10 Tips to Grow Your Restaurant’s Followers on Instagram

For restaurants, Instagram is one of the most effective platforms to showcase food, engage with customers, and build brand awareness. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram offers an opportunity to reach a massive audience of food enthusiasts. However, to grow your restaurant, increasing your followers and converting them into loyal diners requires more than just posting beautiful photos.

In this article, we’ll explore 10 proven tips to help you grow your restaurant’s followers on Instagram, increase engagement, and drive more traffic to your business.

1. Post High-Quality Photos of Your Food

Instagram is a visual platform, and for restaurants, this means your food should always look its best. High-quality, mouth-watering photos of your menu items are key to grabbing the attention of potential followers and can significantly help to grow your restaurant. Whether it’s an artfully plated dish or a decadent dessert, use professional images to showcase the appeal of your restaurant.

Why It Works: People eat with their eyes first, and stunning visuals of your food will entice viewers to follow you and eventually visit your restaurant.

Tips for Food Photography:

• Use natural light to highlight the colors and textures of your dishes.
• Focus on close-ups that capture the detail and presentation.
• Experiment with different angles and compositions to make your food stand out.

Example: A French bistro gained over 1,000 new followers after consistently posting high-quality, close-up photos of their signature dishes, with captions detailing ingredients and preparation techniques.

2. Use Instagram Stories and Reels for Real-Time Engagement

Instagram Stories and Reels are excellent ways to engage with your followers in real-time and showcase your restaurant’s personality, helping to grow your restaurant. Stories can be used to give followers a behind-the-scenes look at your kitchen, promote limited-time offers, or share daily specials, while Reels allow you to create short, engaging videos that showcase your food and restaurant ambiance.

Why It Works: Stories and Reels appear at the top of users’ feeds, making them more likely to be seen. Real-time content helps keep your followers engaged and encourages them to interact with your brand.

Ideas for Stories and Reels:

• Share behind-the-scenes clips of your chefs preparing dishes.
• Showcase special events, happy hour promotions, or seasonal menus.
• Post customer testimonials or show diners enjoying their meals.

Example: A local pizzeria regularly uses Instagram Stories to highlight their “Pizza of the Day,” leading to a 15% increase in foot traffic during promotional periods.

3. Engage with Your Audience Regularly

One of the most important ways to grow your restaurant on Instagram is by engaging with your audience. This means responding to comments, answering questions, and liking or commenting on posts that tag your restaurant. When followers see that you’re actively engaging with them, they’re more likely to stay loyal to your account and recommend it to others.

Why It Works: Engagement is a two-way street. By interacting with your followers, you create a sense of community and build stronger relationships, leading to increased loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.

Engagement Tips:

• Reply to comments on your posts, even if it’s just a simple “thank you” or emoji.
• Reposting user-generated content (UGC), such as photos or stories where customers tag your restaurant, is a great way to grow your restaurant by showcasing real customer experiences and building community engagement.
• Like and comment on posts where people mention or visit your restaurant.

Example: A sushi restaurant consistently replies to comments on their Instagram posts and reshared customer stories, resulting in higher engagement rates and a 20% increase in followers over six months.

4. Run Contests and Giveaways

Contests and giveaways are a fantastic way to grow your restaurant by quickly increasing your followers. By offering a prize, such as a free meal or a gift card, you can encourage your audience to engage with your posts, share your content, and tag friends who might not already be following your restaurant.

Why It Works: People love free stuff! Contests are a great way to grow your restaurant, as they encourage users to follow your account, share your posts, and tag friends, which increases your reach and attracts new followers.

How to Run a Successful Contest:

• Set clear rules (e.g., follow your account, like the post, and tag three friends).
• Offer an enticing prize, like a free dinner for two or a restaurant gift card.
• Promote the contest on Instagram Stories and Reels to reach a wider audience.

Example: A trendy taco restaurant ran a giveaway offering a free taco platter for two. The contest required users to follow the account, like the post, and tag friends. As a result, the restaurant gained over 500 new followers in just one week.

5. Partner with Local Influencers and Food Bloggers

Collaborating with influencers and food bloggers can significantly help you grow your restaurant by boosting your restaurant’s exposure on Instagram. Influencers who have established followings in your area can showcase your food, atmosphere, and dining experience to their audience, helping you gain new followers and customers.

Why It Works: Influencers have built-in trust with their followers, so when they recommend your restaurant, their audience is more likely to follow and visit.

Tips for Partnering with Influencers:

• Look for local influencers or food bloggers who align with your brand and have a strong following in your area.
• Invite them to dine at your restaurant and share their experience with their followers.
• Offer exclusive deals or create joint giveaways to maximize engagement.

Example: A vegan café collaborated with a local food blogger who shared a detailed review of their menu on Instagram. The post led to a 10% increase in followers and a noticeable uptick in reservations.

6. Post at Optimal Times

To maximize your reach and grow your restaurant, it’s important to post your content when your audience is most active. Instagram Insights can show you when your followers are online, allowing you to schedule your posts for times when they are more likely to see and engage with them.

Why It Works: Posting during peak engagement times ensures that your content is more visible, leading to increased likes, comments, and new followers.

Tips for Posting at the Right Time:

• Use Instagram Insights to identify the best times to post based on your followers' activity.
• Experiment with different posting times to see what works best for your restaurant.
• Post consistently, aiming for at least 3-4 times per week.

Example: A steakhouse noticed through Instagram Insights that their followers were most active between 5 PM and 8 PM. By posting their evening specials during these hours, they increased engagement and new followers by 18%.

7. Use Hashtags Strategically

Hashtags are a great way to grow your restaurant by making your content discoverable to a broader audience. By using relevant and trending hashtags, you can increase the chances that your posts will appear in searches and reach potential followers who are interested in your type of cuisine or dining experience.

Why It Works: Hashtags help your content get discovered by people who don’t already follow you. When users search for or follow specific hashtags, they’re more likely to come across your posts and engage with your account.

Hashtag Strategy:

• Use a mix of popular, niche, and branded hashtags.
• Research trending hashtags related to your cuisine or location.
• Create a unique, branded hashtag that customers can use when sharing their dining experiences.

Example: A seafood restaurant used hashtags like #SeafoodLovers, #FreshCatch, and #DineLocal to increase visibility. Their use of relevant hashtags helped them attract over 300 new followers in just one month.

8. Host Instagram Live Events

Instagram Live allows you to connect with your audience in real-time, providing a unique opportunity to engage with your followers and showcase your restaurant’s personality, helping to grow your restaurant. Hosting a live cooking demonstration, a Q&A with your chef, or a tour of your restaurant are all great ways to build excitement and gain new followers.

Why It Works: Instagram Live boosts engagement and allows you to interact with your audience on a personal level. The more engaging and interactive your live session, the more likely people will follow your account to stay updated on future events.

Ideas for Instagram Live:

• Host a live cooking demo featuring a popular menu item.
• Do a virtual tour of your restaurant, showcasing the ambiance and dining experience.
• Run a live Q&A session where followers can ask questions about your menu, specials, or events.

Example: A fine-dining restaurant hosted a live virtual cooking class with their head chef, walking viewers through how to make one of their signature dishes, which helped to grow your restaurant by attracting hundreds of viewers and resulting in a spike in followers.

9. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

Encouraging customers to share their dining experiences on Instagram and tag your restaurant is a powerful way to grow your restaurant's followers. User-generated content (UGC) not only provides social proof but also expands your reach when customers share their experiences with their own followers.

Why It Works: UGC turns your satisfied customers into brand advocates. When others see their friends enjoying your restaurant, they’re more likely to follow you and visit themselves.

How to Encourage UGC:

• Create a unique hashtag and encourage diners to use it when they post photos of your restaurant.
• Repost customer photos and stories to your own account, giving them recognition.
• Offer incentives, such as a free appetizer or drink, to customers who tag your restaurant in their posts.

Example: A brunch spot created the hashtag #BrunchAt[RestaurantName] and encouraged customers to tag their photos. The hashtag quickly gained popularity, leading to an increase in UGC and a 25% growth in followers.

10. Invest in Instagram Ads

Instagram Ads can be a highly effective way to grow your restaurant and reach new audiences. With Instagram’s advanced targeting options, you can create ads that promote your restaurant to users based on their location, interests, and behavior. Ads can be used to showcase your food, promote events, or offer special deals.

Why It Works: Instagram Ads allow you to reach users who may not already follow your restaurant, expanding your reach and driving traffic to your profile.

How to Use Instagram Ads:

• Target users based on location, interests, and dining preferences.
• Use high-quality visuals and a strong call-to-action (CTA) to entice users to follow your account or visit your restaurant.
• Run ads promoting special offers, events, or new menu items.

Example: A fast-casual restaurant used Instagram Ads to promote a new seasonal menu. The ads targeted local users interested in food and dining out, resulting in a significant increase in both followers and online orders.

Conclusion: Build Your Instagram Following with Proven Strategies

Growing your restaurant’s Instagram following takes time and effort, but by using the right strategies—like posting high-quality content, engaging with your audience, running contests, and collaborating with influencers—you can significantly grow your restaurant by boosting your followers and driving more traffic to your establishment.

Read Also: The Importance of Social Media Management for Restaurant Chains