While social media these days does not offer the same organic reach it did even a couple of years ago, Jason Littrell believes that it is still a useful marketing tool in 2026. Littrell is a New York City-based brand marketing and bar consultant with decades of hospitality experience.

Social media still offers the opportunity to be discovered by new audiences, but the landscape has changed in the past few years. Littrell believes it is much more challenging to reach new audiences as algorithms shift and change. “Organic engagement is at an all-time low,” he says.

According to Littrell, “Meta will not push your content unless you do spammy engagement prompts. Instagram is not nearly as effective as email. If you have a decent subject line, at least 20 percent of people are going to read your emails, but only three to five percent (of followers) are going to see your Instagram posts.”

Given these challenges, Littrell encourages restaurant operators to outsource social media content creation to a social media marketing professional, who has more time to keep up with trends and algorithm shifts to tailor content accordingly. However, he believes that determined independent restaurant operators can create their own social media content to get visibility.

The Power of the Story

Priya Sharma is the founder of Savera, a creative brand positioning studio in Los Angeles that specializes in hospitality social media and public relations. For the last two years, Sharma has been creating social media content for Roots Indian Bistro, a local Indian restaurant in Los Angeles’ Melrose neighborhood. In that span of time, says Sharma, she has “grown their social media following from 600 to nearly 5,000 organically while transforming them from a quiet neighborhood spot to a destination requiring reservations with lines out the door.”

Sharma accomplished this growth through effective story telling. She pays attention to social media trends and posts compelling stories on the restaurant’s feeds about the Indian concept’s menu and its father and son co-founders.

For 2026, Sharma suggests three types of content that perform well on Instagram. The first is what she terms “behind-the-scenes culturally focused” storytelling as a way to differentiate international cuisines. “For Roots, showing the chef's immigration story and family recipe origins consistently outperforms generic food photos by three to four times,” Sharma says.

The second type of content is based on collaborating with influencers who have a genuine connection to the cuisine. Rather than focus on influencers with high follower counts, Shamra says she looks for “micro-influencers who genuinely connect with the cuisine.”

When an influencer has this level of connection, they create content that resonates with their followers, who tend to be people who share an interest in the same cuisine. As a result, their content does not merely get comments and likes, it leads to actual reservations. Sharma’s approach to influencer collaboration and outreach is shared below.

The third type of content Sharma recommends in this environment is partnership-driven content. As she says, “Collaborations with local venues and cultural organizations create newsworthy moments that media actually covers.”

If your social media feed is not getting the same number of likes and engagement as in the past, it is tempting to blame the algorithm, she says. Yet another possibility is that you may be posting content that no longer resonates with users. Sharma mentions two types of social media content in particular that no longer do well on Instagram.

Ineffective content includes “generic food photography without context or story,” she says. Stock photos seem like a quick solution for a busy operator who knows they need to create content consistently, but audiences can tell when something came from a stock photo site. They are tired of seeing generic images of food, so simply scroll by without liking or commenting.

The second type of content that falls flat is influencer gifting programs that lack the authentic connection. For example, these are influencers with large follower counts and low authority among the target audience. If the influencer is not known in the geographic area or lacks authority over the cuisine, then it is not a good fit.

The first step toward authentic storytelling and veering away from stock photos and generic posts, says Sharma, is making “a mindset shift”. Instead of thinking about what kind of post to create or what caption to write, think about who you are creating for and, more importantly, why.

People connect with stories and people, not just plates,” says Sharma. “Instead of saying ‘here’s our butter chicken,’” she adds, “try ‘my grandmother taught me this recipe in Punjab. Here’s how we make it.’”

She suggests three content templates that work well right now and adapt to any type of concept.

• “A Day in the Life” content shows what goes on behind the scenes. Think candid snaps of the prep team hard at work, a Reel showing your team unpacking and putting away a delivery, or chef-driven content that offers a peek at the line. As Sharma says, “This builds trust and gives people a reason to care beyond the food itself.”
• “Meet the Team” content puts faces to the people who make your concept unique. “When a restaurant posts about their team members’ backgrounds and what dishes they recommend, engagement typically doubles compared to standard food posts,” Sharma says. Front-facing and back-facing team members all have stories to tell, so get creative about who you feature.
• Stories about the restaurant process. “Film the making of a signature dish from start to finish,” says Sharma. “The action of cooking is more engaging than the finished plate. Add text overlays explaining technique or ingredients used in the dish.” Sharma believes that users these days prefer authenticity to finesse, so it does not need to look perfect. “Imperfect but authentic always outperforms perfect but sterile.”

Each month, Sharma sets aside around two hours to plan the next month’s content. “I review last month’s analytics, identify upcoming cultural moments or menu changes, brainstorm twenty to thirty ideas, and batch-create content,” she says. Whenever possible, she uses seasonal and cultural-specific hooks to curate content, such as cultural holidays, in-season ingredients, or new menu launches.

The Five Ps

Littrell’s approach centers on five “P’s” – people, product, place, process, and proof. “Showcase the people that work there. Make a human connection,” he says. Photos of food and drink promote your product, but these images are only one type of content among others that tell your story.

Start by stepping back and taking an objective look at your concept, its décor, and ambience. They all reflect the owner’s personal choices. “What’s interesting about the space? Why do you use that glassware? Why did you pick that color?”

Littrell says sharing decisions like these on social media give your audience a better understanding of your restaurant’s vibe. They can remind someone why they like your restaurant or give a social media user in search of something new a reason to check out your place. Like Sharma, Littrell is a fan of process-oriented content, such as videos of a bartender creating a cocktail or a chef explaining how a signature dish is made.

Littrell’s final “P” is proof. He explains what that means. “We’ve been programmed through Amazon to coopt other people’s opinions. We will look at what other people say and adopt that opinion,” Littrell says. From sharing screenshots of positive reviews to reposting user-generated reels, proof of other’s positive experience with the concept is influential.

Littrell believes in repurposing content as much as possible. Rather than write a brand-new post for each social media account, he suggests operators share content in their email newsletters and then reuse the same content in a social post. For example, a newsletter might tell the story of a beloved recipe or share a behind-the-scenes look at a purveyor, creating more connection and community among newsletter recipients, who are among the most engaged fans. By repurposing and recycling content, busy operators can extend their reach without overtaxing the time spent on content creation.

Under the Influence

Sharma spends around five to seven hours a week scouting potential collaborators. She vets three months of their content history; a process she says takes around fifteen to twenty minutes per potential collaborator. If it seems like a fit, she reaches out and they go from there.

“I prioritize engagement quality over follower count,” Sharma says, adding that she would rather partner with a small LA-based account that has 5,000 followers who engage and ask questions than a 50,000-follower account whose audience is passive. “So, I’m reading their comments to see if people are actually asking questions, saving posts, or having real conversations. For culturally-specific restaurants, I only approach creators who’ve organically posted about that cuisine or culture before, not people jumping on trends. For brand partnerships, I look for complementary audiences and shared values. The goal is introducing each brand to genuinely new people who would care, not just cross-promotion.”

Sharma keeps a running list of creators who have naturally posted about her clients or similar concepts. Being able to reference those relevant posts makes outreach efforts much warmer, and keeping a list of potential partners makes the screening process efficient.

Short-form Video Can Go a Long Way

Short form videos may increase your discoverability on Instagram because these are shown in Instagram’s Reels tab, the platform’s equivalent of TikTok’s “For You” page, which allows new users to stumble upon content organically. While it may seem beneficial to go all-in on videos and quit posting static images and carousel posts, Sharma advises creating both types of posts. Videos make your restaurant more discoverable to new users, while static posts let them dive deeper.

User preference with videos is similar to the shift from highly polished and styled food photography to more informal imagery, notes Sharma, who recommends avoiding overly polished, commercial-style videos. A casual vibe works to drive engagement. Highly produced video does not.

Instagram’s algorithm gives weight to content that uses trending audio clips, so Sharma looks for trending audio first. There’s an “Add sound” option at the top of the screen on TikTok. Instagram offers a variety of audio options, including a “Trending” menu for you to explore.

While this approach works for her, she recommends a brand-centric approach. If the trending audio options do not match the aesthetic of our brand, do not attempt to force a fit.

After finding a trending audio that fits the client’s vibe, Sharma brainstorms content. “The hook is everything: I plan the first three seconds first. For restaurants, this is usually action – pouring, flipping, sizzling, or an unexpected visual,” she says.

Her videos last no more than thirty seconds and end with a simple call-to-action, like ‘follow the restaurant’ or ‘comment on a favorite dish.’ Given the short attention spans social media users have, Reels that run longer than 45 seconds tend to lose viewership. This means users may click away before they hear your call to action.

“During shoots, I film three times what I need and capture B-roll constantly,” says Sharma. The extra footage means that she can batch film a lot more footage than she needs, then walk away and edit it after the fact.

Analyze This

Both Sharma and Littrell emphasize the importance of reviewing analytics to understand what kinds of posts work for your restaurant and your audience. Sharma checks the number of video saves and shares first. This indicates that the video was valuable enough to revisit or recommend.

Comments indicate the video was engaging and made people want to respond. Sharma also looks at the completion rate, which indicates the percentage of people who watched a video all the way to the end. If a lot of people watched the video but did not visit your profile or follow you, it indicates that the content lacked a solid connection to the restaurant. If views dropped off halfway through, it indicates that the video did not hold their attention.

While follower growth is exciting, Sharma adds a caveat. “Growth is less important than follower quality. I’d rather see 50 new local followers than 500 random ones,” she says.

Sharma also evaluates intent signals, which she says “indicate content is actually driving interest, not just passive engagement.” Intent signals include comments asking how to make a reservation, comments tagging other users and saying “want to go here?” or direct messages inquiring about your hours, menu items, or reservations. Because these actions indicate a strong intent to visit, they let you know that the content was effective at motivating user behavior.

When Littrell checks the analytics for short form videos – both Instagram Reels and TikTok – he focuses on the watch time to learn where users dropped off. “If they are not hooked, they are not going to watch the rest of it,” he says. While tracking this data on your own is helpful, he believes that it is money well spent to hire a professional content creator.

Likes and comments can make you feel good. But effective social media promotion gets users to take action off-platform. Littrell encourages operators to drive users to sign up for their email list, since email is four to five times more likely to be seen than a social media post. His preferred way to get users on email lists from social media is by using automation tools and freebies, such as a free recipe users can get if they comment with a specific word or phrase.

On the back end, Littrell sets up an automation so that users who leave the requested comment are sent a direct message asking for their email. When users give the email, they are automatically sent the freebie and their email address is added to the mailing list. Automation tools to choose from include Manychat, which has a free option so you can try it out, and GoHighLevel, which is Littrell’s preferred tool.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

In addition to monitoring analytics within Instagram or TikTok, you will want to gather data from your team. “The most direct measurement is tracking reservation sources. Train your host staff to ask ‘How did you hear about us?’ during busy periods and log responses,” says Sharma. Ask your servers and bartenders to keep track of customer requests that mention social media posts, such as if a guest asks for a drink that was featured in a video.

These signals confirm that your social media strategy is working to drive sales. “If social isn’t translating to reservation requests, direct messages about your menu, or customers mentioning they found you online, something in your strategy needs adjustment.”

“Good social media creates demand that your team can feel in real life,” Sharma says. The strategies and content types favored by Sharma and Littrell are a starting point to rethink your social media strategy and the kind of content that will set your restaurant apart, attract interest, and drive not just engagements but visits.

Source: Lindsey Danis, RestaurantOwner.com