Social media marketing for restaurants: strategy and tips

Since the early 2000s, millions of people have been scrolling, double-tapping, and sliding into DMs every single day. Today there are 5.41 billion people using social media, which is almost 64% of the world's population!

That’s more eyeballs than any Michelin-starred menu could ever hope for. And yes, those eyeballs turn into diners… if you know how to serve your content right.

Today we’re talking social media marketing for restaurants. And no, it’s not about boring demographics slides or “post at 3 p.m. on Tuesdays” rules. We’re talking real-life, mouth-watering, shareable, double-tap worthy strategies. The kind that get people tagging their friends, making reservations, and maybe even Instagramming your fries before they eat them (because yes, we live in a world where the camera eats first).

By the end, your feed won’t just look good, it’ll make people hungry… for your food and your brand.

What is social media marketing for restaurants

Social media marketing for restaurants is using platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter to promote your food, engage with customers, and build your brand online so people see your dishes, get excited, and come through your doors.

What social media marketing for restaurants includes

Social media marketing for restaurants isn’t one thing but a full platter of different activities and strategies. Here’s what’s usually on the menu:

• Posting about your food and drinks
• Sharing updates about your restaurant
• Talking to customers online
• Letting people know about specials or events
• Keeping a consistent look and style

Why social media matters for the restaurant industry

If you’re not already bought into the idea of using social media marketing to make your brand stand out from its competitors and turn your restaurant into the go-to hot spot, here are some stats that show why you should be:

• 74% of people use social media to decide where to eat.
• 71% of people are more likely to visit a restaurant if their friends have posted about it on social media.
• 88% of diners trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
• 37% of customers rely specifically on social media to find new restaurants, which makes it a critical discovery tool for growing your customer base.

So why is social media marketing important? Well because people are using social media platforms to:

1. Find new restaurants
2. See what’s trending and what their friends are eating
3. Check out reviews and recommendations before committing
4. See what your menu items and restaurant aesthetics look like
5. Stay updated on the kinds of events you're hosting

7 steps to build your restaurant’s social strategy

Now, before we go into the really fun and creative ways that you can build your social media presence, you first need to make sure you have the foundation sorted. These are the basics. The things that every restaurant owner needs to have in place before they're reaching out to their fav influencers or hiring photographers to snap their dishes.

1. Define your target audience

Before you post a single photo, you need to know who you’re talking to.

Your target audience are the people who are most likely to walk through your doors, order your food, and tell their friends about it.

Are they young, Instagram-obsessed foodies? Families looking for a casual dinner spot? Office workers hunting for a quick lunch? Or maybe late-night snackers scrolling TikTok at 2 am?

Knowing your audience helps you figure out what kind of content to post and what tone to use. For instance, according to recent research, Gen Z customers love “Instagrammable” décor and interactive experiences like build-your-own bowls and chef’s tables. So if you know they're your audience, you'd know to feature this in your social media channels.

Similarly, there’s no point posting high-end cocktail shots if most of your customers are coming for cheap weekday lunches.

Start by imagining your perfect diner or desired audience and write it down. Think about their habits, their likes, their icks, and even what makes them double-tap a post. Give them a name, an age, their food preferences, even the emojis they’d use as social media users. The more specific, the better.

2. Choose the right platforms

You now know who you're catering to. Next, it's time to decide the social media channels you want to use.

We always say aim for at least three. However, it depends on how much capacity and budget you have. Do you have a social media marketing assistant, for instance, or will you be posting yourself?

You also want to think about generational differences. Gen Z, for example, are all about video-first platforms like TikTok (for short form videos), while millennials favor social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and newer platforms like Threads. Gen X and baby boomers lean more towards Facebook, and many baby boomers also love local-focused apps like Nextdoor.

With this in mind, our general rule of thumb for restaurant owners is to set up an:

• The Meta business suite (which just means Instagram and Facebook)
• TikTok if you have a younger demographic

That way, you’re covering the platforms that matter most for your audience while keeping things manageable for your restaurant business.

3. Research your competitors

Before you start posting, check out what other local restaurants are doing.

Don’t copy them. Copycats are boring, and people value authenticity. Instead, see what’s working and figure out how you can do it differently.

Notice what they’re missing too. Maybe they never show behind-the-scenes stuff or staff personalities. That’s your chance to stand out.

Write down a list of everything they do that you love and what you'd do better. This could look like:

• I like that they have high quality photos of their food.
• I don't like that they never talk about the chefs.

Basically, stalking your competitors online isn’t creepy, it’s smart. You get ideas, see what your audience likes, and find ways to make your restaurant’s socials even better.

4. Build your brand voice and tone

What’s your vibe? Are you a cool, dimly-lit, candlelight-only, small-plate restaurant? Or are you a bright, casual, all-day breakfast spot that serves pancake stacks so high they almost touch the ceiling?

Your brand voice and tone should match that. It’s how you talk to your audience online - in captions, replies, stories, and posts. Funny? Friendly? Quirky? Professional? Whatever you choose, keep it consistent so people know what to expect when they interact with your restaurant online.

A clear voice makes your posts feel authentic and helps your restaurant stand out from the crowd. People don’t just follow restaurants for the food, they follow the personality too.

Once you've worked this out, create a brand guidelines document so everyone you work with knows how to promote restaurant on social media.

5. Create a consistent visual identity

The same goes for how you look.

Your restaurant's social media's photos, graphics, colors, and overall style should match your brand.

If you’re posting for a bright, casual breakfast spot, use light, cheerful colors and fun, playful photos of your dishes.

For a dimly-lit, upscale small-plate restaurant, stick to moody tones, elegant fonts, and close-up shots that highlight your plating.

6. Plan your content themes

Planning your content themes is basically deciding what kind of stuff you’re going to post and sticking to it so your feed doesn’t feel all over the place.

Start by thinking about the main “themes” you want to cover. For example:

• Food and drinks: This one’s obvious. Post photos of your dishes, drinks, specials, or anything that makes people hungry. Close-ups, overhead shots, or videos of a dish being plated — all fair game.
• Behind-the-scenes: Show your kitchen, your staff prepping dishes, or the chef’s secret tricks. People love seeing what goes on behind the curtain.
• Events and specials: Launching a new menu? Hosting a live music night? Sharing your events keeps your audience in the loop and builds FOMO.
• Staff and personality: Feature your team, celebrate birthdays, or show funny moments. It humanizes your brand and makes people feel connected.
• User-generated content: Repost customer photos or reviews (with credit). Real people enjoying your food is the ultimate proof that your restaurant is awesome.
• Tips, hacks, or foodie content: Quick recipes, cooking tips, or fun foodie facts can keep your audience engaged even when they’re not hungry.

The key is variety in your marketing plan. Mix these themes so your feed never feels boring, but keep a consistent presence enough that people know what to expect. You don’t want your feed to feel like a random jumble of photos and videos, it should have a rhythm, a style, and a personality.

7. Map out a posting schedule

Last, but definitely not least in your social media marketing strategy, is deciding when to post.

Timing matters — you want your content to show up when people are actually scrolling, not buried under a million other posts.

Start by looking at your audience. Are they morning coffee scroll-ers, lunch-break lurkers, or late-night snack hunters? Post when they’re most likely to be online.

Pick a few key days and assign types of posts to them. For example: Mondays for behind-the-scenes, Wednesdays for specials, Fridays for drool-worthy food pics, and weekends for stories or reels.

Use a calendar or scheduling tool to plan ahead so you’re not scrambling every day. It also helps you balance themes, avoid repeats, and make sure your content stays fresh.

Remember, a posting schedule isn’t set in stone. Pay attention to what works, tweak it as you go, and keep your feed active without burning yourself out.

Social media marketing tips

Now for all the fun and creative ideas you could add to your restaurant marketing strategy to nail your social media:

Show off daily specials

No brainer, right? At the end of the day, people come to restaurants mostly for the food. Sure, the vibe, the service, the impressive wine list all matter too. But the first and most important thing people notice online is your dishes.

Show off your daily specials with quality content. Think high-quality, clear photos or engaging videos that make mouths water. A quick reel of a chef plating a dish, a slow pan over a sizzling steak, or a boomerang of a perfectly shaked cocktail.

Post a variety of content

Mix things up so your feed stays interesting and your followers don’t get bored.

• Instagram posts
• Instagram stories
• Reels or short video content
• Behind-the-scenes videos
• User-generated content
• Polls, quizzes, and interactive features
• Event or special promotions

Highlight staff personalities

If you haven’t watched the show The Bear, you’re missing out. It’s basically a masterclass in why staff personalities matter. The show follows a group of larger-than-life characters running a fine-dining restaurant, and it’s clear that people don’t just love the food, they love the people behind it.

Believe it or not, the FX series The Bear actually boosted visits to restaurants, especially in Chicago, with spots featured or inspired by the show seeing up to a 40% increase in foot traffic.

Online, the same rules apply. Show your staff in action (chefs cooking, servers joking, bartenders creating drinks) and let their personalities shine. It makes your restaurant feel human, relatable, and fun.

Don’t hide your crew. Highlight them. Celebrate them. Let your followers get to know the real faces behind the dishes. It’s a surefire way to make your restaurant memorable.

Run contests and giveaways

Who doesn’t love a freebie? Host social media contests on your social media page. It is an easy way to get people excited and talking about your restaurant.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. Ask people to tag friends, share a post, or post a pic of your food for a chance to win a free meal, dessert, or drink. Instant engagement on your social media page.

Contests are a big part of any restaurant social media marketing strategy. They help you reach new people, get more followers, and keep your current fans coming back for more.

Just make it simple and clear. If it’s easy to enter, more people will join, and your restaurant will get noticed and you'll increase customer loyalty.

Share user-generated content

People love seeing themselves on your page. Reposting user-generated content is a super easy way to make your audience feel appreciated and boost engagement.

Ask followers to tag your restaurant or use a specific hashtag when they share photos or videos of your food. Then take the best ones and repost user-generated content on your socials. It’s free, authentic, and shows off real people enjoying your food.

This is a key part of your restaurant’s social media strategy because it keeps your feed full of visual content that people actually relate to. Plus, it encourages even more customers to share their experiences.

Use interactive features

Polls, quizzes, sliders, question stickers. These are all small things that can make a big difference on your social media page.

Use them to ask your followers fun questions like:

• Which burger should be our special this week?
• Coffee or matcha latte?
• Who made it better? - where you get two chefs to plate a dish their way.

They’re easy for people to interact with and keep your audience engaged.

These features don’t just make your posts fun. They also help boost engagement and play nicely with social media algorithms, which means more people see your content.

Jump on trends quickly

Trends move fast online, and restaurants that jump on them can get a big boost in attention. Paying attention to what’s viral gives you a chance to be part of the conversation and bring people through your doors.

Take the Barbie effect, for example. When Barbie memes started leaving their glittery trail all over the internet, the team at Wunder Garten, a beer garden and event space in Washington, DC, noticed the buzz.

They started planning Barbie parties: themed cocktails, pink food, and tons of Instagrammable spots. Guests could show off their Barbiecore outfits and snap pics with life-size hot pink Barbie and Ken boxes. The result? A huge spike in patrons and social media attention.

The lesson: keep your eyes on what’s trending and don’t be afraid to get creative. Timing is everything, and jumping on trends can make your restaurant the place everyone’s talking about.

Hop on food holidays

Taco Tuesdays. National Pizza Day. International Coffee Day. These are all gold for your restaurant’s social media.

Posting about food holidays is an easy way to create fun, timely content that people already care about. Show your specials, create a themed post, or even run a mini promotion to celebrate.

Use social listening and reviews to improve operations

Pay attention to what people are saying about your restaurant online. Comments, reviews, and even casual mentions on your restaurant social media profiles can tell you what’s working, and what isn't.

Check review sites, your socials, and hashtags to see what customers love and what they think could be better. Maybe your new dessert is a hit, or maybe your service during peak hours needs a tweak.

This is called social listening, and it’s a powerful tool for your restaurant. The feedback you get can help you improve operations, adjust your menu, or even inspire new specials, all while showing your audience that you actually listen.

Reply to comments and DMs

It’s as simple as it sounds: build a relationship with your followers by liking their content, replying to comments, customer inquiries and answering questions in DMs.

If someone posts an Instagram story of your food, repost it on your business’s story too. It’s a small move, but it shows your followers that you’re paying attention, and people love that.

Go live & share behind-the-scenes content

In a restaurant, we usually only see the front of house — the dining room, the servers, the perfectly plated dishes. And that’s great, don’t get me wrong. But as an audience, people love seeing what goes on behind the scenes.

Going live or posting behind-the-scenes content lets your followers peek into the kitchen, watch chefs in action, or see how your team preps for a busy service. It’s authentic, fun, and makes your restaurant feel real instead of just a brand on a screen.

Plus, live videos are super engaging. People can comment in real time, ask questions, and even request to see certain things. It’s an easy way to connect with your audience, build trust, and show off the personality and hard work behind your restaurant.

Collaborate with local influencers and partners

Working with local influencers and business owners is a smart way to get your restaurant noticed. These are people who already have an audience that trusts them, and that could be your next batch of loyal customers.

You don’t need a big celebrity. Think local food bloggers, photographers, or even a neighboring local business. Invite them in for a tasting, collaborate on a special menu, or just share each other’s content. You get exposure, they get content, and your community grows stronger.

Local partnerships also show that your restaurant is part of the neighborhood, not just a random spot on the map. People love supporting businesses that support each other.

Promote events and loyalty programs

Social media is the perfect place to let people know about local events, special nights, or your loyalty programs so they keep coming back.

Some creative ideas:

• Post about live music nights, trivia, or themed dinners
• Share a sneak peek of an upcoming tasting menu or chef’s special
• Highlight your loyalty program perks, like free drinks or discounts for frequent diners
• Collaborate with nearby businesses for joint events and cross-promotions
• Use stories or reels to show setup for events, giving followers an insider look

Invest in some social media advertising

Paid ads aren’t organic, but they can work really well. You can boost posts to reach more people and get your restaurant noticed.

Not every restaurant has the budget for paid social ads, and that’s fine. But for medium- to large-sized spots, it’s a smart way to drive traffic to your social pages and website.

Social ads aren’t just for big chains like Starbucks or McDonald’s. Any restaurant with some budget can use them to get more eyes, more likes, and more bookings.

How to handle crises and negative reviews calmly

Picture this: It’s Friday night, the dining room is full, and suddenly your phone buzzes - a one-star review just went live. It’s not just bad. It’s brutal. You feel that sting in your chest, the urge to fire back, or worse, spiral. What you do next matters more than the review itself.

Step away from the stove (literally and figuratively)

The first thing you do? Step back. Don’t reply in the heat of the moment. Take a deep breath, finish the service, talk to your team. Ask:

• What actually happened?
• Is this an isolated incident or a pattern?
• What’s the fairest way to make this right?

When you give yourself time to cool off, you stop an emotional reaction from turning into a PR disaster.

Treat reviews like feedback, bot attacks

Even the harshest review can teach you something. Did they say the service was slow? Maybe your kitchen tickets are backing up on weekends. Did they say the food was cold? Time to look at your pass timing or delivery partners.

Respond like a person, not a press release

People want to feel heard. When you respond, skip the corporate tone. Say sorry if you messed up, explain how you’re fixing it, and invite them back. A well-crafted, calm reply can turn a critic into your most vocal fan.

Lead your team through the social storm

A crisis can crush morale. Take five minutes before the next service to talk to your staff. Share what happened, reassure them you’ve got their back, and show them the plan to make it right. Your calmness will steady the entire kitchen.

Social media management workflows and tools

Running social media accounts today can feel like spinning plates while riding a bike… on fire. Instagram needs a Reel. TikTok wants a trend. Your CEO just asked why the LinkedIn post didn’t go viral.

If you’ve ever stared at your phone at midnight wondering if you scheduled tomorrow’s post, you’re not alone.

The good news is that, with the right workflows and marketing tools, you can stop reacting to social media and start using it strategically.

There are brilliant marketing tools out there designed to save your sanity:

• Scheduling platforms like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Later let you plan posts for multiple social media accounts in one place.
• Analytics tools turn likes and shares into data you can act on.
• Collaboration tools streamline approvals, so you’re not hunting through email chains for feedback.

Think of these tools like your sous chefs - they don’t do the creative thinking for you, but they make sure everything runs smoothly.

Legal and compliance essentials for restaurant social

You’ve just posted the perfect photo of tonight’s special. The lighting’s amazing, the caption is clever, the engagement’s flying in. Then you get a DM: “Hey, that’s my photo — you didn’t have permission to use it.” Suddenly, your feel-good moment just turned into a legal headache. Sound familiar?

To avoid this be sure to look up the laws around copyright and content ownership, promotions and giveaways and influencer partnerships.

How a restaurant POS system can help your social efforts

Running a restaurant’s social media accounts can feel chaotic — posts, promotions, ads, comments… it’s easy to get lost in the noise. But your social media doesn’t have to exist in a vacuum.

That’s where your restaurant POS system comes in.

Think of your POS as the hub that connects everything. When your POS talks to your social channels and your online ordering, suddenly social media stops being just likes and comments — it becomes revenue. Here’s how:

1. It tracks what works: You can see which social posts or campaigns actually lead to orders, and which dishes are your audience’s favourites. No more guessing — you have real data.
2. It syncs your menu across channels: Change a dish or run out of an item? Update it in your POS once, and your website, delivery platforms, and social media automatically reflect it. No disappointed customers, no confusion.
3. It automates loyalty and rewards: Customers who order from your social links can earn points or discounts, turning engagement into repeat visits.
4. It streamlines online orders and delivery: Orders flow directly from social media or your website into your kitchen, reducing mistakes, speeding up fulfillment, and improving the customer experience.
5. It gives you insights to improve marketing: You can analyse which campaigns drive the highest revenue and make smarter, data-driven decisions.

A restaurant POS isn’t just a cash register. It’s the central nervous system for your restaurant, connecting your social media, online ordering, and delivery into one seamless system that drives real results.

If you want your social media efforts to go from scrolls and likes to real customers and revenue, this is the tool that makes it happen.