Everyone wants their business to flourish. So why is your restaurant’s Instagram feed so boring? The last time you posted was a month ago; even that post got minimum engagement. You can showcase your restaurant’s personality and pizazz by applying some of that beautiful creativity you use to make amazing dishes and displaying your genius creations on Instagram.
Instagram is one of the best tools to promote restaurants, so let’s explore how you can make your page more engaging.
Flaunt your dishes
Humans are visual creatures. We get 70 percent of our sensory input through our eyes, so it’s a no-brainer to post pictures of your dishes.
Mexican dishes are known for their vibrant colors and many textures, which will translate well into pictures when paired with some stunning Mexican-inspired crockery. Whether you are showcasing an existing dish or marketing your new creations, the more enticing and well-shot the image is, the more tempted your followers will be to drop by for a bite.
The best part is you don’t need to find the budget for a food photographer when you can just use your smartphone to take pictures and post the best ones. Just use natural light, a clean background, an online editing software, and voila, you have a beautiful picture that tempts any customer to shell out some cash.
Here are a couple of tips to make your photographs pop.
- Try to use a plain background to not distract from the main subject, and select a well-lit room to avoid using the flash.
- Take shots from different angles and heights to give yourself more choices when choosing the best pictures.
Showcase your restaurant
Everyone wants a fine dining experience. Who doesn’t love a well-thought visually stunning space where you can sit, relax and satisfy your palate? Posting pictures of your restaurant will give the customers a sense of the ambiance, which can go a long way in convincing them to give your restaurant a chance.
For a Mexican restaurant, especially, you have so many decor ideas to play with, from terracotta tiles to amazingly patterned walls, that the decor is sure to translate well into pictures. Dos Taquitos restaurant in North Carolina has an engaging and vibrant Instagram with many glimpses of their restaurant interiors during different events to entice customers.
Use Insta stories and reels
People love authenticity, and there is no better way to tug at their heartstrings than to take them behind the scenes and show them the human side of your restaurant. Why not utilize the Stories tab or the Reels and Boomerangs feature on Instagram to give the audience a backstage pass into the daily routine of the kitchen?
Couple that with little snippets of the staff going about their daily tasks and interacting with customers, and no one will be able to resist the natural and genuine atmosphere of the restaurant.
Dos Caminos is a Mexican restaurant that showcase the warmth that lingers in their space through their social media. They consistently post reels and stories which highlight the vibrancy of the place. Waiters carrying smoking-hot dishes straight from the kitchen to the eager customers which await them. DJs and bartenders doing their magic and adding to the atmosphere so that the customers get to experience the true Mexican culture.
Got nothing new to show in the kitchen? No problem. You can also post promotional offers and sneak peeks of upcoming events. Imagine creating beautiful illustrations for an upcoming Dia De Muertos or Cinco De Mayo event and posting them on your stories and Instagram page, along with promotions for free appetizers or drinks. Surely customers will flock to the restaurant for free drinks and good events.
If you don’t have enough time, then a wide array of Instagram Reel video templates and Instagram post templates are available to experiment with. They provide enough freedom to let your creativity flow while giving ample options to ease the process.
Save stories as highlights
What if you could save the most interesting and important snippets you posted on your stories into a neat little package on your page? Well, the Highlights feature at the front and center of your Instagram page lets you do just that.
Glimpses of the best dishes, customers flocking to the restaurant, important festival decorations, and menu highlights are all contained in separate icons on your Instagram page as the perfect indicators of what your brand is all about. This great promotional feature provides a concise overview of your restaurant and its aesthetics to any new customer.
Invite influencers
Your new fledgling restaurant might not have enough followers on Instagram, but you know who does? Influencers! Teaming up with food vloggers and reviewers is a great way to get people to talk about your restaurant because their reach extends further.
Another interesting thing you can do is hire artists to create one-of-a-kind Mexico-inspired artwork on the takeaway containers for food and drinks because who doesn’t love posting their picture-perfect limited edition Instagram-worthy art pieces?
Repost reviews and pictures
There is no better way to lend credibility to your restaurant than to post customer reviews and tag their stories highlighting how amazing your restaurant is and how authentic your Mexican dishes are.
Sharing these will help new customers see a genuine dining experience, and by sharing stories from other accounts, you will also increase engagement on your page. It’s a win-win situation, but please ask for permission before using stories and reviews lest you get an irate customer.
Instagram is an amazing tool to market your business, and here’s hoping the mentioned strategies can help you achieve the goals you have set for your restaurant!
