In today’s world, social media marketing for restaurants is just as important as the food you serve. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter aren’t just for sharing photos—they’re powerful tools for attracting customers, building relationships, and keeping your restaurant top-of-mind.
A strategic approach to restaurant social media marketing not only boosts visibility but also fosters engagement, increases foot traffic, and reinforces your restaurant’s brand.
But where do you start? No worries! We’ve put together proven strategies to help your restaurant stand out on social media.
From leveraging user-generated content to crafting an irresistible social media strategy, this guide provides everything you need to establish a robust online presence and attract loyal customers with actionable restaurant social media marketing tips.
Why your Restaurant needs Social Media Marketing?

Let’s face it—if your restaurant isn’t active on social media, you’re practically invisible. You can’t afford to ignore it anymore. Here’s why:
Here’s the truth:
- Your Customers Are There: Social media is where diners are spending their time. If you’re not there, you’re missing out.
- No Buzz: Without posts, no one’s talking about you. Your competitors are taking that attention, while you’re left hoping for walk-ins.
- Missed Connections: Every unanswered comment or question is an opportunity lost to connect and build loyalty.
- Empty Tables: If you’re not promoting your specials or events online, you’re leaving money on the table.
- Forgettable: Without a social presence, you’re just another place to eat. Social media helps you stand out and stay memorable.
- Falling Behind: If your competitors are active and you’re not, they’re winning. It’s time to step up or get left behind.
- Falling Behind: If your competitors are active and you’re not, they’re winning. It’s time to step up or get left behind.
Social media isn’t just an option—it’s your restaurant’s stage.
According to Social Media Today, 59% of millennial dinners take a photo of their food before eating it and 30% actively avoid restaurants with a weak social media presence. Whether they’re scrolling through Instagram for drool-worthy food photos or looking for reviews on a Facebook page, your social media presence can make or break your restaurant’s first impression.
So why wait? Start posting, or get left behind.
What Makes a Great Restaurant Social Media Post?

While there’s no “perfect” post, you can create some pretty amazing ones with a few key elements!
For standout restaurant posts, make sure your content includes:
- Clear Branding: Stay true to your restaurant’s personality in visuals and tone.
- Engaging Copy: Write captions that spark conversation and invite engagement.
- Relevant Hashtags: Use a mix of popular and niche tags to increase visibility.
- Call to Action: Always encourage followers to take action, whether it’s booking a table or visiting your website.
Ready to level up your social media? Keep reading for 15 actionable tips to boost your restaurant’s online presence!
15 proven social media marketing tips for restaurants
Social media marketing can significantly enhance your restaurant’s success, but how do you begin?
Staying trendy with social media marketing for restaurants and reaching the right audience can be challenging due to ever-changing algorithms, but employing the right restaurant social media marketing strategies can help you expand your audience and boost foot traffic.
Here are 15 tried-and-true marketing tips to enhance your restaurant social media strategy and increase foot traffic.
1. Get Your Social Media Profiles in Order
Your profile is the foundation of your social media presence. Think of it as your restaurant’s virtual front door—it’s the first impression you make, so let’s make it a good one!
Start by writing a bio that truly reflects your brand’s personality. Is your restaurant trendy, classic, or all about comfort food? Let your bio shine with your unique vibe! Pair it with high-quality profile and cover photos that match across all your social media platforms for a consistent and polished look.
Add links to your bio that make it easy for your audience to navigate. Whether it’s your menu, reservation page, or special offers, and tools that can help you organize these links seamlessly.
For example, Chipotle Mexican Grill (@chipotle)bio has a clever tagline, direct links to their menu and user friendly highlights of new menu items, promotions and behind the scenes content.

2. Post Great Food Photography
Visuals are the secret sauce to successful social media marketing for restaurants. A mouthwatering photo of your best dish can make someone crave it instantly—and even book a table right then and there!
Invest in professional food photography or brush up on some basic food photography skills yourself. Stunning visuals can skyrocket engagement, especially on image-driven platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Shake Shack (@shakeshack) post mouthwatering images of their burgers and shakes that drive engagement and make their followers hungry. One post of their new menu item got thousands of likes and comments and resulted in a surge in visits.

3. Use Video to Show Off Your Menu
Videos are like the secret ingredient in your restaurant’s social media recipe—they’re engaging, creative, and offer endless possibilities to connect with your audience.
Here’s a pro tip for you:
Record short videos or behind-the-scenes content featuring –
- Highlight the process of preparing meals, showing the effort and skill involved
- Record feedback from diners sharing their thoughts on the food, service, and overall experience
- Feature your best-selling or signature menu items in visually appealing ways
Videos give diners a sneak peek of the experience you offer, making them more likely to stop by.
Take a look at how Domino’s Pizza (@dominos) posts behind the scenes videos of their pizza making process and it creates a sense of connection and excitement with the viewers. One of their video got over 500,000 views and resulted in a huge increase in orders.
Using essential social media tools in your marketing strategies makes restaurant social media management easy by allowing you to schedule posts, track performance and see what content is working with your audience—ensuring your social media efforts are both effective and efficient.
4. Engage with Your Audience with Polls and Questions
Interactive content is like having a conversation with your diners—it’s engaging, fun, and helps you connect with your audience on a deeper level. Polls and Q&As are fantastic tools to make your social media feel more personal and get valuable insights into your customers’ preferences.
Here are some pro tips to engage with your audience:
- Use Instagram Stories or Facebook polls to get feedback on their favorite dishes, new menu items, or upcoming events.
- Ask questions or conduct simple surveys to encourage participation.
- Share the results to show that you appreciate their input and to build a sense of community.
- Run polls to measure interest in promotions or special offers, making your audience feel more involved in decision-making.
Take a look at how Olive Bar & Kitchen (@olivebarandkitchen) nails this by running interactive Instagram polls to decide on the most popular dishes for their seasonal menu. This approach not only engages their audience but also makes diners feel like they have a say in shaping the dining experience.
5. Use User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is like a personal recommendation from your diners—it builds trust and gives a fresh perspective on your restaurant. It’s authentic, aligns with your brand voice, and can attract new customers effortlessly.
You can share user-generated content in many formats.
- Partner with local influencers and share their photos across various social media channels.
- Ask your customers to tag your restaurant’s social media profiles in their posts with hashtag.
- Offer incentives like discounts for the best photos or testimonials.
6. Highlight Seasonal Menus and Specials
Limited-time offers and seasonal menus are a great way to create excitement and get people rushing to your restaurant. They tap into the “fear of missing out” and can quickly boost foot traffic.
For example, you could:
- Post appealing photos and videos of your seasonal dishes or special deals.
- Add a call to action in your posts to encourage bookings.
- Expand your reach by using paid social ads to promote your posts.
- Tie creative holiday promotions to local events or holidays to make them more relevant to your audience.
Here, The Cheesecake Factory (@cheesecakefactory) does a great job of promoting their seasonal menu items, like their holiday cheesecakes, with eye candy and captions to get followers to visit their multiple locations.
7. Work with Food Influencers

Working with food influencers can get your restaurant more visibility on top social media platforms. Influencers bring credibility and a loyal following that trusts their opinions, making this a powerful social media marketing strategy for restaurant.
Use influencer collaborations to host social media contests. For example, “Share a pic with our signature dish and tag us to win a free meal!” This increases audience engagement and user generated content.
In 2021 a small LA café, Little Damage (@little.damage), partnered with a local food blogger who posted pics of their charcoal ice cream. The posts went viral and within 2 weeks footfall increased by 40%. By leveraging influencer partnerships the café got buzz across social media and became a must visit spot.
Make Your Restaurant the Talk of Social Media
8. Post Consistently with a Content Calendar
Maintaining an effective social media presence requires regular and strategic posting. A content calendar helps streamline social media efforts, ensuring your social media channels are consistently engaging and aligned with your restaurant marketing strategy.
Plan posts around trending events or seasonal themes to stay relevant and engaging.
Here’s how Chick-fil-A, leverages a content calendar to plan posts around key events like National Sandwich Day or Back-to-School season. By ensuring consistent updates on their social media sites, they have built a loyal online community while increasing their brand’s visibility.
Tools like makes content management easy by allowing you to plan, schedule and automate posts. With them you can create a weekly or monthly calendar and automate posts so you can focus on delivering great dining experiences.
9. Utilize Geo-Tagging for Local Engagement

Geo-tagging ties your restaurant to local diners, increases visibility and drives foot traffic. Social media posts with location tags show up in search results for nearby places and attract organic customers.
Tips for Enhance Local Engagement with Geo-Tagging:
- Encourage customers to tag location in their social media posts.
- Share customer post to drive more engagement.
- Host social media contests with tagged post to enhance local interaction.
For example,Alinea Group in Chicago geo-tags their social media posts to feature their signature dishes like the “edible balloon” dessert. This got them buzz and a big increase in local footfall and bookings.
10. Respond to Reviews and Comments

Actively engaging with customer reviews and comments demonstrates care and build trust. Whether it’s appreciation for positive feedback or resolving a concern, timely responses show you value your customers.
Respond to both positive and negative reviews promptly to maintain a positive image.
Here’s how Sweetgreen turned a negative review about a missing ingredient into a positive story by promptly responding, apologizing, and offering a free meal. The delighted customer shared their experience on Instagram, which boosted the brand’s reputation across multiple social media platforms.
With proper tools, managing reviews is seamless. You can track and respond to reviews on various social media channels and review sites from a single platform, ensuring no feedback goes unnoticed.
11. Run Contests and Giveaways
Social media contests are a fantastic way to ramp up engagement and attract new followers. They’re a fun way to get people involved, and the best part? They help spread the word about your restaurant to a much wider audience!
Design contests that tie into your restaurant’s theme or local events, like “Share a picture of your favorite dish at our restaurant and tag us to win a free dessert!” These will increase visibility and get you high quality photos and user generated content.
See how Applebee’s attracts families by hosting their “Spin the Wheel for Rainbow Lemonade” contest, successfully driving increased foot traffic to their various locations.
12. Go with Emerging Trends
Staying ahead of the latest trends, like TikTok challenges, AR filters, or influencer collaborations, can really make your restaurant stand out. These fun, creative campaigns catch people’s attention and are a hit with younger audiences who love engaging with fresh, exciting content.
Try out trends but make sure they fit your brand voice and offerings. Don’t be afraid to partner with a social media influencer to amplify your reach.
A sushi restaurant created a TikTok challenge around rolling sushi at home and got over 1 million views. The challenge saw 20% increase in orders for their DIY sushi kits, proving the power of leveraging consumer behavior and emerging trends.

13. Showcase Your Team Behind the Scenes
Your restaurant’s team plays a crucial role in creating an amazing dining experience, and showcasing them on social media can help humanize your brand and build connections with your audience.
Share behind-the-scenes moments with your chefs, servers, and staff—whether it’s them preparing a special dish or having fun during a staff meeting. This helps create a more personal connection and makes your restaurant feel like a welcoming community.
Take a look at howThe famous Noma restaurant (@noma) often shares behind-the-scenes content of their team, showcasing their dedication and passion. This transparency fosters a deeper connection with their followers and enhances brand loyalty.
14. Leverage Instagram Highlights for Easy Navigation
Instagram Highlights are a game-changer for keeping your best content visible, even after the 24-hour story limit. It’s a great way to organize and categorize your stories, making it super easy for new followers to find key info about your restaurant.
Tips for Maximizing Instagram Highlights for Easy Navigation:
- Develop Highlights for menu items, special events, and promotions.
- Showcase customer reviews in a dedicated Highlight section.
- Organize your Highlights to facilitate easy access to essential information for customers.
- Regularly update your Highlights to feature your latest offerings and news.
Take @thefatduck—they use Highlights to organize their different experiences, like tasting menus, awards, and team stories. It keeps their followers engaged and in the loop, with all the good stuff easily accessible.

15. Partner with Local Businesses for Cross-Promotions

Working with other local businesses is a great way to get your restaurant in front of fresh eyes and grow your customer base. By teaming up with nearby shops, coffeehouses, or events, you can attract new people who may not have found your spot otherwise.
Think about doing joint promotions or events with local businesses. For example, you could offer a discount to customers who show a receipt from a neighboring store or host a fun collaborative event. Don’t forget to shout it out on your social media to get the word out!
For example, A cute café in Brooklyn, @butterandlove, teamed up with a local bookstore. They offered discounts to anyone who visited both spots. It was a win-win—they saw more foot traffic and grew their social media following by connecting with a whole new group of people!
Which Social Media Platform is Best for Your Restaurant?
Choosing the right social media for your restaurant can be daunting but it’s a vital part of your restaurant social media marketing plan. To get the most out of your efforts you need to focus on the platforms where your target market hangs out and where your brand fits.
Ask yourself:
Where does my target market hang out?
If your market is younger Instagram and TikTok might be their playground. If older Facebook might be more effective.
Which platform matches my brand’s vibe?
A high end restaurant might benefit from the visual nature of Instagram and Pinterest, a community driven restaurant involved in social causes might find X (Twitter) more suitable. If your brand is all about creativity and trend setting then TikTok should be your priority.
How can I showcase my restaurant?
If your content is visual then platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest are perfect for sharing images. For short, snappy videos TikTok and Instagram’s Reels feature are great to play around with.
Answering these questions will help you narrow down the primary platform that complements your restaurant’s goals and audience preferences. Focus your energy there to maximize impact!
Common Asked Questions About Restaurant Marketing
1. Why social media for my restaurant?
Social media is key for restaurants because you get seen by potential customers, you can showcase your USP and engage with customers. A strong presence on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok will increase visibility, drive footfall and bookings. It’s where customers can connect with your restaurant, share their experience and tell their friends.
2. How do I create content for my restaurant’s social media?
To create content focus on high quality food photography, behind the scenes videos, user generated content (UGC) and interactive polls. Show off your signature dishes, highlight seasonal specials and encourage customers to share their experience with your brand. Tools like content calendars and geo-tagging will help keep your posts organised and relevant to local audiences.
3. Which social media platform for my restaurant?
It depends on your audience and the type of content you want to share. Instagram and TikTok are great for visually led restaurants with younger audiences, Facebook is good for older demographics. Consider your restaurant’s vibe, menu and goals to decide where to focus your efforts. For example Instagram is great for high end restaurants, TikTok is perfect for trendy and creative spots.
4. How do I work with influencers for my restaurant?
Working with local food influencers will increase your restaurant’s visibility and credibility. Influencers can showcase your dishes to their followers and drive engagement and new customers. Run contests or challenges where influencers promote your restaurant and ask their audience to share their experience. This will drive footfall and online chatter.
Conclusion
Restaurant social media marketing is an essential ingredient for success in the restaurant industry. By implementing these 15 proven tips, restaurant owners can effectively boost brand recognition, enhance customer satisfaction, and create a loyal community.
From food bloggers and food influencers to Instagram Stories and a compelling brand story, each one helps to elevate your restaurant across multiple platforms and be consistent. With social media management tool you can simplify managing a business account, scheduling content and tracking metrics.
Whether it’s running promotional posts, asking for customer feedback or collaborating with other local businesses these can turn your socials into restaurant social media marketing machines.