How to use social media as a restaurant, and why it matters

Social media is one of the most powerful tools at a restaurant's disposal today.

It's where we capture the attention of potential customers, engage with and build our community, and ultimately drive traffic to our website. While your social media channels and website may serve different purposes, they should work together seamlessly to help you achieve your business goals.

Why social media matters to restaurants

Social media has become the heart of customer engagement, offering an easy and accessible way to showcase your restaurant to a broad audience, where they already are.

The primary goal of social media is to grab attention and foster engagement, while your website is there to do business —whether it’s bookings, purchasing vouchers, or ordering online.

With the constant flow of content on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, grabbing the attention of people can be a challeng. But once you do, you have the opportunity to engage with potential customers—whether by responding to comments, sharing behind-the-scenes content, or running promotions and competitions.

Social media and your website should work hand-in-hand to create a powerful ecosystem for your business that creates a seamless loop of engagement.

In many ways, social media has taken over the role that email marketing used to play. People are more likely to engage with a post on Instagram than open an email in their inbox.

Socials allow you to share real-time updates and special offers. Because people constantly check their feeds, you're meeting them where they are—often more effectively than with a traditional email campaign.

How social media and your website should work together:

In short, they should drive bookings, enquiries and sales. Your socials should encourage your followers to take actions that lead to revenue for your business.

• Social media should drive traffic to your website: Your social media accounts are an excellent way to draw people in. Post mouth-watering pictures of your dishes, share stories about your restaurant's history, offer exclusive deals or post about events going on at your venue or even in your local area. Always provide a clear call to action like "Book Now" or "Order Online" to drive traffic where it needs to go.
• Your website should guide visitors to your socials. It's not just about sending traffic to your website— it should also work the other way. People who find you on Google may not be aware of your socials. Ensuring that your website includes links back to your social media profiles encourages visitors to follow you on your platforms for updates. For example, when visitors explore your menu, a simple "Follow us for daily specials" call to action may be all it takes to get a new fan.

It's all about keeping the loop going.

Use social media to build a community and get social proof.

Social media helps you build a community around your brand. Encourage customers to tag you in photos of their food or during their time at your venue, leave reviews, and share their experiences.

Having customers sharing their own content builds credibility and creates a sense of connection with your audience. This social proof can influence potential customers, making them more likely to visit or book a table.

Don't overshare on socials.

One of the biggest mistakes most businesses make — not just restaurants —with social media is oversharing. While putting everything out there is tempting, remember that the goal is to drive people to your website to take action, not to give away all the details on your socials.

For example, simply info-dumping content on Facebook, such as posting an entire new menu as an image is a bad idea. Instead, consider creating a post that announces a new menu and creates excitement for it, with the end goal of directing your followers to your website where they can view the full menu and book.

This way, you’re not overwhelming your social media with too much information, and you're encouraging followers to take the next step.

In short:

• Leave people wanting more,
• Provide enticing calls to action (CTAs), and
• Offer exclusive deals

Remember; quality over quantity.

While it’s important to stay active on social, there’s a fine line between engaging with your audience and overwhelming them with unnecessary posts. For example, posting several times throughout the day, or sharing updates like "Good morning!", where you might be trying to raise brand awareness, or simply posting just so you can appear in your follower's feed can feel repetitive or irrelevant to your followers and is a great way to lose them.

Instead, focus on meaningful content that your audience will be interested in. Post once or twice a day at the most, and share updates about your restaurant, exciting events, or behind-the-scenes moments that have value to your audience. Value drives engagement, and gets you more likes and followers.

Each post should have a purpose—whether it’s to inform, entertain, or encourage your followers to take action, such as visiting your website or booking a table.

Remember, your goal is to keep your audience engaged and excited about your brand, not to clutter their feeds. Quality always trumps quantity in social media success.

In fact, Facebook advises posting once a day to maintain engagement levels. Posting too often can lead to your content being penalised, reducing its visibility.

Keep it fresh: avoid repeating content.

Another common mistake many restaurants make on social media is posting the same content repeatedly over several days.

While it might seem like a good way to get more eyes on your message, repeatedly posting the same, or similar content over a period of days can quickly lead to audience fatigue.

When you post the same thing too often, your followers will become blind to your content, scrolling past it without giving it a second glance.

So, how can you drive conversions from social media to your website?

Now, the big question: how do you turn those social media likes and comments into bookings, purchases, or voucher sales? The key is to make it as easy as possible for customers to take the next step from social media to your website. Here's how:

Optimise your social media profiles:

Make sure your social media profiles are complete and easy to navigate. Your bio should include a link to your website, ideally leading to your booking page or main menu.

Instagram's "Link in Bio" feature, Facebook's "Book Now" button, and Pinterest's "Shop Now" options are all fantastic ways to make your website more accessible.

• Create exclusive offers for social media followers: People love feeling like they're getting something special. Offer promotions like an "Exclusive voucher deal for our Facebook followers." These offers incentivise followers to take action and can increase conversions from social media to your website.
• Incorporate compelling calls to action (CTAs): Include a clear and compelling CTA in your posts. For instance, "Click the link in our bio to reserve your table" or "Order your gift cards online now." This will guide your audience and make it easy for them to act on their interest.
• Track and Analyse Metrics:Monitor key metrics to understand what's working and what's not. Look at website traffic from social media, the number of clicks or leads generated through your posts, and whether they impact your engagement rates.

If you're not seeing the desired results, adjust your strategy and try new approaches, such as changing the time of day you post or sharing different types of content.

Questions to ask yourself:

As a restaurant owner, assessing your use of social media to drive business is essential. Ask yourself:

1. Am I posting enough — once per day — to engage with my followers effectively?
2. Am I ensuring my content is valuable and not overwhelming my audience?
3. Am I avoiding posting overly similar content that might bore or alienate my audience?
4. Am I sharing enough to spark curiosity without giving away all the details on social media?
5. Are my posts clearly guiding followers towards an action, like booking a table or ordering online?
6. Am I creating timely, exclusive offers that encourage followers to act and become loyal customers?
7. Am I tracking social media metrics to measure how well my strategy works?
8. Does my website make it easy for people to discover my socials?

Final thoughts:

Now that you understand the relationship between social media and your website, the next step is to ensure that your website is optimised for conversions. Take a good look at your site and ask:

• Does it load quickly?
• Is the booking process easy to find and use?
• Is there a clear path from social media to your customers' desired goals?
• Ultimately, how does it make money for my business?

If you're not confident in any of these answers and need help figuring out where to start or how to improve, it might be time to work with an expert who can help you fine-tune your online presence.

Every little change can make a big difference in driving more business.

With Easy Eatery, you can streamline your website so that it is easier than ever to drive conversions directly from your social platforms.

Easy Eatery has all the tools you need to grow your business online, from taking and managing table reservations to boosting gift voucher sales.

Using Easy Eatery, you can ensure your website works seamlessly with your social media strategy to boost conversions and grow your restaurant. Explore our full list of features or get a quote today and discover how our platform can help you turn followers into loyal customers.