Restaurateurs: 3 Ways to Make Social Media Work for You

As a restaurateur, understanding how to use social media and appeal to influencers can greatly increase your restaurant’s success and prominence in the over-saturated food market. As a food Instagram influencer with more than 25,000 followers, I found two articles on the foodie influencer scene that can help you navigate the digital space. 

The first piece, “Instagram has completely changed the way we eat and that's not a good thing” comes from INSIDER’s Food vertical. In it, Joanna Fantozzi details the ways in which Instagram has changed what, and where, we eat. Fantozzi cites recent trends like rainbow bagels, over-the-top milkshakes, unicorn themed food and excessively cheesy burgers. In the Instagram age, aesthetically-pleasing food has become somewhat of a status symbol (waiting in a two-hour line for a bagel), as well as a huge factor consumers consider when deciding where to get their next meal. Though these “Instagram dishes” often don’t taste as good as they look, the aesthetic of food is now a serious consideration for many chefs who hope to go viral and drive foot traffic. 

Source: Hinterhaus Productions / Getty Images

In the second article, “Restaurants rise to fame over Instagramable food,” Kaya Yurieff of CNN Business expands on the importance of Instagram in restaurants’ success. Yurieff writes, “The restaurant business isn't just about how good the food tastes – atmosphere and service are important, too. But increasingly, social media is taking on a bigger role and influencing food options offered, restaurant design and marketing.” The best way to stand out, according to this piece, is to serve outrageous, out of the ordinary dishes that actually taste good. To continually stay relevant, restaurants must keep innovating and creating new stand-out, trendy foods – as well as have strong branding and design. If done right, “a strong social media presence can help restaurants and other businesses engage with a much wider audience and attract new customers they may not have had access to before.” 

Based on these articles and my experience as a food influencer, I’ve developed three action items you should consider when trying to optimize your restaurant for social media. 

Be Original – By now, foodies have seen a million crazy milkshakes on their feed; instead of following in the footsteps of past trends, create an innovative dish that hasn’t been done before.

Make It Tasty –  Obviously, the food has to look good, but that doesn’t mean taste doesn’t matter; beautiful food will bring customers in, but delicious food will keep them coming back.

Don’t Skimp Elsewhere – Just as important as the pretty food is the décor and ambiance of your restaurant; add a cool mural, make the bathroom eye-catching or use unique table clothes for even more social coverage.

The next time you’re thinking about leveraging Instagram for your restaurant, remember the above tips to creating a lasting social impact.   

Lucy Dwyer is a senior at Northwestern University studying Journalism, Integrated Marketing Communications and Sociology. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn, or follow her food adventures on Instagram as @thefoodiefriend.