The Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Your Restaurant, Part II : How to Do It

If you haven’t checked out Part I: What to Do, go back and refresh yourself on that. Otherwise, here’s a few tips on implementing your Instagram strategy for your restaurant.

How Frequently to Post

Striking a balance between staying active on Instagram and posting too frequently is a delicate one, but it looks like most restaurants post several times a week.  Try varying what time of day you post as well to see what gets the most interaction.

Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to get your Instagram posts to be discovered, particularly cuisine and location-based ones. For example, ones like #ChineseFood #FoodPorn #Chicago might help people discover the account of a great Chinese restaurant in Chicago if they happen to be browsing those hashtags.

Use Your Employees

Your employees can be your best resource for social media. Empower a couple of your staff  to run the Instagram account (especially if you don’t have time to do it yourself) for a while and see how it goes. Be sure to tell them what types of photos you’re expecting to share on there—and what types you aren’t!

Video

Not everything you share needs to be a still image. Test out Instagram’s video feature with videos of food being cooked or special events being held.

Photography Tips

For more information on shooting your dishes, check out our guide to Food Photography.

Share it elsewhere

Does your restaurant have other social media going? Instagram images are great to share on Facebook or Twitter—just use the “Share” feature when publishing your Instagram photo.