10 ways to increase restaurant reservations using social media

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It’s a noisy market out there in the restaurant industry social media world. Keeping your restaurant social media marketing strategy fresh can be a tricky and ever-changing game. Done right, however, you can increase restaurant reservations using social media and build a strong social media presence.

The whole goal is to get the word about your business out to potential customers and get them to take action and book a table. Social media strategies have to keep up with the times, so let’s look at some ways to keep your marketing campaigns fresh and stop people from scrolling away from your posts.

1. Know your demographic

One of the most important first steps is to understand your demographic. Different age groups use different social media platforms, which is why we recommend using as many as possible. But you likely have some idea of who your customers are based on your brand identity. Tailoring your digital marketing to your target audience and known customer base is a must to both retain your regulars and find new customers.

Engaging with customers is a key part of social media management for a restaurant, so be sure to reply to as many questions, comments, and reviews as you can. We know this can take some significant time, so you may want to delegate these tasks. In this case, hiring a specific social media manager may be the way to go, but if you have your brand voice down solid you can assign the task to staff (for extra pay, of course).

2. Show off menu items and specials

Posting high-quality images of new menu items and limited-time special offers across platforms is a no-brainer. But to encourage customers to make reservations, you’ll want to encourage a sense of urgency. A classic way to do that is to set an end date for the specials, but what about new or consistent menu items?

Offering discounts to the first X number of people who see your ad can encourage that urgency you’re looking for. Ask customers to take a screenshot of your post and send it to your social media profile and, if they’re one of the first people to do so, they’ll get a discount if they make a reservation. Seeing who replies and how quickly will also give you a good idea of how effective your marketing is.

3. Highlight your staff (and yourself)

Highlighting staff members is an excellent way to build up the human side of your business and foster a sense of community with your customers. This is the perfect time to use short-form videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels, and provides endless opportunities to post.

Got a staff with an interesting life story? Share it. Got a staff member who’s game to participate in a trending sound? Definitely share that. You can share personal stories as a restaurant owner about what it’s like running the restaurant, why you got started, how your idea evolved, and much more. You can also do video content with backstories on all your staff—dishwashers, chefs, servers, and everyone—the whole kitchen sink, if you will.

If there’s a personal connection between your customers and your staff—for example, they’re on a first-name basis—you can expect reservations to blossom.

4. Promote special events

Hosting special events like food or wine tasting, holiday events, live entertainment, or one-time-only collaborations with other food brands is the perfect time to post and promote to encourage reservations.

Say that spots are limited and keep your socials updated with how many slots you have left. Post when you’re sold out. Post when you get a cancellation and you have one spot for whoever’s fastest to book.

Mentioning the exact number of guests that you’re limited to will encourage people to make reservations due to FOMO. Who wants to miss a good time?

5. Share user-generated content

Post user-generated content like reviews on sites like Yelp or videos/photos of a customer’s dining experience on your social media accounts. Sometimes, you’ll get the reviews or user posts directly to your pages, or customers share a post with a hashtag about your restaurant. In these cases, absolutely share it far and wide, and post positive reviews to your restaurant website.

Seeing that other people are having amazing experiences at your restaurant will definitely push others to come see what all the fuss is about.

6. Go live

Running a livestream of your kitchen operations, the dining room, a special event, or anything else that’s interesting in real time can generate quite a buzz. People are often curious to know, for example, what actually happens in a kitchen—though you’ll of course have to get the staff to agree, and perhaps tone down their notorious (and hilarious) language. Your front-of-house should be less of an issue since it’s meant to be seen anyway.

On the other hand, partnering with an influencer to run a livestream of their dining experience. Influencers with large social media followings can tip algorithms in your favor, especially if they’re a known foodie. Speaking of influencers…

7. Collaborate with an influencer

Influencer marketing is a business in its own right these days. Mega-influencers with millions of followers will cost a ton of money for a post, and are likely not an option for most restaurants. However, influencers with lower follower count but higher engagement rates may be well worth it—especially if they’re known foodies.

Consider Dave Portnoy, the host of Barstool Sports and a self-proclaimed (and well-respected) pizza expert, having created One Bite Reviews. He travels around the country trying pizzas and rating them. We don’t know if he gets paid by the restaurants to do so, but that’s beside the point. A good rating for a pizza from Portnoy can instantly boost a pizza place’s reputation and ensure increased business.

Look for influencers in your area by searching “#[city]foodie” on Instagram or TikTok and reach out to discuss a collaboration. Instagram has the largest influencer marketing segment, so if you’re just starting, that’s the place to be. After that, the price negotiations for social media posts are up to you. Simply consider this part of your advertising budget and it falls right into place.

8. Create social media contests

Running social media contests can benefit a restaurant in a few ways. First, it creates organic traffic on your social media pages with user-generated content. Second, making anything a game or contest brings out competitiveness, which drives and maintains engagement. Third, it can potentially go viral in your local area, especially if the prize is a good one.

But first you’ll need to figure out the parameters of a good contest—and a good prize.

An example could include a photo contest, where diners post photos of menu items. After selecting the most compelling ones, creating a poll on your Facebook page or other social media platform can allow customers to vote for their favorite.

The prize can be as elaborate as you can afford: A meal for two, a gift card, free points on a loyalty program, or merchandise, for example. Making this kind of competition a running thing, like a monthly photo prize, can get people involved and encourage them to make repeat reservations—thus turning them into regulars.

9. Make yourself easily findable

The easiest way to increase restaurant reservations using social media is to make it simple to book a table. Your Google My Business, Yelp page, Facebook page, Instagram, and so on should all have your menu readily available as well as contact info like your phone number and widgets to your reservation system. Using Yelp’s new booking links can also make online reservations easier than ever, and you can both post them yourself and have the influencer you collaborate with post them, too.

10. Use Yelp Guest Manager paired with Yelp Ads

Good news: Yelp Guest Manager, the best bang for your buck out there when it comes to front-of-house management systems, pairs up quite nicely with other tools in the Yelposphere. Take Yelp Ads, for example: Guest Manager restaurants that add Yelp Ads experience up to an 8% monthly lift in diner bookings through Yelp.* For many new restaurants, that can make enough difference to turn a month profitable.

Guest Manager does more than just pair with ads, though. It makes the whole online reservation process a breeze—customers can make online reservations with just a few clicks. That’s in addition to all the other benefits that come with Guest Manager, like online ordering via third parties, customizable floor plans, and much more.

We’d love to show you how it works. Reach out to us for a free demo and we’ll show you around. You may be surprised at just how quickly your reservations pile up.