Influencer Marketing for Restaurants: Best Practices and Tips

If you’re a marketer aiming to spice up your restaurant’s digital presence, this blog is your go-to guide to influencer marketing for restaurants. We’ll serve best practices and tips to help you navigate the influencer marketing landscape in the restaurant industry. From crafting mouth-watering content that whets your audience’s appetite to building fruitful partnerships that benefit both brands and influencers, we’ll explore the ingredients that make a successful influencer marketing campaign in the culinary world. 

According to eMarketer, Gen Z prefers personalization and a variety of options on menus. That means restaurants should keep that in mind and tailor their marketing strategies to reach that demographic. Influencer and advocate marketing provide a solid foundation for those businesses to connect to their target diners.

How to find creators for restaurant marketing

Discovering the right creators for restaurant marketing can seem daunting, but it can be a smoother process with the right approach and tools. Creators of all niches are just a few clicks away. Here are some of the key strategies to implement:

Leveraging loyal customers

Finding influencers to promote your restaurant can be as simple as turning to your customer base. Launching a brand advocate program is an effective strategy to encourage your loyal customers to promote your restaurant in exchange for certain benefits, such as discounts or free meals. You can also email your customers directly, asking them if they’d be interested in partnering with you to promote your brand. Additionally, your restaurant’s social media platforms can serve as a goldmine for potential influencers. By observing who interacts with your brand organically, you can identify individuals who already appreciate your restaurant and may be willing to promote it. These creators, who already have a genuine affinity for your brand, can provide authentic and persuasive endorsements to their followers.

Hashtags and location tags 

Search hashtags related to your restaurant, cuisine type or the restaurant’s location. Hashtags narrow your search and make it easier to find the ideal influencers. For example, to see posts about one of the most popular restaurants in New York City, Gage and Tollner, you can search for #gageandtollner to view the influencers sharing their experiences there. 

Local influencers

Find local talent by searching for your location and the word influencers. For example, you can search Chicago food influencers to creators in that niche. 

IZEA’s Marketplace

Use influencer search tools like IZEA’s Marketplace, which allows you to filter by location. IZEA.com is home to thousands of creator listings. Check out these examples of food influencers: 

Casting Calls

The Casting Calls feature allows restaurants to post opportunities for influencers. Creators can then respond with their pitches and desired compensation rate for the campaign. 

In this example, Uncle Julio’s Mexican Restaurants sought to work with local Dallas-Fort Worth creators to share how the restaurants are an ideal place for celebrations.

Influencer marketing thought starters

Explore these creative strategies to utilize influencer marketing effectively, enhancing your restaurant’s visibility and attracting a larger food-loving audience.

Encourage UGC with challenges

Challenge creators and customers to share their favorite meals on social media with a dedicated hashtag. Reward participants with points that they can redeem for discounts or special offers, fostering ongoing engagement.

Reward reshares

Leverage your social media platforms by offering incentives for resharing your content, thereby amplifying your online word of mouth marketing. Encourage creators to promote your brand with the allure of a complimentary culinary delight. This not only sparks excitement about your restaurant but also entices their followers to pay a visit, thus expanding your customer base and business potential. 

Influencer dining experiences

Invite influencers for a unique dining experience at your restaurant, where they can document their journey from the kitchen to the table, providing their followers with a behind-the-scenes look at your offerings.

Restaurant influencer marketing tips

Here are some effective tips and best practices to help you seamlessly integrate influencer marketing into your restaurant’s promotional strategy and maximize your reach to potential customers.

Boost influencer posts with paid media

Maximizing the impact of your influencer collaborations can be achieved by supplementing these partnerships with paid media. When an influencer posts about your restaurant, consider boosting that post with paid advertising. This strategy not only amplifies the post’s reach beyond the influencer’s immediate follower base, but also targets specific demographics that align with your restaurant’s customer profile. By investing in paid media, you can ensure that the influencer’s content gains more visibility, thereby driving increased traffic to your restaurant, enhancing brand awareness, and ultimately, boosting your bottom line.

Get good clips of the food

For example, look at this post that Giselle created for Pollo Tropical. She captures the purchasing decision as well as exactly what she ordered.

In this post, the Marsh Family highlights how they enjoy Moe’s Southwest together.

Empower creators to shine 

Collaborating with content creators allows for an authentic representation of your restaurant, fostering a genuine connection with potential customers. Creators can uniquely showcase your offerings in a relatable manner, capturing the essence of their dining experience at your establishment. Let them do their job creatively.

Check out this example that highlights how Krystal does just that with Taco Bell in Canada:

How IZEA can help

Working with our full-service team of experts allows restaurant brands to access features to maximize the campaign’s success. From brand advocacy to measuring store foot traffic to Casting Calls, we have solutions to maximize ROI for restaurants.

Influencers:

Looking to partner with industry-leading brands? Create your free profile today.

Marketers:

The world’s biggest brands trust IZEA. Find which of our self-serve marketing tools or full-service influencer marketing solutions are right for you.