Statistics Source- Omnicore
If the above mentioned mind-boggling Instagram stats haven't convinced you then consider this. Most 18-35 year olds look for places to eat, drink & party on Instagram. They base their decisions on photos & experiences posted by their friends and top influencers that they follow. You simply cannot NOT afford to be on Instagram if you are in the hotel, hospitality & restaurant industry. Being on Instagram and posting photos consistently is one thing BUT using it effectively to increase your following, engagement and generating sales requires a well-planned strategy. And here are our top tips to do exactly that.
Instagram Hacks for Restaurants, Hotels & the Hospitality Industry:
Optimise that Bio. Have your logo as the display picture and write a punchy bio. Unless you have 10k plus followers, your bio is the only place where you are allowed a clickable link to another destination. Use this strategically to get maximum bookings.
Switching to a business profile enables clickable buttons to your email, phone and directions to your restaurant. You get access to insights. By studying the insights you can see your audience, their location, gender etc. You get to see which posts work and which ones don’t. You can also see when your audience is most active. And that’s how you can determine when to post. It is recommended to post between 8am-9am and/or 2pm-5pm. But then see what works for your brand and audience and decide accordingly.
Instagram Stories is a great way to be seen on the explore page and features such as @mention, location, hash tags, GIFS etc. can help you get discovered. Boomerangs, videos & GIFS with a location tag will help you get more views than just a regular picture story. You can also add Stories to Highlights and these are featured right under your bio. That is a prominent place and new followers who discover you might like to see your highlights so be sure to include the right brand messages into your highlights! If you have 10k or more followers, you can add clickable links to your stories, so make sure to use that feature if it’s available to you.
The Future is Video. Use IGTV, Instagram Live & videos to your advantage. Instagram is pushing video content up on the algorithm so it makes sense to create more video content. Recipe videos could go viral and that is something you should definitely consider. If there is a gimmicky dessert, dish or cocktail you serve, showcase that through video content to attract new customers. Videos with lots of views and engagement often make it to the top of explore page hence putting you & your property in a very prominent place. Schedule Instagram Live for special events and occasions; if you have the budgets get influencers to do Live videos for your property. This could drive their traffic on to your Instagram. IGTV is Instagram's recently launched video sharing app and allows you to upload videos that are 10 minutes long. Again indicating that video content is going to rule!
Make your property Instagrammable – Yes you do amazing food & drinks! But is your lighting and décor camera friendly? It’s worth the investment if you add some elements that picture well. Outdoor seating is a winner, fresh flowers, indoor plants, white surfaces, light & bright interiors, having full length mirrors and great lighting will always make people take photos. Having a beautiful & well-lit toilet can be a huge Instagram spot for the ladies. Have a nook especially for Instagram and taking photos, this could become a talking point on social media. Farm Girl Cafe has a dog’s face & rose petals on their lattes and this has become a big Instagram trend! Sketch London, Peggy Porschen Cakes & Farm Girl Cafe are extremely popular with top UK influencers due to their extremely instagrammable setup.
Have influencers support you. Find influencers who love what you serve/produce and invite them for an over the top experience. Their Instagram post/ story/ video would be viewed by thousands but could also potentially get to the top of explore page under certain hashtags or the location tag and can really help drive people to your property as well as your Instagram page. This isn’t difficult; most influencers can be reached via DMs or email addresses mentioned in their bio. If you are looking at someone with a decent following 30-50k followers and their brand aligns nicely with your brand they should be okay with a complimentary meal, stay or experience and not charge a fee. There is no dearth of influencers, even if one says no, there is always the next one. Another thing you could do is to invite bloggers & influencers for all your special events and launches.
Invest in Resources- Don’t just rely on your iphone. Invest in a good camera and lighting because the competition on social media is insane and with food, drinks, hotels, locations & resorts you want to see clear, sharp & high quality content. When it comes to editing keep it real, don’t use excessive filters. If the photos are taken with a good camera and decent lighting you won’t need too much editing anyway. A consistent theme, look, feel for all the photos is always a good idea.
Engagement is Key- Instagram pushes up content with higher engagement. Engagement doesn’t only mean likes it also means comments on your content and ‘reposts’ of your content and tagging of your account etc. A great way to increase engagement with comments is to ask questions in your posts or host frequent giveaways. Contests and giveaways can also help boost your following, just make sure the prize is meaty enough 😉
Collaborate to Win- Collaborate with influencers and/or other industry players as long as they are not direct competition. You could also collaborate with another local business and cross promote that way. Collaboration could be on a photo, story, video or Live content. This will get your account mentions as well as traffic from other accounts.
Engage with Influencers. Engage with influencers & key players in your niche. Leave meaningful comments on their content and you can attract their audience onto your page as well. For instance you could regularly leave comments on top food & beverage bloggers and other local businesses.
Procatively encourage guests to Instagram. Having your Instagram handle and hashtag or hashtags displayed at a prominent spot can really help. If your customers take photos of their food and tag you, you can also unlock tons of free content that you can just repost on your account every now & again.
Make use of your hashtag allowance. You are allowed maximum of 30 hashtags per post; make sure you make the most of this. Also spend time researching hashtags for your specific area, cuisine etc. Get into the minds of your customers; think what they will be searching for on Instagram. Base your hashtag selection on that. See what popular hashtags in your niche already exist, it’s always good to choose not overly populated generic and saturated hashtags.
How mc square can help
Find out how you’re doing. Sign up for a FREE social media health check and we’ll let you know how well you’re doing and give you tips and feedback on how you could do even better.
It’s not enough to get the youngest chef in your restaurant or bar to do it because they know their way around Instagram and Snapchat. Social media involves research, knowledge of how algorithms and Facebook advertising works, analytical expertise and strategic marketing skills. Contact mc square marketing to find out how we can help you manage your channels, so you can concentrate on running your business.
If you prefer to do your social media management in-house, we’re happy to sit down with you and devise a training program for your staff so they learn to do it correctly. We also keep up to date with new trends and developments in the fast-paced world of social media marketing, so you’re always ahead of your competition. Contact us to find out more about how we can help you do social media marketing for your hospitality business correctly.
