Modern restaurants thrive through engaging online video content. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube make great methods of showcasing dishes, cooking styles, and dining spaces. In 2024, though, short-form video content reigns supreme, and Instagram Reels is one of the space’s most popular apps. As most restaurants already promote through photo content on Instagram’s main platform, getting started on Reels is easier than you may think. Use these ideas for promoting your restaurant on Instagram Reels to reach new customers and showcase your brand!
Otter’s digital marketing experts have sourced these Reels strategies from some of our most-followed clients and our own Instagram presence. By putting them into action on your restaurant’s Reels page, you’ll be making the most of this platform’s features. You’ll also be building a brand identity in one of today’s leading digital promotion landscapes, attracting an ever-growing customer base. With a simple online ordering link in your page’s bio, turning Reels views into profit won’t take long either. Let’s dive into our top ideas for restaurant Reels!
Tips for gaining views and followers
If you’re just starting out on Instagram Reels, you have a great opportunity to experiment with different formats and ideas! This will help establish a unique style for your brand, and will let you begin building a steady follower based.
The audience on Instagram has its own tastes and preferences for restaurant content, and interacts with material based on them. Use the following tips as a guideline for creating effective Reels videos that encourage potential customers to like, follow, and keep up with your brand. (For more general information on getting started with a restaurant profile, see this Instagram guide.)
- The ideal length for Instagram Reels clips is between 7 and 15 seconds. This timeframe keeps your audience engaged and provides just enough information to make them want more.
- Add trending sounds directly from Instagram. Be sure to utilize newer sounds that have between 5,000 and 50,000 uses.
• To find these sounds, scroll through the Reels section of Instagram’s “Explore” page. (This can be found on the bottom right of Instagram’s main page, next to your profile photo.)
• Save a sound that you want to use by clicking the sound icon at the bottom-right of a video, and press “Save” to use it for your next Reel.
- Use a hook! The first three seconds of your video are crucial. Start with an engaging point that’s unique to your eatery. Here are some examples:
• “Have you tried the best $8 Happy Hour in New York City?”
• “If you’re looking for an incredible cheeseburger in Los Angeles, look no further.”
• “Craving barbecue in Austin? You’ve found the right place!” - Add some text to your video through Instagram’s editor or with a third-party app.
- Organize your posts with hashtags! Utilizing the right tags for the restaurant world ensures that your Reels can be found easily by customers. Some of these tags include: #restaurant, #restaurantfood, #restaurantbusiness, #restaurantindustry, etc.
- Utilize Instagram SEO. Add keywords and phrases your audience is likely to search for in your bio & Reel captions. Using these terms will increase your chances of appearing at the top of search results when eaters look for these terms! Examples include:
• “Best coffee”
• “Austin foodies”
• “Spicy tuna roll” - Provide “alt text” for your Reels and photos. This additional piece of text, hidden to most users, helps audiences find your content through Instagram’s search engine. It also makes your posts accessible to all audiences, expanding your brand’s reach.
Instagram Reels content ideas
When it comes to creating high-performance Instagram Reels content, you don’t have to invest in any new tech. As a restaurant owner, you’ve already got an appealing space and subjects to highlight! Your audience is excited by the inner workings of a kitchen, so play to them by recording your day-to-day activities. Emphasize the parts of your restaurant that lead customers to wanting more – your food, your friendly staff, and the ambience. With this inspiration in mind, you’ll be making Reels that motivate eaters to visit your restaurant or order online.
- To display your restaurant’s recipes, film a behind-the-scenes look at your most famous menu items being made. Highlight certain ingredients, cooking methods, kitchen tools, etc. For a personal touch, describe how the dish is prepared through a voiceover. Remember, authentic videos perform wonderfully – no special cameras needed!
- Demonstrate your restaurant’s plating skills with aesthetically-pleasing food videos directly in your phone’s camera. Set up a delicious-looking meal on one of your tables, and take 3-5 shots of it from different angles, including ideas like:
• An overlay showing a full spread of dishes from left to right.
• Close-up footage of specific freshly-made meals.
• A drink being poured into a glass. - Keep up with Instagram’s Explore page to see what kind of Reels are currently trending in the restaurant space. (For an example, see this recent post.) Follow these restaurant trends to take advantage of their popularity with eaters!
- Promote the talent at your restaurant through an interview with your head chef during downtime. Ask them about what their favorite dish is, and have them explain the story behind it. Cap off the Reel with footage of the meal being prepared.
- Give eaters a better idea of what goes on at your restaurant by showing a day in the life of your staff members. Record snippets of behind-the-scenes activities in your kitchen and dining room to help customers see what running an eatery is like.
- Make sure your followers are up-to-date with your latest creations by featuring new menu items often. Promote recently-introduced seasonal dishes by pairing footage of them with trending sounds to fire up your eaters’ cravings.
- If your restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, give customers a look at what you provide across a full day of meals. Show a short clip of an eater dining on each dish, or the line chefs preparing them, to highlight the variety of your menu.
- Get creative! No one knows your restaurant’s strengths more than you do, so use your own personal flair on your Reels. Do you have a funny or original video idea you’re looking to try out? This platform is the perfect space to experiment with it.
Start serving up your restaurant’s Instagram Reels success!
With the ideas, strategies, and inspiration we’ve listed above, achieving your restaurant’s stardom on Instagram Reels is easy! Remember that, as a popular social media channel, Reels is a great way to stay in touch with your customers. Use these tips to kickstart engaging conversations with your audience, and encourage them to see what you’ve highlighted for themselves! Promoting your restaurant on Instagram Reels isn’t just a marketing tactic – it’s a powerful avenue for your business’s long-term profit.
