A restaurant post gets five hashtags at most on Instagram, so spend them on the dish or the occasion (#FreshPasta, #DateNight), your city (#DenverFoodie) and your restaurant's name. Tags tied to this week's menu tell diners more than a list that never changes.
The hashtags worth using for a restaurant
What's on the plate
Two or three for the dish or the reason to come in. #FreshPasta says what's on the plate; #DateNight and #SundayRoast say when to book.
Where you are
One tag for your city's food scene. People planning where to eat this weekend browse their city's food tags, and some cities have a short form locals use, like MTL for Montreal.
The pattern: #[City]Foodie or #[City]Restaurants
- Denver: #DenverFoodie #DenverRestaurants
- Edinburgh: #EdinburghFoodie #EdinburghRestaurants
- Montreal: #MTLFood #MontrealRestaurants
Your own tag
Put it at the bottom of the menu or on the bill folder, so diners who photograph their plate know what to add.
For example: #LittleFennelKitchen
Five tags for one real post
The post: “Pumpkin ravioli goes on the menu Friday. The squash comes from the farm stand two streets over.”
What the post shows, where the business is, and its own name. Five tags, each one earning its place.
Tags to skip
- #instafood, #foodstagram, #delicious. Home cooks and food accounts from everywhere post there constantly. A diner deciding between two places nearby won't scroll that far.
- #FarmToTable on one local ingredient. Diners who follow it expect much of the menu traced to named farms. If it's the squash from the stand down the road, say that in the caption instead.
- Award or guide tags you haven't earned. A tag is a claim, and diners check. Leave stars and guide names out until they're yours.
- #Halal or #Kosher without certification. Diners who keep halal or kosher read these as certified. A wrong one costs you trust that's hard to win back.
Seasonal tags
- February 14: #ValentinesDinner #DateNight
- Mother's Day (May in the US, March or early April in the UK): #MothersDayBrunch
- Summer: #PatioSeason #AlFresco
- December: #FestiveMenu #ChristmasParty
- December 31: #NYE #NewYearsEve
Only on posts that are about that season. A Christmas tag on a plain Tuesday loaf is noise.
More for your restaurant
- Post ideas for a restaurant, each with a finished example post.
- How posthell runs social media for a restaurant, from one note a week.
- Hashtag counter to check a caption before you post it.