User-Generated Content: Transforming Your Diners into Your Best Marketers

Written by Justine Nightingale
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 08:00am CST

What is the trick to getting “free marketing” for your restaurant? The answer is user-generated content (UGC).

First, you have the best food and terrific customer service. Next, your restaurant customers are happy when they dine with you. Now, you want to grow your restaurant, and you don’t want to spend a ton of money to do it. The trick is to convince your current customers to do the marketing for you.

Check out these tips for transforming your diners into your best marketers through user-generated content. This not only boosts your visibility, but it gives you more credibility and increases your revenue.

What is User-Generated Content?

Basically, this type of content on social media platforms is word-of-mouth that’s gone digital. It’s one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use.

All you need to do is leverage the enthusiasm and creativity of your customers. Once you’ve mastered this, you can transform your diners into your most effective marketers. 

User-generated content can include photos, videos, reviews, blog posts, or social media mentions. These are created and posted by your customers and not you or your staff. This may mean a post on the user’s own blog, an Instagram post showcasing what the person ate for dinner, TikTok videos of a group dining with you, or even reviews.

Why is UGC So Powerful for Restaurants?

Your diners trust other people who’ve dined with you more than they trust your advertising. (tweet this)

According to one source, “Statistics show that nearly 80% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions.” What does this mean for you? It means that when friends and family see someone else enjoying your restaurant, they don’t want to miss out and are likely to make it a point to dine with you.

People like being part of the in-crowd or the “crowd in the know.” Plus, they trust others online, and this makes UGC powerful.

Benefits of UGC

Here are some of the reasons UGC is so vital for your restaurant:

• UGC builds authenticity and trust. Because UGC is organic and created by real people “in the moment,” people instantly trust it. Just imagine a customer sharing a mouthwatering Instagram post and their thousands of friends seeing it. This feels more genuine to potential diners.
• Next, it increases reach and engagement. With many of your customers sharing about your restaurant, they are expanding your reach and introducing new people to your food.
• UGC is cost-effective marketing, and it’s generally free. By promoting UGC, you can market your restaurant without a large advertising budget.
• UGC builds a community. When users share about your restaurant, it builds a bond between other customers online. Then, if you feature their content on your own platforms, you build a deeper connection between your restaurant and your diners.

How to Encourage UGC

To turn your loyal and enthusiastic customers into brand advocates, you want to not only encourage them but you want to share their content on your social pages. Here’s how:

• Make sure that your dining experience and food presentation is worthy of photos, videos, and comments. Diners love sharing beautiful meals, so make sure your dishes are visually appealing. Take a look at how you plate your dishes and on what. In addition, consider the lighting in your restaurant. Is it conducive to taking good photos? Consider white or neutral colored plate settings and table coverings.
• You also want to print your logo on your takeout and delivery packaging so if customers are eating away from your restaurant, your restaurant stands out. Make sure your packaging is also attractive. As an added tip, consider sustainable, compostable packaging.
• Create a catchy, branded hashtag. You can put this on table cards, your receipts, and on your own social posts. This makes it easy for your customers to tag their posts and for you to find and share their content. Some ideas include: DineWith[YourRestaurant] or #[YourRestaurant]Eats.
• Encourage reviews and check-ins. Online reviews are key for your establishment. In addition, always respond to them, both negative and positive. You can ask your diners to leave you a review on Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor.
• Put a QR code on each table that helps diners sign in to your Wi-Fi network with encouragement to share content.

More Ways to Encourage UGC

• Consider small incentives for content shares, such as a free appetizer, dessert, or discount. This can help some people make the leap to sharing your content.
• Run social media contests. Engage your audience by hosting UGC-driven contests. For example, encourage customers to share a picture of their meal with your branded hashtag for a chance to win a free meal or gift card. Contests generate content, and they boost engagement.
• Have a photo “booth” or area where guests can take photos. Add a backdrop (with your logo) so people can take Instagram-worthy pictures. You may even find that providing fun props helps encourage social sharing.
• Monitor and engage with all user-generated content. The key to making it really work for you is to be active on social media. You want to respond to people’s posts, thank customers for sharing, and engage with their content. Acknowledge customers by name, and you’ll find you are also building brand loyalty.

How to Measure the Success of Your UGC Strategy

Like with all marketing, you want to know how effective your UGC efforts are. To do that, you want to track these key performance indicators (KPIs):

• Check how often your branded hashtags are used. Do this monthly.
• Then, measure likes, shares, and comments on UGC posts to learn your engagement rate.
• Check Google Analytics to see if social media-driven UGC is increasing visits to your website.
• Ask new customers if social media content is why they visited your restaurant.
• Finally, monitor your reviews to see if there’s an increase in positive reviews and overall ratings.

Final Thoughts on User-Generated Content

User-generated content is a game-changer in restaurant marketing. It’s genuine and cost-effective. UGC also builds credibility, enhances customer loyalty, and helps attract new diners to your restaurant. (tweet this)

You want to foster an environment that encourages diners to share their experiences. Moreover, you want to engage with their content and leverage it strategically so you can create a powerful marketing machine fueled by the very people who love your restaurant the most—your customers.

Finally, if you aren’t incorporating UGC into your marketing strategy, it’s time to make a plan to use it. Encourage your customers to share and watch as they become your most passionate brand ambassadors. Above all, you will not only see new customers walking in your door, but you’ll also encourage customer retention.

Is your website ready for new visitors? At Restaurant Engine, we can create a website for you that showcases your brand and sets it apart from the competition. Your website is the centerpiece of your online marketing, and it needs to look and perform well, too. You can count on us to create an amazing website that presents a unified brand for your restaurant and 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 new business using website data!  

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

Get your free website consultation today!

Images: Bibi Pace and Rendy Novantino on Unsplash

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