Instagram Marketing for Restaurants

1. Create your Instagram account by adding your email and preferred password. Get started here.
2. Add your account handle: This is your Instagram "name" and needs to be unique to what the account will be about. For restaurants, use restaurant name and for chefs, use Chef_name or Chef_speciality. 
3. Upload your account profile photo. This could be your restaurant image or a unique photo of you as a chef. 
4. Spend time on your BIO: This is a summary of what your Instagram account is about, including the relevant hashtags (#). Your BIO is a representation of your #elevatorpitch.
5. Add your call to action buttons: These are quick shortcuts to take actions such as messages, emails and clicks to the restaurant more convenient.
6. Upload your story covers: Since you will be highlighting certain stories on Instagram, a best practice is to group stories by categories.

Instagram has become a key platform in the foodservice industry due to the platform's aesthetic advantages for chefs and restaurant owners. Every dish, chef, restaurant photo should meet the following guidelines to drive maximum reach and engagement:

1. Aim to inspire with every post: If you're competing in the foodservice industry, diner senses need to be enticed through your post. Drag your diners in through posting mouth-watering photos. 
2. Be consistent in your look & feel: Consistency is key on Instagram. This enables your fans to expect high quality and engaging content.
3. Only post quality content: Every post on your newsfeed needs to consist of a high-quality image or video. Engagement for regular posts and advertisements are dependent on how visually pleasing the post is. No need for a professional camera or photoshoot as most Chefs capture their dish with their smartphone. View our latest Food Photography Course for FREE to get started!
4. Share your recipes: Dish content is king on Instagram and a best practice tactic by many chefs for growing fans is to share your recipes. If it is a family secret, no worries.
5. Post what your followers want: Don't post what you want to post, but through asking what your audience wants, post that. Some fans aren't really interested in events or dining layout.
6. Show your face: People want to see who is behind the recipes. Post a photo or video of yourself and your staff every now and then with some interesting facts.
7. Post fan content: This is known as User Generated Content (UGC) and recommended by many Instagrammers. They say "the chef inspires the community and the community inspires the chef." Remember to give credit to the original 'grammer'. 

1. Use Story Features: Instagram stories include great features like "Questions" and "Polls" that enables your audience to interact with you. Spend some time every few days asking and answering questions. Your fans will love the real interaction! Simply tap "your story" on Instagram followed by the sticker icon in the "Create" tab. Add either the "QUESTIONS" or "POLL" sticker and ask/answer away!
2. Go Live on Instagram: Instagram Live allows you to stream a live video to your fans. When going live, fans receive a notification alerting them to enter the broadcast. Try and 'Go Live' every now and then when creating your best-seller or when having time to answer fan questions. F2F interaction increases fan engagement and loyalty!
3. Post on IGTV: IGTV enables you to publish videos of up to 1 hour to your Instagram account whereas normal videos on your newsfeed can only be 60-seconds long. Longer videos tend to equal premium content. Creating a recipe series works quite well on Instagram showing guests your 'behind-the-scenes' preparation to crafting the perfect dish!

1. Use Hashtags: Hashtags are great for driving organic reach since they tell the Instagram algorithm what your content is and how trending your content is. Having at least one # will get you 12.6% more engagement! Even though some foodies go nuts with #'s, the recommended number of hashtags to add per post is 11. For the latest food, chef and restaurant #'s, scroll further down!
2. Follow Others: A following grow a following! If you follow someone, they are more likely to follow you back and when you have reached 10,000 followers you get access to advanced Instagram features. Aim to follow relevant profiles as this would increase your chances of getting a follow back. 
3. Tag Locations: Always tag your restaurant in your newsfeed content. When diners are searching for your restaurant name on Instagram, these photos and videos will appear. Tag certain geo-locations such as food events. 
4. Like Other: In the same way a follow = follow, so does a like = like. Like a bunch of chef content to drive awareness and consideration!
5. Reshare: To reshare user-generated content or in other words, photos, videos and stories of your dishes takes by guest, download Repost for Instagram on Android or iPhone.
6. Promote: If you can invest in your Instagram account, either promote certain high performing posts or advertise on Instagram via Facebook Business Manager. To get started, view the Instagram guide.

• Profile Views
• New Followers
• Unfollows
• Reach
• Engagement Rate
• Story Retention Rate
• Best Time to Post
• Comments

These KPI's can be tracked in Instagram Insights.