Instagram was launched eight years ago in 2010. Since then it has grown from strength to strength with the number of users increased by 100 million since April to a whopping 500 million. That figure is only more likely to increase with more additional features for users to get creative with.
By having a massive quantity of users this creates a fantastic opportunity to be able to instantly access and influence your target market audience. By using the right hashtags, a clever caption and a stunning image which communicates your restaurant branding you could reach thousands.
Instagram Stories is an additional feature launched in 2016. Instead of a static photo being posted, this feature lets users create a slideshow of images and video captured within 24 hours, after this time frame it will disappear.
All the captured media can be edited using fun icons, overlays and text, making it very creative to use.
One of the most interesting benefits of Instagram Stories from a restaurant marketing perspective is that it breaks down the faceless barrier between customers and brand. Nowadays customers want to know a lot more about what goes on behind a brand, they want to know the “human” aspect of it.
Behind the scenes, engaging content like this is a defining factor for potential customers to want to be part of your brand rather than your competitors.
3 Great Ways Restaurants Can Utilise Instagram Stories
Promote New Dishes
When launching a new seasonal dish for a new menu you could create a visual journey of the dish from start to finish. You could capture the moments where your supplier arrives with the raw ingredients, how it’s stored, chefs at different stations prepping the dish, how it comes together during service and finally its path from the pass to the customer’s table.
Advertise jobs
People are most likely to be job hunting online using the internet and recruitment agencies. We all know they do their best to give you the information you want to know, but sometimes that is not enough.
Imagine advertising a new job vacancy for your business but your job description seems to be very similar to many that are already out there. How is this going to ensure you attract candidates that will fit in with your company and its culture?
Use Instagram stories to capture the culture of your business and how well everyone gets along. Film the after-work events, the charity days your staff can take, the training sessions and so on. The proof is always in the pudding and what better way to prove it than a live Instagram story.
Capture the atmosphere
With many events throughout the year such as Valentine’s day and Christmas, your restaurant should be busy with customers having a great time. An Instagram Story filming these moments will be a great addition to your marketing.
Customers are always deciding between which restaurants to visit. If they’ve seen a story of a great lunch/dinner service, they are more likely to book a table having already had a visual taste of what to expect.
A written review will never encapsulate the atmosphere of a buzzing restaurant like an Instagram Story can.
Essential tips
Create stories regularly, they only last 24 hours so you want to maximise its use.
Make sure to capture big work events e.g. charity bake sales, training sessions, etc.
Let staff of all levels film their story for the day so you get the perspective from up and down the company.
Get creative, really utilise all the in-app tools to create something unique and interesting.
Use polls to increase engagement and to see what your audience finds the most interesting.
If you have captured something you don’t want to disappear, save it to your story highlights which remain on your profile.
Now you know the essentials of creating a great Instagram story, get in contact with the Captivate team to take it to the next level. Call us on 020 3954 6253 or fill out a contact form here.
