1. a guide by
CLICK HERE to listen to our podcast episode about promoting your restaurant with Instagram

2. Grab a free account from the
app store and choose a
username. You can use
fullstops, numbers,
underscores or abbreviations.
Tip: Be sure to include the
name of your business.
Upload a brand logo as your
profile picture.
Write a brief description of
your business for your Bio.
Try to communicate what
makes you unique and think
about the type of customer you
want to attract. Include a link!
The only 'clickable' link you have
control of is within your Bio
(unless you are paying for ads).
Most users choose to link to the
homepage of their website.
Tip: Drive people to a page
where they can sign-­up to
your email newsletter.
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Hashtags are used as a search tool in
Instagram. Users can tag each photo
with up to 30 hashtags.
Collect a list of hashtags that are
relevant to your business. Keep in mind
that, for the most part, you want to
attract other Instagrammers who are
local enough to actually visit your
restaurant.
#
This is a
hashtag
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3
4 5
Find hashtags that have large followings and fit with your
restaurant brand, offer and target customer. More targeted
hashtags with smaller followings make more sense for local
search.
#foodstagram #desserts #yummy #instafood
#delicious #foodie #eatlocal #restaurantlife #birthdaydinner
#burgertime #finedining #gourmetfood #freshfish
Instagram is designed to be a mobile
experience. You get limited access to
Instagram using the Web.
Create a one-­page plan,
detailing strategy and
content. How will you use
Instagram to engage with
new and existing customers?
What can you show them?
What stories can you tell that
they want to hear? What is
unique or special about your
business? What are its
strengths?
Play around with filters and decide which ones to use
for food, staff, celebrations etc. Don't over do it though!
You want your photos to feel like they belong together.
Decide who will take
photos and who has
access to the Instagram
account to post, like and
comment.
Don't give everyone
access but, you can't be
everywhere so delegate
and get your team
involved!
Let your diners know that
you are on Instagram and
give them a branded
hashtag to use. You could
even be a bit more creative
and ask them to post a
particular type of photo for
an event or occasion.
A small chalkboard sign on a
bar or waiting area could
work well.
6
Have fun, express yourself and get creative!
You are not a corporation so make sure you
sprinkle plenty of personality across your photos
and comments. Keep it simple and keep going!

3. Strategy is key and It can be helpful to think about stories or themes. Hopefully, you have done some
work on profiling your restaurant to consider your ideal offer and customer as this will inform the type of
stories you want to tell. This section will get you thinking about how Instagram can help you engage with
those customers. Make decisions about the direction of your efforts because without a strategy you may
lose interest or focus. Your time is valuable so be clear about the benefits of using Instagram.
Relevant hashtags
Encourage 'follows'
User-­generated
Reply to comments
Post positive reviews
Re-­post customer photos
Food quotes
Run competitions
Video
Use the photo map
What is working for
your competitors?
Drive awareness
Promote location
Increase customer spend
Improve reputation
Create loyalty
Introduction to new food and
beverages
Up-­sell of additional products
and services
Shout about credentials /
accolades
Encourage advanced
bookings
Target quiet nights
Top customers, fans etc
Staff & teams
New menus, suppliers, offers
Meet the chef, owners, family
Locally-­sourced produce
Private room / conferences
Parties and events
Weddings
Birthdays / anniversaries
Locally brewed beers
Finest wines
Community involvement
Town or city life
Wildlife & countryside
WHY? WHAT? HOW?

4. To be consistent with your posts decide who in the business is responsible for the account. Without
someone taking ownership of your social media it may grind to a halt. As the business owner or
marketing professional you can't be everywhere so decide how and when to involve others. You
don't want everyone taking and posting so be clear about who does what.
Business Owner Front of House Back of House
Customer reviews
Customers
Events
Interior/ exterior
Rooms, decor, tables
Wines, beers, spirits &
cocktails
Popular / new dishes
Recipes
Ingredients
Kitchen team
Food preparation
Photographs of suppliers
/ deliveries
Customer reviews
Your best customers
Restaurant story / history
Growth & expansion
Suppliers
Food business quotes
Showcasing
community involvement
Customers
Regulars
Friends and family
Celebrations and events
Favourite dishes
Yes, selfies!
1 -­ 2 photos per day is a good place to start. You must be consistent and post regularly
to build an engaged following. You may use third-­party apps to schedule Instagram
posts but it's not necessary. Make time in your admin schedule (my kind of admin!)
Photographs of : Photographs of : Photographs of : Photographs of :

5. Increase your chances of success by following these tips on equipment and workflow. Think about
the type of photos you can post to build a community around common interests and engage with new
and existing customers.
Using plates with your
restaurant name or logo will
hopefully ensure all interior
shots taken by your patrons
will be branded. This looks
more authentic than adding a
logo to photos after you've
taken them and would save a
lot of time.
Take photos using your
smartphone camera app in
the first instance. It's much
quicker than opening up the
Instagram app and you can
keep copies of all your photos
in one place before editing
and posting to Instagram.
With a free Dropbox account you can automatically back-­up all of your
cameraphone photos in the Cloud. You can share this folder with anyone
you choose and post to Instagram from the Dropbox mobile app.
A DSLR will give you better
quality photos but will likely
get in the way of taking and
posting regularly unless you
are committed and especially
organised! If you have photos
from a freelancer then store
and post them from dropbox.
Composition is important.
Go for the square Instagram
format as it's easier to
compose a decent photo. Use
the golden ratio and Rule of
Thirds to compose your
shots. Videos often look
better in landscape which
gives you that cinematic look.
Be sure to add photos taken
in your restaurant to your
Photo Map (but maybe not if
posting from home!)
Potential customers will see
you on their map if they
search, locally.
10 awesome food-­themed
Instagram accounts you need
to follow immediately.
The best foodie Instagram accounts
to follow in 2016.

6. Pick 2 - 3 of your favourite filters and think about any other style or content considerations. Brief staff
who have been selected to take photos or post to Instagram.
There are 40 filters that each give your photos a different persona. There are also a whole host of options in the toolbox to
manipulate your photos to your hearts content. Select your favourites to achieve consistency when people scroll through
your photos.
Structure, Contrast and
Sharpen will bring out
details and textures in
food and ingredients.
How about using a black
and white filter like Moon,
Willow or Inkwell
to immortalise your team?
This also keeps all of your
food photos visually
distinct from staff photos.
Give customers the
freedom to pick their
own filters but ask them
to use your brand
hashtag and the photo
map.
You can now track their
posts and engage with
them on Instagram.
Make your best dishes sing
with bold, colourful filters
like Clarendon, Lark,
Juno, Hefe, Ludwig,
Mayfair and Lo-­fi.
Customers Team Dishes Ingredients

7. + 200 %
Put simply, you will get more likes, follows and
comments on Instagram with less effort
compared to Facebook or Twitter. Arguably,
Instagram provides a better experience for its
users with a simple, clean interface and no
obvious ads...and it's fun to use! It's a great
place to build a community around your
business.
On Instagram your followers will have the
opportunity to see all of your photos in their
feed without you having to pay to reach them
(for now!)
For example, if you have 1000 Facebook page
'likes' and you don’t put any spend in Facebook
advertising then your posts might be seen by
just 5% to 15% of your Facebook audience,
even if they have 'liked' your page.
Like, follow, share and respond to comments as quickly
as possible. If a customer makes a complaint or has a
gripe in a comment, thank them and ask to continue
the conversation via email.
One of the strengths of digital marketing is the
ability to experiment and test different strategies and
approaches without spending huge amounts of
money. Find out what works for you and keep on
doing it.
Hi, I'm Evan and I'm a Content Producer at
BusinessHub. I'm a sucker for a good burger and
fries! Say 'hello' on Twitter (@TeamBusinessHub)
- 60 %
100 %
6 %
Followers
reached per post
Without paying
for ads!

8. Bit.ly Why marketers can't afford to Ignore Instagram in 2016'
SocialMediaToday: Instagram will make our brand more money then Facebook
Selfstartr.com: Why brands should embrace Instagram instead of facebook
Sproutsocial: Measure & Increase Instagram Engagement