How to Boost Visibility With Influencer Marketing for Restaurants

Exploring how consumer trust in food influencers can enhance a business’ credibility helps explain why restaurants have eagerly tapped into this industry. 

When influencers are trusted by their followers, their endorsements feel more authentic, giving businesses, like restaurants, a credibility boost that traditional advertising often can’t achieve. This trusted relationship allows restaurants to reach new audiences through genuine recommendations, making influencer marketing for restaurants a valuable strategy in the dining industry.

THE BENEFITS OF PARTNERING WITH FOOD INFLUENCERS

Boosting brand awareness

Partnering with food influencers is highly advantageous for restaurants looking to boost brand awareness, as influencers help them reach a broader audience by sharing their dining experiences with loyal followers. 

When food influencers post about a restaurant, they introduce it to potential customers who may not have otherwise known about it, leveraging their trust and authority to make the restaurant appealing. For example, local influencers can highlight the restaurant’s unique menu, ambience, and special offerings, which creates buzz and invites people to visit and experience it firsthand. 

This kind of endorsement is impactful because followers view it as a genuine recommendation rather than traditional advertising, making them more receptive to trying out the restaurant. Each post, story, or video an influencer shares adds another layer of visibility, with the restaurant’s name, location, and dishes appearing across multiple social feeds, solidifying its presence in the local dining scene and beyond. This amplified exposure helps establish the restaurant’s identity, attracting both regular locals and food enthusiasts from neighbouring areas.

Targeted audience engagement

Collaborating with food influencers allows restaurants to efficiently reach their target audience by choosing influencers whose followers closely align with the restaurant’s ideal clientele. 

@robbie.reviews

A review of Sexy Fish and their £35 Taste menu [Gifted Invite] We started with summer cocktails at the bar, I had Knickerbocker kicker which was made with Añejo rum, raspberry, lemon, Cointreau, Amontillado and absinthe. Greg had the café largo a rum espresso cocktail with miso. For the taste menu you get starters for the table. Tempura tiger prawns with dashi broth, chicken gyoza with une and shish, and salmon tartare in Korean spice. For the mains you get a choice from Baby chicken with hummus and yuzu, sea bass with daikon and shisho, and vegetable noodles. This is served with kimchi rice Dessert is doughnuts with exotic curd and chocolate sauce. Watch the reel know my thoughts! #manchester #manchesterrestaurants #restaurantreview #manchesterfood

♬ Ibiza – Jarico

By partnering with influencers who attract the right demographic – such as young professionals, food enthusiasts, or trend-conscious diners – restaurants ensure that their message reaches people most likely to visit and enjoy their offerings. For example, Boulevard Restaurant in Manchester partners with local influencers to appeal to trendy, professional crowds, leveraging these influencers’ established connection with the target audience to create buzz and drive interest among precisely the kind of people they want to attract. 

This approach not only increases the likelihood of drawing in new customers but also ensures that marketing efforts are more focused and effective, maximising the return on investment in influencer partnerships.

Drives sales

Working with food influencers drives sales because it combines social proof, visual appeal, and targeted outreach. Influencers offer credibility through genuine experiences that followers trust, making them more likely to visit a recommended restaurant. Targeted marketing ensures the restaurant reaches its ideal demographic while also encouraging user-generated content as followers recreate the influencer’s experience. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@wagamamauk/video/7441622816304205089

This organic promotion boosts the restaurant’s online presence through location tags, hashtags, and links, making it more discoverable and building a strong digital footprints that converts viewers into customers. 

Enhancing social credibility

Partnering with food influencers is beneficial for restaurants as it significantly enhances social credibility. Positive reviews and high-quality images shared by food influencers make a restaurant appear more trustworthy and desirable, drawing in new customers.

Since dining choices are often swayed by social recommendations, an endorsement from a trusted influencer can be instrumental in persuading potential customers to try the restaurant. These influencer posts create a ripple effect, where each recommendation strengthens the restaurant’s reputation, builds trust, and makes it more appealing to a broader audience online. 

Measurable success

Partnering with food influencers is beneficial for restaurants because it provides clear, measurable indicators of success as restaurants can observe a quick uptick in customer numbers, especially from followers eager to experience what they saw online. Some restaurants elevate this strategy by organising follower events, where multiple influencers enjoy an evening together and share their experiences in real time across their social platforms. 

This approach amplifies the restaurant’s exposure, as the collective reach of multiple influencers introduce the restaurant to various audiences at once. As each influencer posts about the event, showcasing the atmosphere, food, and unique experiences, the restaurant sees not only increased online visibility but also an anticipated rise in footfall as new customers are drawn in by the buzz generated from the event.

INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR RESTAURANTS: BEST PRACTICES

Leveraging different platforms

Each social media platform has unique strengths that restaurants can harness effectively. 

Instagram, for instance, is ideal for visually showcasing food and ambiance. Engaging audiences through Stories and posts with vibrant images and videos can create an inviting experience. Collaborating with influencers who have dedicated followings can further increase your restaurant’s visibility.

Facebook, on the other hand, suits detailed posts and encourages deeper engagement through comments and shares. TikTok is excellent for quick, viral content, making it perfect for highlighting trends in the restaurant space. Partnering with TikTok food influencers can amplify your reach with engaging posts that spread rapidly. Meanwhile, YouTube provides a platform for more in-depth content, such as restaurant tours and cooking demonstrations, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes experience.

@theivyasia

And you think we don’t know 👀 #theivyasia #stolenfromivyasia

♬ Yotube AstroCapella – AstroCapella

Prioritise authenticity 

Authenticity is crucial in influencer marketing as customs trust genuine content more than ad like content. To ensure content is genuine, encourage creators to capture authentic experiences and reviews, for example, reviews of your top dishes, your best cocktail and your best customer service. Make sure creators use strong hashtags to encourage discovery such as #[restaurant name] or #DineWithUs, also encouraging user-generated content. The more authentic the content is, the more relatable it becomes.

Evaluating performance for ongoing optimisation 

Analysing the performance of your food influencers marketing campaigns is crucial for ongoing success. Measure engagement by monitoring key metrics such as likes, comments, and reach. Leverage tracking tools to assess campaign effectiveness and compare the performance of different food influencers to identify which collaborations drive the highest engagement. Recognise successful trends and campaigns that can be replicated or refined for future efforts, enabling you to continually optimise your strategy.

Written by: Josie Colvin