persuade them, as tempting presentation encourages a different choice. People who have never visited may be drawn in by a speciality they cannot try anywhere else.

6. Take people behind the scenes

Make your Instagram feed more interesting by sharing videos of your team alongside food photos. Film a few seconds of them at work and give viewers a glimpse of kitchen processes. You can also use Instagram Reels, which lets you record videos of up to 30 seconds and add music for extra entertainment. Instagram users enjoy spontaneous, authentic content that makes them feel they are discovering something special. Stay professional and creative, and show the moments that make your team likeable!

7. Post about your regulars

Your regular guests can appear on your Instagram profile too. Ask whether they would like to be in a photo for your business profile. Most guests see appearing on their favourite restaurant's feed as recognition. A well-composed group photo during dinner can show a great atmosphere and make clear that your guests matter to you and you care about them. Those pictured will probably enjoy looking back at the Instagram photo and visiting again.

8. Post about your team

Guests want to know who is on your team, who prepares their food and who serves them. Introducing employees also shows appreciation by recognising that they are essential team members. Post a photograph and briefly explain who they are, their role and how long they have worked with you. Add a personal detail, such as their favourite dish on the menu. Introducing your team can improve the audience's opinion of your restaurant.

9. Create a distinctive, Instagram-friendly brand symbol

Anything people might pick up on Instagram can become a successful marketing idea. Create something that fits your restaurant's theme, is easy to photograph and looks striking and unique. Think of simple things such as branded table accessories, custom coffee stencils or unusually shaped biscuits served with coffee. Anything that improves presentation and connects with your brand can work. Guests can share photos on Instagram, becoming brand ambassadors and attracting new visitors. Instagram's success lies in content spreading between users. A creative enough idea can reach huge numbers of people for very little investment.

10. Create Story Highlights

Story Highlights are another essential part of a restaurant's Instagram profile. They primarily address people who have already found your profile and want to learn more. These highlighted, pinned stories bring together your restaurant's most important content and news and work like ordinary stories. Decide what you want the world to see in your restaurant's photo and video introduction, then upload it as highlighted content. Group photos of popular dishes, team photos and videos, short videos capturing the atmosphere, the menu, positive feedback and other key information into separate themed stories. This presents the main information about your restaurant neatly and by topic. Remember that first impressions matter most!

11. Work with influencers and bloggers

Food is hugely popular on Instagram, so it is no surprise that so many influencers and bloggers recommend restaurants, publish recipes and share personal experiences. Influencers have large followings, making mutually beneficial partnerships worthwhile. Your budget and aims determine the form of cooperation. The more followers an influencer has, the more you should expect to spend. Micro-influencers can also deliver striking results, with discounted or free meals forming the basis of the partnership. Aim to get as much positive content as possible to your target audience through influencers who know the restaurant world.

12. Run giveaways

Everyone enjoys a game, even on Instagram! Holding one a few times a year can attract more new visitors and potential followers to your profile. Games increase existing followers' engagement and bring almost organic growth in profile visits. Time them around upcoming holidays or a new menu launch. Write the rules, ask a question, and invite people to answer, share the post, upload a photo of their visit, like your page or participate in another way. Draw a winner and reward them with a dinner, gift voucher or hamper, anything directly connected with your restaurant!

13. Run Story polls

It is worth posting an Instagram Story every day, with varied stories, photos and videos. Use interactive Story options, such as polls on new menu items. Ask visitors which coffee flavour they prefer, which of two dishes they would choose, or which of two toppings they would rather have on their pizza. The possibilities are endless and users enjoy this kind of content! Polls are a great way to ask guests for their views, learn what they prefer and discover how to make your service more satisfying. You can get this information in a single day without much effort or persuasion.

14. Share guests' content

These days, hardly a day passes in a restaurant without at least one guest photographing and posting their food. When you see an Instagram post tagging your restaurant, ask its creator for permission to share it on your profile. Guests' photos add variety, build trust and reassure prospective visitors that you are worth a visit. Seeing their photo on the restaurant's official page makes the original photographer proud and strengthens their loyalty.

15. Comment on guests' content

Whenever guests tag your restaurant in a post or comment on your own content, take the opportunity to reply. Show appreciation with the ❤ button, thank them for the photo and positive feedback, and say you look forward to welcoming them again. Staying in touch makes online interactions more personal, strengthens customer loyalty and even helps the algorithm. You can reward particularly good content with a complimentary dessert on the creator's next visit. Their gratitude is sure to follow!

16. Use Live

Live broadcasts have remained popular since they appeared. They are a very important marketing tool for increasing awareness of your restaurant. Events, birthdays and special occasions are particularly good times to go live and show the atmosphere. You can, of course, go live whenever you have information or an announcement to share, or when a prominent guest is visiting. Before broadcasting, tell guests on the premises what you are doing and ask their permission to film.

17. Use humour

If a cheerful tone suits your restaurant, occasionally post jokes, inspirational lines or amusing themed memes. Instagram marketing does not always have to be serious. Most followers appreciate humour that brightens their day. Inside jokes and challenges completed with colleagues can be very entertaining and suggest a happy, well-functioning team behind the delicious food. Good-natured fun supports your credibility and reputation.

18. Plan around international celebration days

Include food and drink celebration days when planning your marketing. Well-known and lesser-known occasions can inspire relevant, interesting content. Coffee, pizza, hamburgers, Prosecco, Nutella, tortellini and even vanilla ice cream have their own international days! Many other international days may interest you too. Valentine's Day, St Martin's Day and Friendship Day are obvious examples that readily lend themselves to special content. Link an event, promotion or amusing post to the occasion, create a hashtag and watch it spread on social media!

19. Stick to your chosen colour palette

Instagram marketing relies heavily on visuals. To give your profile a consistent look, choose a particular shade for your content and include it as often as possible. Match it to your restaurant's style, taking inspiration from the furniture, decorations and wall colours. If your restaurant has emerald-green furniture, for example, that colour should appear in your photos, perhaps in a subtle decoration. Try to use the same filters, at least for related content. The aim is a tidy, consistent, coherent Instagram profile.

20. Create an Instagram-friendly photo wall

Set aside an area in your restaurant with an exciting, unique, creative backdrop for guests. An attractive, striking background encourages visitors to pose for photos. Include your logo and offer creative selfie props. Good photos invariably end up on Instagram, and the people posting them almost always tag the restaurant where they were taken. Selfies are very popular among young people, and these pictures attract younger visitors to restaurants. A few changes can give your restaurant substantial exposure and free advertising through your guests' enthusiasm.

21. Plan your content

Planning posts in advance makes online marketing much easier. You might dedicate the same day each week to a theme, for example food photos on Mondays, staff content on Tuesdays and table reservations on Wednesdays. Themes make content production easier to organise and oversee. You can also plan further ahead, scheduling annual promotions and adding celebration days, important holidays and seasonal offers to your calendar. Use Instagram's scheduling options to prepare posts for the coming days and weeks and save time!

Instagram offers countless ways to promote restaurants and bistros. Its striking, immediate visual format captures users' attention within moments. Today it is hard to imagine a hospitality business absent from this world-famous platform, so we recommend making time to use this free service. Staying in touch with guests and creating mouth-watering content are essential to attracting committed, loyal visitors. Follow our advice, create your Instagram account or improve your existing content with our ideas to grow revenue cost-effectively!

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