Social Media Marketing for Restaurants: Beyond the Food Photo
Every restaurant posts the same photo: the plate, from above, in good light. It works, and it is also what every other restaurant in the suburb posts at the same time on a Friday. The feeds that fill tables post the kitchen, the person on the pass, the special that sold out and the story of why the menu changed. (Also the plate. Keep posting the plate.)
“Without Magic Marketer, I probably wouldn’t be posting to social media at all.”
“It’s impressive how easy it is to post to social media.”
“It’s easy, simple and I have social content going out everywhere.”
What to post
The posts that belong in this feed
Not a content calendar of invented themes. The work already produces these.
The special
What it is, why tonight, how many there are. Scarcity is honest when it is true.
The kitchen
The prep at 2pm, the delivery at 6am, the chef explaining the dish in twenty seconds. This is the content people cannot get elsewhere.
The people
Front of house by name. Regulars come back for people, not plating.
The why
Why the menu changed, where the fish came from, what the new wine is. The story behind the plate is the post.
Where it comes from
You already have the source
The photos staff already take
Somebody on every shift is photographing food. Collect them.
The chef talking about a dish
Thirty seconds of audio. It becomes a caption, a quote card and a Reel script.
The menu
Every dish on it is a post. The menu PDF is a month of carousels.
Platforms
Where this kind of work actually shows up
The main one. Stories every service, Reels when something moves, the feed for the dishes and the people.
Bookings, events, the older regulars, the set-menu for Mother's Day. Less pretty, more useful.
Google Business Profile
The one people see before they book. The special of the week, the new hours, the photo of the room. Post there every week.
TikTok
If you have a kitchen personality and something to show. Not compulsory, and dead if it is forced.
Cadence
How often is enough
Stories every service, one feed post a day if you have the material, three a week if you do not. A special on Google Business every week. The feed that goes quiet on a Tuesday looks closed on a Tuesday.
Usual mistakes
What this feed gets wrong
Only the plate from above
Half the feed should be people and process. The plate alone is wallpaper.
Ignoring Google Business Profile
It is the post people see with the booking button next to it. Instagram is the mood; Google is the decision.
Replying to bad reviews in public with heat
Everyone reads the reply, not the review. Short, calm, take it offline.
Tools that do this
Turn this week’s source into posts
Free to start. Same job as Magic Marketer, without the brand kit.
Questions
The special and why tonight, the kitchen and the prep, front of house by name, and the story behind a dish. Plus the plate, in moderation.
Other guides
All guides →See what a week of your material becomes.
A recording, a photo, a link, or one sentence. Review the drafts. Publish when they are yours.
Takes minutes to get set up. No card needed.