Having any brand in 2021, let alone a restaurant, requires a social media presence. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat now have a combined audience of more than 4.1 billion users, and some of those are your potential or current customers. Unfortunately, being an expert at making delicious pizza doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to expertly navigate the hurdles of becoming a social media success. But if you’re looking for a reliable way to improve your pizzeria’s social media performance, then here are the secret tips on how you can use photos to do that.
1. Make Photos the Main Attraction of Each Post
A common mistake that restaurant marketers make is that they spend a lot of time thinking about what they are going to write with each post, and then just slap on a somewhat relevant image. Or even worse, they don’t attach a photo at all.
But words aren’t what stops a person in their tracks when scrolling. It takes eye-catching images to stop someone from scrolling long enough to properly take in your content, which requires approximately 1.7 to 2.5 seconds. So you need to pivot the main focus for your social posts to choosing the best photo possible rather than putting the majority of your energy into what you’re going to say below the photo.
2. Make Instagram a Priority
Many businesses tend to be drawn to Facebook because it has the largest user base of any social media platform. But what a lot of pizzerias overlook is the fact that Instagram has the fastest growing audience and has seen a user base increase of 28% since 2012. You don’t want to be the new guy in a place where everyone else already is; you want to be the new guy at the place where everyone else is going to be in the next few years.
According to Instagram, over 200 million of their users visit at least one business profile every day.
If this isn’t enough to convince you that Instagram is the place to be for pizzerias, then there’s also the fact that pizza is the most Instagrammed food ever. So the people who are already regularly using the platform are clearly very interested in pizza and will be much more likely to engage with your pizza-related posts.
3. Be Consistent With Your Photo Filters
When posting photos to social media, especially on platforms like Instagram, a lot of people like to apply filters to the images. These can make certain colors within the photo stand out, turn the entire thing black and white, or cause a wide variety of other effects. But what you don’t want to do is use a different filter for each post.
Instead, you’ll need to create a consistent brand experience, which is achieved by using only one or two filters for every image. This is something that 60% of the top brands on social media already do, and it’s much easier to achieve when the majority of your photos involve the same subject matter (i.e., pizza).
Skyline, Helena, and Slumber are some of the most popular Instagram filters for food pictures right now.
4. Use Natural Lighting
The majority of photos that you share will likely be of your menu items. And to make them look their best, you need to use the right type of lighting. If your restaurant is filled with fluorescent lighting and not a lot of windows, then just throwing the pizza on a plate and snapping a quick pic with a flash isn’t going to cut it.
Natural lighting will help accentuate the colors of your dish. Place the food on a contrasting surface to help draw attention to it, then set it near a window without any direct sun exposure to get that soft natural light that will help prevent harsh shadows or unnatural hues.
5. Create Photo Contests
While this isn’t a tip to specifically help improve the quality of your photos, it’s a great way to improve your pizzeria’s online presence and relationship with your customers. Instead of slaving away for hours trying to get the perfect picture of your products when you don’t have a background in photography, you’re much better off enlisting the help of your customers, many of whom are likely younger Millennials or Gen Zs who are very experienced at taking photos of food.
By hosting a photo contest, you can get these customers to share some of their best photos of your products, which are probably going to be better than anything you have time to produce. Share the photos on your own pages, credit the customer’s social media handle, and save yourself a ton of time and energy.
6. Use the Stories Feature
A lot of restaurants tend to make regular social posts and ignore all of the other really cool features that these various platforms offer. But you won’t want to miss out on Instagram Stories considering that 58% of people become more interested in a brand after viewing their Stories.
The best way to utilize this tool is through posting either behind-the-scenes moments of your pizzeria staff hard at work, or short videos shining a spotlight on new dishes. It’s your chance to showcase moments that look cool but that might not fit the “theme” or style of your regular posts.
With natural lighting, consistent photo filters, and frequent photo/Stories posts, you should see a significant increase in the amount of engagement that you receive on your various social media platforms. To get more tips on how to improve your pizzeria’s social media photos, make sure to read this article on proven Instagram tips for restaurants.
Posted on Fri, Jan 29, 2021 @ 08:01 AM.
Updated on June 3, 2021 @ 1:57 PM PST.