Almost 99% of Gen Z and millennials rely on social media and online reviews before deciding where to dine in. This says a lot about why social media is the most preferred marketing platform for restaurants.
You should focus on strategizing your social media content in a way that is appealing to most users. In this blog, we discuss the top 9 social media post ideas for restaurants that can work wonders for you.
Restaurants generally experiment with their social media content to see what works and what doesn’t work for them, which is the right thing to do. However, we’ve listed the 9 best social media post ideas for restaurants to make it easier for you. These ideas can surely help you attract more people to dine in at your restaurant or place takeout orders.
Post idea #1: Sell your menu
Your menu is one of the most important elements to help you with marketing. It shows your restaurant’s specialty and personality, which are integral factors to attract customers. Try having a variety of menu options to fulfill the different savory needs of people. For example, alongside keeping your current menu, show off your specialties including gluten-free menu options, vegetarian or vegan menu options, low-calorie or low-fat menu options, and seasonal or limited-time menu options.
Take high-quality photos and videos of your menus to post them on your social media feed. In your caption, you can ask people to click on the link in the bio section of your profile to learn more about the menus. This can also help you direct more traffic to your website.
Post idea #2: Promote your specials, loyalty programs, and discount coupons
Sometimes you may feel like you’re losing out to third-party ordering platforms. Honestly, people are always looking for the cheapest deals, so why not offer them through your social media?
You can post and promote your discount coupons, weekend offers, loyalty programs, and other special deals on your social media. You can also use this strategy to attract more walk-ins, especially when business hours are slow!
Post idea #3: Host contests with giveaways
Many restaurants have achieved success by running contests and campaigns on their social media. By hosting contests, you can ensure better audience engagement and better brand awareness. Your giveaways or prizes can be free food, coupons, shopping vouchers, or event tickets.
Post idea #4: Make use of special days
There are many days dedicated to food and drinks, which can be included in your social media content calendar. This sort of social media content can get high audience engagement on your page and also improve the number of your followers.
Also Read: Tips For Effective Restaurant Marketing
Post idea #5: Highlight your restaurant’s features
In addition to using high-resolution images, use videos as well of the food prepared in your restaurant’s kitchen. Showcase your restaurant’s set-up, and the interior, and highlight all the other special features like patio dining, artist performances, and more.
For instance, if your restaurant is in the Bay Area and has an amazing ocean view, then highlight it. Make sure to get the best angles of your dining area to make it look irresistible to your potential customers.
Post idea #6: Share your customer images
Your customers are the best source of free publicity for you, and everyone loves user-generated content. Share the best customer photos on your social media, since this can help you attract even more diners to your restaurant.
You can share photos of your dining areas filled with customers enjoying their meals, or feature regular and loyal customers at your restaurant. Most importantly, share at least one customer review each week, especially the flattering ones!
A social media marketing tool like Practina can automatically compile all your customer reviews in one place, create stunning posts out of them, and share them on your social media.
Post idea #7: Reveal all the behind-the-scenes action and show off your team
People are always curious to know about everything that’s going on behind closed doors in a restaurant’s kitchen! You can share videos of your restaurant operations, food prep, and fun work culture. You can promote the hygiene protocols of your restaurant, which can be convincing for people to dine in or order takeout.
Show off the skills of your bartenders by sharing videos of them preparing drinks. Spotlight your employee of the month or other staff members talking about what they like the most about working at your restaurant. This sort of encouragement can work in favor of your restaurant in many ways.
Post idea #8: Post polls and questions
The best way to know your followers is by asking them questions. You can even create interesting polls! This can give you insight into people’s likes and dislikes. Based on the results, you can innovate and incorporate necessary changes in the new menu, dishes, drinks, and offers you plan to come up with.
Post idea #9: Share your support for the local community
Let your followers know about your CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities by sharing all the details on your social media. Post about your collaborations with the local groups and communities. You can extend your help by giving out free food and drink supplies or by volunteering to provide opportunities to those looking for jobs.
A final note
Try having fun with the ideas shared, tweak them as per your preferences, and see your social media game improve. However, juggling the management of your social media and other responsibilities towards your business can get exhausting. You may risk not giving 100% effort towards both in this scenario.
We recommend that you automate your social media marketing with Practina, an intuitive tool that can create, schedule, and publish posts to all your social media accounts at the same time. This marketing platform is integrated with multiple features like automated and scheduled social media posting for your content and reviews, as well as simplified ads.
It has predefined post templates so that you don’t have to worry about creating them. It can even suggest attractive content ideas for your restaurant’s social media to generate maximum audience engagement and create customized branded posts for better brand awareness.
You can get started with Practina today by creating your free account to see how it can increase your restaurant’s exposure.
