Why Photography Matters for a Restaurant’s Social Media

Written by Justine Nightingale
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 08:00am CST

You know your restaurant’s food has an enticing aroma, texture, and taste all its own. You also know that when people taste your restaurant’s menu, their taste buds sing, and they become lifelong customers.

But how do you convey that in your social media posts? You do this through photography and, more importantly, through the appealing pictures taken by a professional food photographer. This person has the unique ability to capture the essence of your menu items in a photo.

With more than 90% of social media users following a business on their chosen platform, it’s never been more important to leverage your own platforms. Let’s look at why photography matters for a restaurant’s social media and how you can elevate your brand using amazing photography.

Images Help You Get More Followers

Photography matters on your social media because it’s what’s going to convince people to hit the like or follow button on your social media platform. (tweet this)

When you have something that looks good and interesting to people, they’re likely to follow you so they can see more of it.

So, if your photos are top of the line, and they’re stylized to really highlight your restaurant, your menu, and your staff, people are going to sign up to see more of your content.

Images Increase Engagement

When you use professional and beautiful photography, your restaurant is more enticing to potential customers. Thus, the more you use stand out images, the more engagement your restaurant will see on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

In turn, with an increase in engagement, you will likely see an increase in foot traffic, and ultimately, an increase in your revenue.

You’ll find that as more people are intrigued by your photography, the more likes, comments, and share you’ll get on your posts. That means more people seeing your restaurant in their social feeds.

New leads are literally a post away when your imagery is appetizing.

Images are Memorable

Humans are visual beings. They remember nearly all of what they see but only very little of what they read or hear. That means that your customers and potential diners will create a visual memory when they look at your photography on your social media platforms.

What’s more, when you pair memorable imagery with content, your followers are even more likely to remember what they saw. So, the next time someone is craving pizza, they’ll remember they saw all the pictures of your artisan pizza made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients because your photography was so effective.

Images Drive Sales

Once the visual memory is created over and over again because your photos keep showing up in users’ feeds, you’ll find that those same images drive sales to your restaurant.

You might even consider adding some text to your images to highlight the name of the dish, a special on the dish, or whether it’s a new menu item. The compound effect of the image and the words will further work to drive sales and grow your restaurant business.

Also, don’t forget to brand your photos. You don’t want someone sharing them or even downloading them without your logo on them.

Images Create an Emotional Connection

In addition to photographing your menu, you also want to photograph the inside of your restaurant. The goal here is to capture the ambiance and the amazing atmosphere.

By doing this, you help create an emotional connection between your restaurant and your potential customers. For example, your photos should highlight the mood and style of your restaurant. You want to showcase your personality so customers know just what they’re getting when they walk in the door.

Take photos of your entire restaurant to really give people a feel of what to expect. You may also include customers in the photos, too. This helps people picture themselves in your restaurant while also helping them know the dress code.

Always consider your target audience when shooting these photos. You can then frame each photo to appeal to your target demographic.

Images Help You Be Recognized

Finally, photography matters for your restaurant because it helps with recognition.

By having a professional shoot your photos, you will have photos that all have the same recognizable aesthetics. This helps with brand recognition and in turn, helps you increase your sales.

Final Thoughts on Social Media Photography

According to one study, 70% of Instagram users use the platform to post photos and videos. Is your restaurant doing the same?

Now that you know why photography matters for a restaurant’s social media, it’s also important to note that professional photography is absolutely worth it.

When your customers “eat,” they eat with their eyes first. So, if you are giving them the most appetizing, delicious looking, enticing food photos on social media, you are well ahead of your competition. (tweet this)

Plus, food is tricky to photograph, so you want to hire a professional who knows how to use the best lighting, styling, angles, and positioning to set your food off. ‘

Remember that you have just a few seconds on your social media platforms to grab people’s interest, so you want to ensure your photos are top notch.

Finally, a professional photographer can work within your brand standards to make sure every shot taken works with your visual aesthetic and color scheme.

Make a plan and get working on your professional photography for your restaurant’s social media! 

At Restaurant Engine, we can create a restaurant website for you, using your beautiful photography, that provides the perfect spot for linking to your social media platforms. It’s important to showcase your best photos on your website as well as your social media accounts. This makes it super easy for people to see your delicious food. You can count on us to create a website that presents a unified brand, highlighting your menu items, and that works across all digital platforms. Let us help you make the perfect site that draws customers in, improves customer engagement and your conversion rate, and enables you to grow your business!  

Are you ready to take your restaurant to the next level with a new website?

Get your free website consultation today!

Images: Laura Kennedy and Adam Bartoszewicz on Unsplash