Food no longer has to look good enough to eat, but good enough to share.
While dining with friends and family has been a challenge over the last few years, consumers have continued to share their food online instead, showing off their own creations and those bought from coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries. According to the latest Waitrose food report, over 30% of people have been posting food and table pictures on social media more than in previous years and 27% of 18–24-year-olds are posting food pictures every day.
A good social media profile is like a shop window for prospective diners and research shows that 30% of Millennials will actively avoid restaurants with a weak Instagram presence.
Research shows people are spending on average 144 minutes per day on social media so how can you boost your online profile to draw in customers?
“Foodstagramming”
The saying goes “you eat with your eyes” and the same goes for consuming online content.
And having been deprived of physical interactions, it’s no surprise that sensory exploration through food is booming. Consumers are looking to experiment with new concepts and are seeking foods that appeal to all the senses – not just taste. It’s about the whole eating experience.
Being beige won’t cut it on social media but not all dishes lend themselves to bright colour. Get creative with bright crockery or colourful garnish before capturing content for your channels. You’ll find your customers will be more inclined to snap their dishes too.
Be clever with your ingredients, too. Use a vibrant nacho cheese sauce on top of loaded fries or mozzarella sticks to beat the beige.
If you can’t create colour, create theatre through surprise centres or themed presentation to tie in with key calendar events like Wimbledon afternoon teas or Christmas cocktails. In bakery, play around with coloured dough, different textures or multiple layers to create a feast for the eyes.
Connect and conquer
The bigger your audience, the bigger your reach. Build your community by sharing regular and relevant content that appeals to your audience.
Reward your followers for their engagement with competitions and giveaways which give them the chance to sample your products and share your profile with their own networks organically.
Encourage user-generated content and share any positive posts from your customers. Prospective customers will take note and appreciate authentic peer reviews.
Be an active listener and engage with the comments or direct messages you receive – it’s all market research and will help your followers connect with your brand as well as build loyalty.
Don’t have resource to respond to direct messages? Set an automated reply to manage expectations, making sure you point customers in the right direction to find your menu or booking method so they don’t lose interest or disconnect from your brand.
Making menus or allergen information online is a great way of putting potential customers at ease and encouraging them to make the trip to your premises.
Find your USP
Consumers are attracted to unique concepts they can share with their own social networks – it’s driven the popularity of now mainstream creations like loaded fries, bubble waffles, brookies and freakshakes which ooze indulgence.
Little Moons is a great example of a brand to pioneer a revolution in frozen snacking after becoming a smash hit on TikTok. The topical trend has led to multiple listings with the brand now being worth around £100m.
35% of people post pictures of their food because they’re proud of it (Waitrose) – so give them something to show off!
Fifth-generation family bakers Fisher & Donaldson are making it big online with their giant fudge doughnuts and coffee towers – supersizing some of their tried and tested popular bakes.
Collaborating with other brands is a great way to build your following too. Scottish bakery Fat Batch has teamed with fellow north-east business Aberdam which are using the bakeries signature brookies in Aberdam’s battered caramel brookie dessert and their brookie shakes which local diners are going wild for.
Another current collaboration comes from Krispy Kreme and McVitie’s who have created the Jaffa Cake doughnut. The Instagram reveal of the popular partnership quickly stacked up thousands of likes.
It’s not just online sharing that’s proving popular. Consumers are rejoicing after long periods apart and food is bringing people together in real life as well as online. Sharing dishes and buffet boards are appealing to post-pandemic reunions. Think grazing boards, picky side dishes, tear ‘n’ share options and party food platters that will form the centre piece for catch-ups and celebrations.
Here to help
Social media makes the world of food come alive. Food is colourful, collaborative, entertaining and dynamic making it the perfect muse for online content.
Our products create camera-friendly cuisine and photo-ready fare that people can’t help but share on their social feeds and putting your business in the picture.