Instagram has become the go-to place for millennials and teens to decide where they will be spending their evenings or even their weekends. However, it is not just the millennials who make dinner plans based on their Instagram feed. According to a survey, 60 per cent of adults use Instagram, and 60 per cent of Instagram users have said they have learned of a new brand or product from the app.
Creating an Instagram business profile should be the top priority of any restaurant if they wish to make it big. Instagram has gone from being a social media for teens and millennials to being a platform for businesses worldwide to find potential customers. What better industry than the food industry to use the potential of Instagram to bring in customers?
According to a different survey, 30 per cent of users said they would avoid a restaurant if its Instagram presence were weak. So here are some ways a restaurant can make its presence felt on Instagram and bring in hungry customers through its doors.
Food Bloggers
Invite the famous food bloggers in your area to your restaurant. Gone are the days when the Times’ food critic was the only person who had to be worried about. Now food bloggers post updates from both the most popular and the most obscure restaurants. By bringing food bloggers into your restaurant, you get their followers and free publicity.
Some food bloggers and influencers will charge you for their services, while some may even come in for free. Remember that the more the number of followers, the more customers you are likely to get. Ply them with free food and drinks, and don’t forget to bring out your specials.
Contests and competitions
Running contests is a great way to get more followers on Instagram. Run different contests to get a wide variety of customers to participate. Prizes should always include an opportunity to visit the restaurant, such as a gift card and goodie bag or an invite to a special event. Also, have smaller presents for other participants like free drinks coupons for the first 20 people to participate or a free appetizer.
Great captions on Instagram
A general rule of thumb is that your food pictures have to be great. However, to make it stand out even better, include creative captions. Pick a tone that you can use across your posts and keep the message simple. For example, a witty post is more likely to go viral than a descriptive one.
Schedule posts
The best Instagram posts are not always the most random ones. Good businesses have good posts lined up and schedule them according to the times they are most likely to get viewed. Use a scheduling tool to make the most of the time research. Instagram doesn’t schedule posts on the app itself, so the best way to deal with this is to set the alarm on your phone to remind you to post that picture you have planned for this afternoon. Remember, you can always keep your captions and hashtags pre-typed and copy-paste them.
Hashtags
Hashtags are a vital part of Instagram, so use them. A post can have up to 24 hashtags, which means your visibility will increase substantially. Keep the hashtags you regularly use pre-typed on your phone, making it easy to copy-paste anytime you want to post and add other relevant hashtags to that particular post on top of these.
We hope our tips help step up your restaurant’s Instagram game.
