Restaurant Social Media Strategy Checklist

Write a one-page voice guide: three adjectives (e.g., warm, unfussy, neighborhood), what the restaurant sounds like (sample captions), and what it never says. Reference the concept's positioning — chef-driven tasting menu reads differently than a counter-service taqueria.

Confirm logo files, color hex codes, typography, and the food-photography look (overhead vs. 45°, natural light vs. tungsten, plate styling). Lock filter or LUT presets in Lightroom Mobile or VSCO so every cook or manager who posts gets the same look.

Write the 150-character Instagram bio and the shorter TikTok bio. Include neighborhood, cuisine, reservation link (Resy/OpenTable/Tock), and a hook line. Match the wording on Google Business Profile and Yelp so search results stay consistent.

Pull reservation data from Resy or OpenTable and POS guest data from Toast or Square. Identify the 2-3 guest segments that drive cover counts — date-night couples, weekday lunch business, weekend brunch families, late-night bar regulars — and which platforms each lives on.

TikTok drives discovery for under-35 guests and food-trend content, but requires 3-5 short-form videos per week to stay in feed. If the team can't sustain that cadence, route the energy to Instagram Reels instead.

Switch to a TikTok Business account, link the Instagram handle, and add the reservation URL to the profile. Pin three intro videos: signature dish, chef intro, and behind-the-line.

Local search drives more covers than any social platform for most independents. Verify hours, menu link, reservation link, and that the top 10 photos are on-brand. Replace any guest-uploaded photos that misrepresent the food.

Plan in Later, Planoly, or a shared sheet. Aim for a 60/30/10 mix: 60% food and atmosphere, 30% team and behind-the-scenes, 10% direct promotion (specials, events, reservations open). Anchor to seasonal menu changes, holidays, and local events.

Block a 3-hour window with the chef before service — natural light at the pass, signature dishes plated for camera, plus 2-3 short Reels (knife work, plating, pour shot). One shoot should yield 4 weeks of content.

Search the geotag and branded hashtag weekly. DM guests for written permission before reposting their photos — a screenshot of the reply is your usage record. Never repost without consent; influencers in particular will flag it publicly.

Name the farm, the cut, the technique. Guests scrolling food content respond to specificity ("dry-aged 45 days" beats "our amazing steak"). Flag allergens visible in the photo so allergy-sensitive guests don't have to ask in DMs.

Typical independent restaurant: $300-$1,500/month split across Meta Ads and Google Local. Tie the budget to a specific objective — reservations on slow nights, brunch covers, private-event inquiries — not just "awareness."

A dedicated landing page with sample menus, room photos, capacity, and an inquiry form converts paid traffic far better than the main site. Add a Meta Pixel and Google tag so leads attribute back to the ad set.

Radius 3-5 miles around the restaurant, plus interest layers matching the concept (e.g., "fine dining," "craft cocktails," specific cuisines). Run two creatives against each other so the algorithm can learn within the first 72 hours.

One local food creator with 10K-50K engaged followers usually outperforms a celebrity with 500K. Comp a tasting for two, brief them on the dish names and story, and confirm in writing whether the post will be tagged #ad per FTC rules.

Assign a 15-minute morning and 15-minute pre-shift block for the manager or marketing lead. Reservation questions, dietary questions, and lost-item DMs need same-day answers — Instagram weights response rate in the algorithm.

Every Google and Yelp review gets a response within 48 hours. For 1- and 2-star reviews, name the manager, apologize without admitting fault, and move the conversation offline with an email. Never argue facts publicly — future guests are reading.

Comment thoughtfully on 5-10 local accounts per week — neighborhood association, nearby boutiques, the farmers market, food media in your city. This builds the cross-tag relationships that drive organic discovery.

Export Instagram Insights, TikTok Analytics, and Google Business Profile Insights. Track reach, saves, profile-to-reservation clicks, and direction requests. Saves and shares matter more than likes for food content — they signal genuine intent.

Compare Resy or OpenTable booking source attribution to the Meta and Google ad-spend totals. Calculate cost-per-reservation and average check times covers to get revenue per ad dollar. Anything under 4:1 needs creative or targeting revisions.

The GM or owner reviews wins, misses, and what to adjust next month. Capture the decision so the next run starts with context.