How to Create More Appetizing Social Media Content

Social media can often get put on the back burner for a business. Let’s be honest, there are a lot more pressing things on your plate than posting on Facebook or Instagram. But putting a little intention behind your social media can go a long way in endearing customers to your restaurant or bar. By posting regularly, you’re showing people that you’re active and staying relevant. It keeps regular customers engaged with what you’re doing and can encourage tourists to pay you a visit. Here are a few ways you can turn ‘likes’ into dollars. 

Picture of success.

You don’t need a DSLR camera and studio lights to take great photos of your food. With a newer-model smartphone and a little natural light, you can fill your feeds with great social media content. If you’ve got a new drink or dish to show off, try to find a spot near a window to get the best light. Think about what’s in the background of your photo to give off a good impression of your restaurant. Wipe down the counters and put away any clutter. Put some people in your photos too. Showing your followers that real humans enjoy coming to your establishment is a good thing. If you’ve got regulars, ask them if they’d be willing to pose for photos. Or, you can always recruit employees as models.

Share the love.

Sometimes the best social media content isn’t even something you created. If your customers post a photo from your restaurant and tag you, be sure to re-post it. Make it easier for people to find you—and more likely for them to tag you—by putting your social media handles prominently around your business. You can add it to your menus, your website, and things like a chalk sandwich board. 

Capture their attention with captions.

Don’t just post a photo without putting some thought into the caption. This is your chance to give your business a little personality. Don’t be afraid to inject a little humor into your writing to avoid sounding stiff and robotic. Go beyond the caption and use the comments to interact with customers. Turn on notifications to make sure you don’t miss a timely question about your hours or specials. 

Create easy graphics to communicate more info.

Got a special event coming up? Want to post about holiday hours or new menu items? A social media graphic is a great way to share this info. With tools like Canva, you can design nice-looking social media content in minutes that contains all the pertinent details you want to share. 

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

We know—this all sounds like it takes a lot of time. Time that you should spend actually running your business. In that case, see if there are a few employees who’ve been with you for a while that you can trust to manage your social media, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their normal responsibilities. Or, you could hire a college student in graphic design, photography, or communications to run it for you. Just make sure they’re not going to accidentally post something to your account that they meant for their personal page, or compose a rude response to a customer. 

Now that you have a few tricks of the trade, you’re on your way to being a social media master. All that’s left to do is start taking great photos, posting on a regular basis, and filling your feed with content that your customers can’t resist.