Why Your Restaurant Should Be On Instagram

If you’re running a restaurant in 2015, then you probably already have some type of online presence and have taken a stab at social media. Of course, Facebook and Twitter are the most popular, but Instagram is close on their tails.

Even though Instagram would appear to be a bit naive as a promotional tool at first glance, there’s definitely more than meets the eye. It gives you a truly great channel to establish an even stronger online presence, and here’s how.

Great for SEO

The more channels you are using to get your content out, the more visible you are on search engines. It’s as simple as that. Creating a presence on Instagram, gaining followers, facilitating interactions, using hashtags relevant to your niche – all of this helps with search engine optimization.

The hashtag system used on Instagram is also great for targeted marketing. It allows people who are interested in your type of restaurant and food options to seek you out more easily. You can also see who is using hashtags relevant to you on Instagram, which lets you enter the conversation and direct them to your restaurant.

Better Visibility Than Facebook

As most businesses on Facebook know, it’s not always guaranteed that everyone who has “liked” your page is going to see your updates. Facebook’s algorithms are making it harder and harder to stay visible. Getting into people’s newsfeeds on Facebook has become a downright struggle.

You won’t experience similar problems with Instagram. If someone chooses to follow you, that person is getting to see everything you post. There is no selection process, everything that you post will appear in their feed when they are browsing Instagram.

The Fastest Growing Social Network

Facebook ended up buying Instagram after realizing it’s potential back in 2012, and it has been growing exponentially ever since. There are close to 300 million people on Instagram today, and that’s a huge market.

There are 30,000 photos posted on Instagram every minute. Instagram is also an app that people really do use regularly. An estimated 70 percent of Instagram users will check out their feeds at least once a day and close to 40 percent will do some more than once. And most importantly, Instagram’s growth shows absolutely no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Excellent Interactivity

Interacting with  potential customers is easy and very effective with Instagram. You can comment on photos, search hashtags to locate discussions relevant to your business, and even tag people in your photos and in the comments of other photos.

It’s a fantastic platform for getting people’s attention. You’re also very easy to find if you are using the right hashtags. People searching for certain terms with hashtags can easily come across your profile and check you out as a result.

Mobile is the Future

Social media has moved away from desktop and laptop computers over the years and today, it’s all about mobile devices. Studies say that close to 90 percent of social media activity today takes place on a mobile app.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Instagram was conceived as a mobile app and that’s what it does best. Even though Instagram profiles are available via browser, just about everyone on Instagram browses their account using a mobile app.

Show Your Wares

What better place to show people how delicious your food looks than a platform where millions of people post pictures of their food every day?

Showing off what you’re eating is one of the pillars that Instagram was founded upon. As a restaurant, not taking advantage of this would be a huge mistake.

Conclusion

Instagram is quickly changing the way that businesses in all verticals are not only marketing their products and services, but also interacting with clients. So if you don’t have an Instagram account for your restaurant yet, get one.