We all know that social media is one of the best ways to market restaurants in this day and age, however not all realize that Instagram is truly the best thing since sliced bread. But now you do.

According to a study published by L2 Think Tank, Instagram registers consumer engagement 18 times greater than Facebook and a stunning 48 times better than Twitter. From a marketing perspective, that’s pretty significant. Restaurants need to market via Instagram and must perform the dance correctly if they wish to succeed.

As an avid Instagram user with 11k followers on my personal account (@sirbrainchild), most of which follow me for my culinary adventures, I know what gastronomes want and how to connect with them. And there are 3 things restaurants must do to succeed on Instagram:
1) Share high-quality, colorful photos
2) Identify, monitor and engage users posting with relevant hashtags
3) Proactively like/comment on content posted by target markets.

Let’s say there’s a restaurant located in Los Angeles, CA that’s known for its steaks a seafood. Aside from sharing photos of their tasty creations, the restaurant must find and build an audience that will likely convert to sales. Having 1,000 followers in other parts of the world is fantastic, but it won’t generate revenue to keep the lights on. On the other hand, monitoring the Los Angeles hashtag (#losangeles) and finding local foodies will.

A key part of succeeding on Instagram is to not only think about yourself, but also others. Each time you like or comment on another person’s photos they receive a notification, so if a restaurant in Los Angeles likes 300 food photos that are tagged with #losangeles they’re basically sending out 300 digital handshakes to individuals with a high propensity to convert to sales. They’re local and enjoy food, it’s as simple as that.

And if you’re wondering, yes I did make the dish in the above photo. It’s content like this that produces the best results.