How Influencers And Restaurants Collaborate To Drive Growth On Instagram
There are a couple of things that exemplify that some matches are made in heaven. For instance, you have cheeseburgers and Coke or peanut butter and jelly. On the other hand, you have Batman and Robin or Bert and Ernie. And then finally, you have food on Instagram.
Instagram is, hands-down, the perfect place for everything related to food and food photography.
Are you eating out at someplace fancy? Insta-upload on food and ambiance.
Have you got an easy recipe to share? Or have you cooked up a storm? Click and share.
Following a new diet and losing weight? #Goals!
In the midst of all the noise around the influencer market and the love for food, Instagram holds a place of its own. Naturally, realizing this potential, restaurant businesses are scrambling to gain visibility and grow their social media presence. Here are some tips to increase your client base:
Pick a Time to Post
As with any social media website, timing is of the essence. However, here’s where Instagram can get tricky. Instagram aims to nurture a spirit of spontaneous uploads rather than planned strategies. Hence, unlike sites such as Facebook and Twitter, you will not find a built-in tool to schedule posts. Even if you do shell out some bucks to invest in third-party apps, you may still hit a dead end as you would still have to publish the post.
Considering that there is no workaround in this challenge, you will have to go old school. Have a dedicated team member in your social media management team to publish content at the best times for maximum engagement.
Invest in Hashtag Research
Hashtags -these are something simple, yet so intricate. They are singularly the most crucial element to drive organic results. Using the right set of hashtags could get your restaurant in the limelight! However, with everyone posting about #foodie or #foodgasm, how will you break through all the noise?
The answer is simple – by carrying out simple keyword research. Luckily, there is no fixed rule on the number of hashtags that you can use. Hence, find the perfect balance of generic to specific keywords that will meet your marketing goals.
A good practice is to include location tags to the generic keywords to make them more relevant. For instance, #foodporn can take you anywhere over the world. However, #nycfoodporn can get you in the area of your choice.
Rope in the Influencers
One of the quickest hack to get more Instagram followers requires you to piggyback on someone else’s fame. Fortunately, there is no dearth of food bloggers on Instagram. A good number of these influencers have a strong following, and, as such, they can shape people’s perception.
Start by identifying and shortlisting these influencers. Next, you can get in touch with them. You can have them leave you a good word in exchange for a memorable wine and dine experience. Alternatively, they may charge you for their services. Eventually, it depends on their reach, their influencer status, and the nature of interaction that you have.
Conduct Contests
If you are looking for a tried and tested formula for gaining more views on Instagram, then contests are the way to go. Contests can fetch you stellar post engagement results and help you gain some credibility amongst the masses. Plus, it unlocks a wealth of user-generated content (UGC) that you can utilize while marketing your eatery through Instagram.
Do you want your contests to garner an excited response? Get the Instagram influencer in the mix. Given that they already have a fair amount of reach and trust, their endorsement is enough to send everyone in a tizzy.
One of the most basic Instagram contests involves the classic game of love, tag, and follow. Publish photos of your food or establishment over Instagram, encourage players to like the post, tag a friend (or two!), and get them to follow your account. It’s that simple!
Promote Social Proof
Since we mentioned UGC, it is also worth stating that they work excellently in positioning as social proof. Check out the “tagged” section of your Instagram account to locate all the pictures of patrons who have eaten at your restaurant. Some of these images will stun you with their quality and attractiveness.
Send a Direct Message to these profiles and seek permission to repost their photos (with due credit, of course). You may even ask them to share their experience in a line or two and share that as the caption for the post. In doing so, you will be pushing other users to share their experiences and start a conversation in the comments section.
Collectively, it will boost your eatery’s credibility, and sharing these guest experiences will make them feel heard.
Engage, Engage, Engage
At the heart of everything, Instagram is a community of users bound by their common and shared interests. Hence, involve yourself in all the activities to become an insider. You will notice that through this approach, you will be more successful in connecting and networking with people.
You need to express the human side of your business. Hence, post comments on someone else’s posts, reply to comments, publish Insta stories, or share interesting anecdotes. The point is to keep the discourse flowing. Make use of funny comebacks, witty one-liners, and polite exchanges to keep the conversation positive.
Final Thoughts
If you wish to get your restaurant in the spotlight, you can successfully leverage influencer marketing to get started. Collaborating with an influencer can be one of the easiest ways to get an all-access pass to the Insta-verse.
Once you gain some amount of traction, it is all about writing catchy and viral-worthy copies and engaging with your users to get seen. Drip feed them information and stay off long posts. When it comes to captions, less is more.
Eventually, it all comes down to telling a compelling story that can keep your audiences hooked right off the bat. Continue doing so, and you will be fittingly rewarded with a large following!
