10 Social Media Content Ideas For Restaurants [2024]

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February 12th, 2022

Did you know that 45% of the diners in the US of America reported first-time visitors after coming across a social media post by the restaurant? Well, it's true. In that survey, 74% of respondents of the study say that they trust those establishments more and are likely to visit or order from them. But social media is not limited to just that. When it comes to a restaurant's social media marketing, content ideas are plenty when you know to put on your creative hats. If you want to take your restaurant to soar heights, you must feature content ideas for restaurants.

Authenticity is the key. You must have come across strategies about how to launch a restaurant on social media. Well, not just launching, you can broaden your online reach through social media marketing and attract more customers to your diner.

If you are all buckled up, put on your creative hats and read through this blog to learn more about different Instagram content ideas for restaurants, as well as for other social media platforms.

But why does social media matter so much in terms of increasing the customer base for restaurants? After all, it revolves around pay-per-click advertising today at the end of the day. You aren't quite completely right there!

It is vital to mix organic publishing with PPC campaigns on various social media platforms as a restaurant owner. These two are crucial components of increasing the digital presence and elevating the business to new heights.

Additionally, they are resourceful in increasing your digital footprint. Almost 99% of the millennials and Gen Z customers depend on social media for testimonials and are pretty adept with the importance of reviews in this industry.

So, without any further ado, let's hop into learning the various ideas of social media content for restaurants.

Fortunately, social media is an established industry, and you can draw content ideas for restaurants by looking around you. You may still be in the dark and have not yet recognized the potential. Why not look at this list of content ideas for restaurants to kick-start with your social media presence?

It is one of the most popular and effective tools to use your restaurant's channel to share cooking tips and tricks along with recipes with your social media community. Doing so provides value to your followers on social media.

This type of content is very useful for people stuck at home and who want to cook restaurant-worthy food at home. See how ShakeShack shared the recipe of their black truffle burger along with an amazing video-

Alternatively, you can share a picture of a dish on Instagram and link the recipe in your bio. Or, you could create a photo bucket and post it on IG for your followers to go through the recipes. Another great idea to share recipes, tips, and tricks of cooking can be uploading a video of the chef cooking some of the best recipes of your restaurant.

This would promote your cookbook AND your menu.

2. Display Your Skills

Is your restaurant popular enough for your chef, mixologist, or barista? Then you could use these skills to expand your online community and engagement. Consider turning these brilliant skills behind the counter into professional aptitude and performance art. People love to watch such stuff and get easily amused!

Your chef could stir and flick some sautéed veggies dramatically, or the mixologist could display their bartending skills, or you could display your barista design with a bit of cappuccino foam. Capture all of it into a film or reel and upload it on social media platforms. You would see the numbers going crazy on these posts.

3. Introduce Your Staff to Your Followers

Your staff is your greatest asset. They are the primary capital of your business, without whom you could not have put up such a big establishment. Leverage their talents, expertise, and personalities by sharing posts about them.

Your customers would love to know the staff who makes the establishment so great. Your team deserves to be in the spotlight for who they are and what they do. Create posts that your employees are likely to engage with and share with their networks. This would boost the post's engagement and reach and develop quite the recognition.

Content ideas for restaurants in terms of introducing the staff could include sharing a photo of the chef with their specialty dish. Or showcasing the school pride of your staff members and making announcements about their educational and other accomplishments in life. Customers are drawn towards establishments that work as a community, knit together, and treat their customers alike.

Do you have a massive community on Facebook but only a few followers on Instagram? Then use your most popular social media handle to promote the rest of your social media platforms. The greater touchpoints you can build, the better it would be for your restaurant's reach. And there is no better way to do it than to approach social media.

See how Taco bell is nailing it-

5. Show Your Followers Footages from Behind-the-Scenes

Customers love to watch glimpses of the inner workings of your restaurant. Behind-the-scenes footage and pictures are entertaining enough for the customers and acquaint them with how you do what you do.

One good example is Dominos; they shared a video of a pizza being topped in 14 seconds. They not only shared how clean their working conditions are but also indicated how fast their entire system is.

It can be a simple picture of connecting with a local vendor or farmer, your favourite staff tradition, holiday staff gatherings, motivational slogans followed in the restaurant, etc. Alternatively, you can show glimpses of your preparation for a popular dish that people go nuts about. This increases their curiosity to learn about the secret ingredient. But hey, don't disclose it!

Read your customers for their potential. As you do some digging, you'd find beautiful pictures taken by customers and shared on social media. Seek their permission simply via comment and reshare their posts, retweet, or repost their content on your page.

You can hunt the platform of Instagram to find such user-generated content, conduct a hashtag search (they're incredibly useful), Facebook or Twitter search with your restaurant's name, or look for tags on various social media handles.

And the simplest approach to implement the idea of resharing user-generated content is to ask. Running a social media contest would even do magic.

7. Show Off Your Signature Dishes

Amazing pictures can resonate with the viewers. And restaurants can absolutely earn the benefits out of it. Producing a mouth-watering photo is an art, and your potential customers to please so that they are convinced to visit your restaurant by looking scrolling through your social media posts.

One good example of this is Sweet Green’s Instagram handle; they leave no chance to flex their signature dishes and make their audience hungry.

Another great idea like previously mentioned here is to shoot behind-the-scenes and post it on social media. When people view the process of making the popular dishes of your restaurant, they feel connected to your restaurant and find value in visiting your restaurant.

Uploading video content will also raise the reach of your restaurant's profile, target a new audience, and engage a broader online community.

8. Feature Customer Reviews

Reviews profoundly impact the restaurant business. A negative review can prevent a customer from revisiting your restaurant. Often, small restaurant owners avoid responding to online reviews. However, it is crucial to respond to Yelp, Zomato, Trip Advisor, or Google reviews.

Respond equally to positive and negative reviews. You already know to oblige when you receive a positive review. But respond promptly and politely to negative reviews, apologize, and express your regret for the inconvenience and their poor experience.

You can even send a gift card to the critic, hoping they'll come back again and you'd be able to make up for the loss.

The main aim is to show every customer that you value their opinion, whether positive or negative.

9. Show Off Restaurant Features

Restaurants come under the hospitality industry. Show off your restaurant features, unique paintings, or specialties, making visiting your restaurant worth it.

10. Focus on Holidays or Create Your Own

Various holidays top off the holiday list today. You can think out of the box and use or create one. It can be as creative as "Bring Your Mother to Lunch Day" or any other such quirky day. Customers who enjoy your humour would enjoy tasting the various dishes on the menu on that particular day.

One great example is when Wing Stop created "National Beer Day" and posted it on social media. You could see a huge turnout that day.

Creativity is the trick to creating your own holidays. If you are a local restaurateur, wear your creative hat and find a holiday that relates to the emotions of the local people.

However, if you don’t want to create new holidays, you can try being creative like Subway by wishing on holidays in your brand’s way.

Wrapping Up

Restaurants thrive better when they connect with their community outside. Social media is the most prevalent way to do that. Creating quality content can be challenging but is crucial to establishing a solid online presence for better engagement and greater reach.

Remember, consistency is key to maintaining an excellent online presence that drives organic traffic to your content. Social media content ideas for restaurants aren't limited but are available in bulk. The trick is to do some digging and get to work!

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meet the author

Samantha Walls

I'm Sam Walls, COO of Starter Story - a platform and community for entrepreneurs and future founders to learn what it takes to build a great business. I joined the Starter Story team approximately 3 years ago, with the goal of providing our readers with the best, most valuable, and inspirational content on the internet.

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Why Is Social Media Important For Restaurants?

Best Social Media Content Ideas for Restaurants

1. Share Recipes and Cooking Tips