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Social Media for Restaurants: A Guide for Beginners

People using their phones to snap pictures of food, sharing their culinary delights on social media.
Idil Aras
Idil Aras
February 27, 2023

According to data compiled by Statista, there are 4.14 billion active internet users around the world, of which 3.96 billion regularly use social media. This is not only a number but also potential clients for many different industries. Especially for restaurants, social media has a great impact on the purchase behaviors of customers. The research set by MGH indicates that approximately half (45%) of American diners visited a restaurant for the first time, affected by its social media posts. In addition, 22% of respondents said that a restaurant's social media post encouraged them to come back.

Best Social Media Platforms for a Restaurant

For restaurants, using social media is a way to show their own identity. Creating social media accounts allows them to present their products in an aesthetic and attractive way. Restaurants can also announce their events or announce changes in opening hours or additional locations to keep their customers informed. Plus, customers can easily give feedback and make reservations through social media. All these communication possibilities and attractive content created by social media increase the customers' willingness to stop by.

Here are the best social media platforms for restaurants:

Instagram

Social Media Today indicates that 30% of millennial diners actively avoid restaurants with a weak Instagram presence.

For restaurants' Instagram use, the first thing they should do is set it up as a business account.

With this feature, restaurants can rearrange their menu based on customers’ feedback.

Restaurants can also use Instagram to showcase their daily deals, events, and promotions and keep their followers updated.

Creating Instagram stories to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant is a way of producing employee-generated content. This behind-the-scenes content helps establish brand identity and showcase authenticity. In addition, the restaurant can use Instagram to collaborate with influencers and other businesses in its community to expand its reach and gain new followers.

Facebook

A Facebook account for restaurants is one of the easiest ways to manage social media platforms. On Facebook, restaurateurs don’t have to post content too often, and they don’t have to have too many aesthetically pleasing photos. The most important thing on Facebook is to have a professional cover photo and to add a link, including a digital menu of the restaurant for online orders and announcements of special offers so that your customers can easily recognize your brand and click on the link to attend your events and make a reservation.

Pinterest

Restaurateurs can create boards for different types of food and drink and pin pictures of their menus. Being able to access the restaurant's menu is very important for customers to stop into a restaurant. Through Pinterest, restaurant owners can showcase the atmosphere and décor of their establishment by creating pinboards with images of the dining room, outdoor seating area, and other unique features of the restaurant. This is also a good way to attract the attention of customers.

TikTok

More than 40% of companies using TikTok use it alongside influencer marketing campaigns, and 49% of TikTok users say the app helps them in their purchasing decisions. The way food is presented an important visual experience for customers. How the food is prepared or how it tastes generates viral reactions on social media platforms. TikTok has great potential for restaurants to go viral these days. Restaurants can create videos of their products by using TikTok features such as philters, music and effects to make their videos more engaging and visually appealing. They can also use hashtags to increase visibility and reach a wider audience. This way, these videos can go viral with the help of the TikTok algorithm, which recommends similar content when users see and like it.

Complete the Digital Journey with FineDine

Nowadays, people use social media to find out about a restaurant's menu, feel the atmosphere of the place where they can dine, and see the food they would like to eat. Many users say they choose a restaurant when they can access and see the online menu. Thanks to FineDine, restaurants have the opportunity to create their own authentic and attractive digital menu. With the help of FineDine's digital menu feature, restaurants can be informed about their customers' feedback.