On social media your restaurant is not only competing with the place across the road, but with everything else that turns up on a hungry person’s screen at lunchtime. What stops them scrolling is almost always the same thing: a plate that looks the way it does in real life, a familiar face behind the bar, an answer to “do you have a table tonight?”
We work like a colleague on your shift: we film what happens in the kitchen and front of house anyway, then spread the material over a few weeks. The target is not likes, but a short path to the menu, the opening hours and a booked table.
The account left to whoever is “good with photos”
Usually, the venue’s page is run by someone on the team, in between orders. The result: three posts on a quiet day, then nothing for a month, just when the terrace is full. The daily menu appears as a photo of a handwritten sheet, and the holiday opening hours are still last year’s.
Meanwhile, people ask in the comments whether they can book for ten and leave reviews on Google. When nobody answers, the table gets booked somewhere else.
Photos and clips shot in your venue, not taken from stock libraries
The photo shoot takes place on the premises, outside peak hours, together with the kitchen. Where distance keeps us from coming often, we work with a photographer in your town or with someone on your team, following a guide we write. The dishes come out one at a time and are photographed by the window, in natural light, on the plates they reach the table on. We do not retouch the portion: a guest disappointed by the gap between the photo and the plate writes a review you can never delete.
From the same visit we also get short vertical clips: steam rising from a coffee, the knife on the chopping board, a dessert cut in two.
- The dish: the same portion and the same plate the guest gets.
- Behind the scenes: dough kneaded in the morning, the first coffee of the day, the supplier’s delivery.
- The people: the chef, the barista, the waiter every regular knows, each only with their consent.
- Useful information: holiday opening hours, the terrace being open, the daily menu written out as text, events.
- Guests’ photos: reposted only after you have asked their permission.
Social media for restaurants, at the pace of a busy kitchen
The right rhythm is the one you can keep up in December and in August alike. For most venues that means a few posts a week, plus stories (content that disappears after a day) for whatever is fleeting: the soup that has just run out, the free table by the window.
We prepare the scheduled posts ourselves, from the footage. The spur-of-the-moment stories are made by someone at the venue, on a phone, following a few simple rules: light, framing and no guest filmed without being asked.
- The opening conversation: what kind of venue you are, who comes through your door and when your tables are empty.
- The filming day: the list of dishes and shots, agreed in advance with the chef.
- The month’s calendar: the copy and images, sent for approval before publication.
- Looking back: what brought messages, calls and bookings.
Comments, messages and reviews: who replies and by when
We divide up the replies from day one. Recurring questions (opening hours, parking, the menu for fasting periods) get prepared answers, which we can give ourselves. Bookings and complaints go to the person at the venue who can make a decision.
On Google we reply to every review. For a negative one, the reply is short and calm: you say thank you, acknowledge what there is to acknowledge and invite the person to continue the conversation in private, with no details about anyone’s bill. We do not buy reviews and we do not offer a dessert in exchange for them: Google’s rules do not allow rewarded reviews.
From post to booked table, with promotions run by the platform’s rules
The link in your profile goes to the bookings page or the menu, not to the website’s home page, and the profile button is connected to your booking system, where the platform allows it. Your Google Business Profile (the listing that appears in search and on the map) gets the same photos and up-to-date opening hours.
For scheduling and messages we use Meta Business Suite, the tool a business uses to plan its posts and read its Facebook and Instagram messages in one place. We add UTM parameters to the links: tags that show in Google Analytics which post a visit came from.
We are cautious with competitions. Each platform has rules for promotions: Facebook, for instance, does not accept entry being made conditional on sharing to a personal profile or on tagging friends. Every competition has written terms and a statement that the platform is not involved, and the legal side of a prize draw, like any communication about alcoholic drinks, is something you check with your lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a restaurant post?
As often as you can manage without month-long gaps. For many venues, a few posts a week and stories on busy days are enough.
Can we repost photos taken by guests?
Yes, if you ask them first and get a clear answer. The fact that someone has tagged your venue does not mean they have given you permission to use their image. We keep the message containing their consent and credit the author.
What does the cost of managing a venue’s pages depend on?
On the number of platforms, on how many filming days there are each month and on who replies to messages and reviews. Paid promotion, if there is any, has a separate budget.
This is a typical project description: it shows how we usually approach this kind of work and does not present a project carried out for a particular client. Every real project starts from your company’s situation, and the stages, timescales and price are agreed after the initial discussion.