Here’s a handy sheet of best practices for Instagram and Facebook. Make sure you’re following BentoBox on Instagram, and join our Facebook group to talk about the industry at large. If you ever want to talk about restaurant social strategy, send a message to BentoBox’s social media manager here!
Instagram Feed:
Finding the balance of quantity and quality
*You should post on the feed every day with a direct link to the pages that are relevant
Some themes:
Regramming diner’s photos that they post + tag you in
Daily specials on your online menu or Online Ordering Store
Photos of the space
Staff highlights
BTS (prep, special ingredients, R&D, etc)
New things: like Upcoming Events or your Catering Store's new addition or special
Highlight a discount using our Promo Code tool for your Gift Cards or Product Store
Tools:
Have the link to your website (specifically that goes to your menu or online ordering store) in the website section of your bio.
Instagram Stories:
If you have the resources try and always have something on your IG story
Some themes:
Reposting when customers tag you
Daily hours or specials
BTS prep of a dish/inspiration
Support an affiliate or industry friend and post your experience at their restaurant
Instagram Reels:
Again, only if you have the resources should you make reels!
First of all, have fun :)
Some themes:
The making of a dish/drink
Getting the restaurant set up for service
BTS that diners find super interesting
Influencer reels reposting
Good restaurant Instagram accounts to get inspired:
Bernies: good photography displaying their menu offerings, plus user-generated content
Cervos: does a great job of re-gramming nice photos on feed
Diner: Good job at showing BTS content, their staff, as well as food
Lost Larson: nice mix of food, product, and architectural photography
Burma Superstar: Good job with Instagram stories + highlighting the ecommerce products they have to offer
Facebook:
Optimize for Instagram and share to Facebook. That means whatever photo you’re sharing on feed to Instagram, share to Facebook. For Facebook your captions can be longer, providing more information.
Prioritize answering Facebook DMs quickly (versus Instagram!) since Facebook for Business shows how long it takes your page to respond to customer questions
Ask questions and get useful feedback from your community–Facebook can be very active and doesn’t have the same algorithm as Instagram.
Across Social Accounts:
Include a direct link to your website in the Bio section
Follow loyal taggers to build your relationship with them
Keep guests updated on new hours, menus, press, etc.
Promote your website revenue drivers - Online Ordering, Catering, Products, Gift Cards, Ticket Events, etc.
Need image assets? Check out our complimentary promo materials here