Social media marketing for restaurants

Setting a goal you can measure

Every social media strategy for restaurants should start with the thing you want more of. Pick one main goal for the next three months, not five. For example:

• More bookings on your quietest nights
• A busier weekday lunch
• A strong launch for a new menu
• More private dining and party enquiries
• Selling out an event, such as a tasting evening or a guest chef night

Then decide how you'll count it and where the number will come from: your booking system, your till, enquiry emails or messages. "Ten more Tuesday bookings a month from social media" is a goal you can check. "More engagement" isn't.

Once you have a goal, every post has a job: remind people you exist, give them a reason to come this week, or ask for the booking. That's the whole of a social media marketing strategy for restaurants in one line: who you want to reach, what you want them to do, and what you'll post to get them there.

Choosing Facebook, Instagram or both

For most restaurants the answer is both, with each post adapted for each platform. Social media marketing for small restaurants has to fit around service, though, so if time is tight, start with the platform where your customers already talk to you and add the other once the habit sticks.

What each platform does well

• Instagram is built around photos and short video, which suits food. Reels from public accounts can be shown in places such as Explore and the Reels viewer, so people who don't follow you yet can find you there.
• Facebook is good for events, opening-hours updates and longer posts, and your Page is a natural place for people to check your details or send a message.

Both platforms also sell paid promotion, but this plan sticks to the free, organic side, which is the place to start.

Let your own numbers decide

Once you have at least 100 followers, Instagram shows trends about them, including top locations, age range and when they're most active. Meta Business Suite's Insights can also show audience details for your Facebook Page and Instagram, including when followers are most active. Ask guests too: a week of asking "How did you find us?" tells you a lot.

Posting to both without double the work

In Meta Business Suite you can create one post for your Facebook Page and Instagram, change the wording for each, and schedule it. And if your Instagram professional account is connected to your Facebook Page, you can share posts, Reels and Stories to the Page as you post them, or switch on automatic sharing.

A weekly rhythm and content mix

A steady rhythm beats bursts of posting followed by weeks of silence. Pick a number you can keep in a busy week, not a quiet one. As a starting point, try three feed posts, one Reel and a few Stories a week, then adjust. Our guide to building a social media content calendar covers how often to post in more detail.

Mix five kinds of post across the week:

• The food: hero dishes, specials and new arrivals
• The people: chefs, front of house, suppliers and, with permission, regulars
• The place: the room in the evening light, the terrace, a table set for a party
• Reasons to book now: set menus, events, seasonal dates and tables free tonight
• Proof: genuine reviews, and guests' photos and Stories you've been tagged in

Here's an example week:

For dozens more post ideas, see restaurant social media ideas.

Timing matters too: post when your followers are online and before they decide where to eat. When you schedule a post in Meta Business Suite, the Active times option suggests times based on when your followers were most active over the past seven days. There's more in our guide to the best time to post on Instagram and Facebook in the UK.

Instagram growth without gimmicks

Instagram marketing for restaurants isn't about a big follower count. You want local followers who might actually book. These habits help:

1. Post Reels regularly. On a public account, they can reach people who don't follow you yet. Once a professional account has at least 200 followers, you can also post a trial reel: it's shown to non-followers rather than in your followers' feeds, so you can test an idea before deciding whether to share it with everyone. For ideas, see Reels ideas for restaurants and pubs.
2. Tag your location on every post. People who tap it can see your posts, and others tagged there, on the Instagram map.
3. Collaborate locally. Once they accept your invitation, a collab post with a supplier, a neighbouring business or a guest chef appears on both profiles and in both sets of followers' feeds.
4. Reshare your guests. When someone mentions you in their Story, it arrives in your messages, and you can usually add it to your own Story.
5. Reply to everything. Comments and messages are part of hospitality. Meta Business Suite's Inbox shows Instagram and Facebook messages, and comments on your posts, in one place.
6. Make your profile do the selling. Write a clear bio, add your booking link and pin three posts, such as your menu, how to book and a favourite review. Instagram lets you pin up to three.
7. Keep hashtags few and local. Instagram allows up to five per post.

What to skip: bought followers, follow-for-follow swaps and "like and share to win" competitions. Meta's Community Standards on spam don't allow buying, selling or exchanging likes, shares, views or follows, and that includes offering something of monetary value in return for engagement. Bought followers don't book tables anyway.

Measuring what works

Once a month, spend half an hour on three questions: what did people see, what did they do, and did it bring bookings?

What people saw and did

• Instagram insights (for public accounts) give an overview of views, interactions, new followers and the content you shared, for any time frame within the past 90 days. Each post and Reel has its own insights, and tapping the (i) icon explains each metric.
• Meta Business Suite Insights covers your Facebook Page and Instagram profile. It can include an overview of the past 28 days, results such as link clicks, a table of individual posts and, in some cases, a benchmark against businesses in the same category, such as restaurants, with similar reach.

Did it bring bookings?

• Tag your links. Add UTM tags to your booking link. These are short labels on the end of a web address, such as ?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=autumn-menu, that tell Google Analytics where a visit came from. Google recommends always including utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign.
• Mind Facebook's link limit. Facebook says some Pages can include links in only two organic posts or comments a month, so if yours is limited, save links for the posts that matter most.
• Ask. Add "How did you hear about us?" to your booking form, or ask when people arrive.
• Try a social-only offer. For example, a free dessert for guests who mention a particular post. Keep offers to food: drinks promotions come with extra licensing rules, so before running one, read the government's alcohol licensing guidance (it covers England and Wales) or ask your local licensing authority.

Keep a simple log

Each month, note your three best posts by views, your best by link clicks, the bookings you can trace, and one thing to try next month. Do more of what brought bookings and less of what didn't. Judge over two or three months, not a single post.

Doing it yourself or hiring an agency

A social media marketing agency for restaurants can save you time if nobody on the team enjoys this work, but you'll still need to supply photos, news and quick approvals. If an agency sends you a restaurant social media marketing proposal, check it covers:

• Goals tied to bookings or enquiries, not just followers
• What they'll post, how often, and who takes the photos and video
• How you approve posts before they go out
• A monthly report that includes link clicks and bookings
• The contract length and notice period
• Your Facebook Page and Instagram account staying in your business's name, with you as an admin
• No bought followers or engagement

The best social media marketing for restaurants, whether you do it yourself or pay someone, is the plan that keeps going through your busiest month.