Having been in the food industry for many years guiding businesses ranging from global food brands to a wide variety of restaurants we’ve learned a lot, and when it comes to using Instagram as a marketing tool there are some basic best practices restaurants should follow.

First and foremost, it’s important to listen and learn from feedback which includes regularly monitoring social media, Yelp and other mediums to identify both positives and negatives early on. Is customer service at a particular location failing? Are people going crazy over a new menu item? These are things you need to know, and most restaurants use social media analytics platforms to gain insights.

Secondly, when planning the Instagram marketing strategy for your restaurant it’s critical to first intimately understand your existing customers and what drives them so you can have that carryover to your social media presence. The ideal scenario is to have the same vibe on Instagram as one would experience when eating at your restaurant, and developing an effective strategy is key.

Thirdly, a best practice is to have clearly established guidelines for what employees can and cannot post on social media because over the years we’ve seen tons of horror stories. For example, employees posting damaging content from the kitchen and tagging the location on Instagram so anyone browsing posts under that particular location will see the content – a major fail.

If your restaurant is kicking off a new Instagram marketing initiative or looking to improve results based on current efforts, we’re big foodies and are here to help.