How to Promote Restaurant Business on Instagram?

Whether you’re running a restaurant, cloud kitchen, a home bakery, or food delivery business, it will help if you take Instagram seriously. Instagram allows you to have a brand awareness for what you’re selling. It allows you to communicate and engage with your customers and turn them into loyal fans. Moreover, Instagram also allows you to take orders if and when you run it properly.

Instagram is where all your customers hang out and decide what to eat. They’re browsing, checking out what their friends are doing, and just looking for things to shop for. Your restaurant’s Instagram account is just as important as your website. Many viewers consider Instagram to be more honest, where users can check reviews from real customers, food images, menus, restaurant interior designs, etc. If you have a strong Instagram presence, you can often have new guests visiting your restaurant and increase food orders through Instagram.

Instagram is a gold mine waiting for you to go and pick at. Every month that you do not do that, it becomes more and more difficult because more competition is coming in, so if you’re not already on it or if you’re not doing it properly, you have to take it seriously right now.

Instagram is still quite new and difficult for many people to use, especially if you don’t have experience running a business account. Don’t bother; here we are with this blog to help you guide on how to promote food ordering delivery business on Instagram.

Read the blog and know how to leverage Instagram to market your Food Ordering Business in 2022.

Statistics

• 77% of the US population is active on all social media platforms today. Instagram alone has more than one billion active monthly users.
• 86% percent of millennials try a new restaurant after seeing food-related content online.

Why do Restaurants need Instagram?

Wide Userbase

Over a billion people use Instagram, so it’s a great place to showcase and market your restaurant. Five hundred million people actively use the Instagram app each day globally. So, you can easily target new customers online by posting pictures of your restaurant’s best dishes.

People use Instagram to discover new restaurants to visit or read reviews about the restaurants. Thus, Instagram marketing for restaurants is the best way for food business owners to grab their chance to be in front of potential users and boost their sales.

Higher Engagement Rates

Instagram has higher engagement rates compared to other social media platforms. So, more brands are posting on Instagram to increase their user base.

Moreover, brands can directly connect with their audience by responding to their comments and resolving queries. It is a great way to make a personal connection with customers.

Visual Appeal

Instagram is famous for the high-definition quality images people post on the platform. As per the studies, the human brain processes visual data 60,000 times faster. So, people will remember your brand if you post visuals on Instagram.

You can use a variety of posts like single images, carousel images, videos, and reels for your restaurant instagram marketing.

Reach More Millennials

Instagram is one of the favorite platforms among millennials. They rely on social media platforms to discover new brands, read reviews, shop, etc. They trust the platform, and the reviews people share about any brand on it. So, if you plan to target millennials or teens, Instagram is the best platform for your restaurant marketing. For restaurants especially, people like to see their food dishes, their images, posts related to the restaurants, and inside stories.

Tips to Promote your Restaurant Business on Instagram

Let us understand the Instagram strategy for restaurants and how you can create one for your restaurant brand.

Understand Your Customers

Before you dive into setting up and promoting your restaurant, cloud, kitchen, and food delivery business on Instagram, you must first understand who you’re trying to serve and identify them. You must know your target market and why it is important because the whole restaurant business plan is built around this core customer demographic.

The pricing, menu item, logistics, and packaging must work around your customer. If you skip this step, you will not know whom to focus on for your marketing campaigns, and you will end up creating a general fan following with the least possibility of conversions.

Setup Your Instagram Business Account

Promoting your food business on Instagram requires you to create an Instagram business account. Now, why do you need an Instagram business account? It offers many benefits:

1. You can mention details such as an address, hours, contact number, email ID, and website or app link in your profile. So, your users can get detailed information about your business on Instagram without visiting the website. Make sure to fill out each piece of information as it offers multiple benefits to your food delivery business.
2. Do not forget to add a call to action button where users can click and easily get your food delivery services. It helps you sell directly via Instagram.
3. Access analytics tools to get insights on your target audience, impressions, and comments on your posts. Use these analytics to create better Instagram strategy for restaurant the future.

Write a Perfect Restaurant Instagram Bio

Your Instagram bio is the first thing users read to know more about your restaurant or food business. It gives them an idea of what kind of food and services you serve, your USPs, etc. So, make sure to craft it well.

Write an engaging and interesting bio for your Instagram account. Add clickable hashtags, usernames, and website links to the bio. Your Instagram bio cannot exceed 150 characters. Here are a few tips for writing an effective Instagram bio.

1. Create a username that customers can remember and use well. For instance, you can use the shared name of your multiple physical locations as your IG name. Users can reach you quickly.
2. Add a profile image reflecting your restaurant’s branding. For instance, your restaurant logo or your restaurant’s most popular dish.
3. Add emojis as people like to see emojis and add color and spark, and a fun element. Use an emoji to list your restaurant qualities.
4. Add your brand hashtags.

Post Content on Instagram

Do you want skyrocketing engagement on your Instagram? The secret is in how you post. It’s more than just picking a photo, writing the caption, and throwing it there. You need a complete digital marketing strategy for restaurant business. There are some guidelines that you need to follow for posting on Instagram.

#1 Pick the right Photo

When you pick a photo, pay attention to what works with your audience. For instance, you can click pictures of your newly added dishes or upcoming meals. Your photos must be attractive, and there is no exception to this. If you post awful photos, you are sure to get no engagement. You can take inspiration from Pinterest for creative picture clicking. Attractive and high quality photos motivate your customers to order food online.

Try to post real images as customers no longer get attracted to fake pictures. You can use online tools like Snapseed and Canva to enhance the quality of your photos.

#2 Be consistent:

Instagram’s algorithm likes consistent accounts, so post consistently two to three times a week. It will give you an advantage over less active ones. Use a mix of carousel posts, stories, and IGTV.

#3 Batch Content:

You can shoot or click many photos, say for 15 days or a month in a single day, and schedule them in scheduling software. For this, you need to plan beforehand. It will save your time and will help you be consistent in posting.

#4 Captions:

Write relevant yet interesting captions that users can relate to for each post. For instance, longer-form captions that tell the story and educate are the ones that do the best. Pay attention to your account and figure out what works best for you. You can write captions whenever you get inspired, save them and use them later for posting.

#5 Use your brand colors to keep your posts cohesive across all posts.

Use Relevant Hashtags

Instagram hashtags are the secret sauce to success. Instagram has very limited search capabilities as a platform, and one of the best ways to get found and get more eyeballs on your content is to use hashtags.

#1 Create hashtags

Create your brand hashtags and use them frequently, as this is an absolute must. Your unique hashtag gives you free marketing. If you use your brand’s hashtag, your posts about your restaurant will never get lost and have a unique value. Your potential customers can easily discover your restaurant images and videos.

Keep the branded hashtag short, sweet, and easy to remember for your business. We don’t want something that is complicated or is hard to spell or have a long, 30 characters worth of content. People won’t use that frequently.

But you also don’t want it to be too short because if it’s a shortened acronym that is super common that other brands or other people might be using, then your content isn’t the only content on that hashtag, which can drive confusion around your brand. So, keep it somewhere in the 10 to 20-character range for a good branded hashtag for your business.

#2 Tips for using Hashtags effectively.

• Using hashtags can help you appear in various searches for your target audience and get more people to find your content.
• So, use hashtags in these three specific places- Feed posts, Stories, and IGTV. In the Instagram feed post, you can use up to 30 hashtags. For Instagram stories, you can only use up to three hashtags. For IGTV, it’s just like a feed post; you can use up to 30 in the description of your IGTV video.
• People often follow location-related hashtags, so create one or two hashtags related to your location, such as your city and neighborhood.
• Use your restaurant menu-related hashtags to help your target customers find you by using hashtags.
• Explore accounts of your competitors and popular food influencers to find out popular hashtags and use them for more reach. Use hashtags with a higher range of popularity.

#3 Engage with Relevant Hashtags

Search for the hashtag in your city and engage with those who use hashtags related to restaurants or food. It will help you gain followers because they want to be seen by people in town, and if you give them what they want, you will get what you need in return.

#4 Engage and Build a Community

Now that you have your content distributed and your content schedule, it is time to engage. It is so important for you to engage with your audience.

Just because you’ve had a picture posted up, and hashtags, many people like it and are commenting, doesn’t mean your job is done.

Now is the real work. You need to engage with your customers. That’s how you’re going to be able to build your loyal followers and, eventually, customers.

It’s a strategy for restaurant branding and building the community, so you post on Instagram. If you want to thrive, make sure you engage with your customers. That’s the key to successfully using and utilizing social media to grow your community.

Establish your presence on Instagram by following other accounts. If you want more people to see your posts and engage, you need to start and be the one that engages. For example, you have three people who liked a picture you posted. Go to their page, and if it is a public page, like a few of their posts.

You can also comment on their posts, saying thanks so much for being one of our customers or for liking our post, or you can also send them a DM. Follow popular accounts that your followers follow. Create a direct bond with customers or the community.

Must Read: How to Increase Restaurant Sales

Conclusion

If you want to promote your restaurant business on Instagram, you need to be consistent in your posting. Creating your brand presence on Instagram or other social media requires consistent, effective efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions about Instagram marketing strategy

How do restaurants use Instagram for marketing?

Instagram is the perfect place to showcase and market your restaurant’s food and services. Here are a few tips to make the best of Instagram marketing:

• Create Your restaurant profile on Instagram.
• Use your brand’s unique hashtag and local hashtags.
• Post about the meals you serve.
• Post-high-definition visually appealing images of your food dishes.
• Use your restaurant branding colors.
• Create Story highlights.
• Offer discounts & special offers.

How do restaurants grow Instagram followers?

When you have more followers on your Instagram, it is more likely that they will visit your restaurant and be your permanent customers. Here are a few tips to gain more followers on Instagram:

• Be consistent in posting on Instagram
• Interact with peers from the restaurant niche by liking and commenting on your posts.
• Use catchy captions to grab attention.
• Always add a Call to Action to your posts.
• Use relevant hashtags.
• Learn from other successful accounts

is Instagram good for the food business?

Instagram offers the highest engagement rate compared to other platforms. Instagram is a visual platform where people upload pictures and videos from their routine life. Restaurants can use this visual power to market their products. In addition:

• 90% of Instagram users are millennials under 35 that love to dine out the most of all other generations.
• Instagram is the most affordable way to market your products and services.

Can Instagram ads increase sales?

Instagram has a billion monthly users and 72% of users buy a product they see on Instagram. Instagram ads are an effective way to boost sales for your restaurant for the following reasons:

• Restaurant owners can turn their posts or videos into an ad to boost its visibility.
• You can choose the target audience for ads.
• You can pick a budget for their ads.
• View insights to understand ad performance.