Real social media strategy
Published Sept. 23, 2025
Social Media managers the world over are eager to tell you that they’ll double your follower count in 6 months. Others tell you they will make content strategy specifically to “game the algorithm” and get you the spot light for a week.
You tried your hand at it, and quickly ran out of time and patience. What you saw on some of these platforms was ignorant, or outright silly. Nothing that seemed informative ‘made it’ unless it looked like it was filmed in a Hollywood studio.
Social media was supposed to change things. You, a friend and a commercial cellphone were supposed to have the same platform and the same chance as the big guys, with their lights, camerawork and budgets. If you made something that was interesting or informative, people could like and share it, carrying your name across town. You could even “go viral” and have a bigger audience than ever before.
Golden Goose turned Golden Ticket
Chances are you see social media and marketing as a serious solution for restaurant revenue or profitability problems. It offers wider advertising, cheap returns and if you made one big splash it would solve all your problems. What if I told you it isn’t?
Very few people are using this platform appropriately. It shouldn’t be your only advertising funnel. It shouldn’t seem like a perfect solution to increasing brand awareness and traffic. Realistic returns don’t come from inflated budgets or magical thinking that hard work and “innovation” will make you successful on a shoe string budget. Followers and “memes” do not go into the bank.
Here’s three strategic thoughts for your social media page(s) as an SMB restaurant to divest your interest & losses, and introduce real growth strategies to your marketing plans.
Think of social media as retention rather than acquisition.
The economy of social media is strange. You might see viral videos or photos that highlight restaurants in Japan on your feed. You or any casual user might say “Oh wow!”. That organization might produce high quality content for a month further impressing you. It becomes daily entertainment as you hit the follow button. First, you never planned a trip to see them in Shirakawa, Japan. You never even bought a shirt or the cook book. Their reach still resulted in zero net earnings from you. How much of this are you doing in your org?
Turning guests that visit your establishment into followers to layer signalling for deals, promotions and events is the best way to increase conversion. For one, there is so much competition for attention these days that you often need to make more than one pass to actually “net” awareness of your promotion.
Engagement & useful media
This is often used as a buzzword, a euphemism. It can be hard to actually agree with, looking at varying quality levels across industry and platform. AI generated “slop” is currently flooding creative platforms drawing responses from YouTube and even concerning trends on TikTok. [1,2,3]
Instead of trying to co-opt “Calls to Action” (CTA) with,”Comment WINE! for a coupon in your DMs” look for ways to organically add value and get engagement from customers. In a reel from your FOH or Beverage manager talking about wine pairings from your menu with carryout items, educate about common snacks and foods at home. Using your item as the origin for learning about wider wine styles and supplying them with real pairing education makes your content far more useful than the B-roll footage with a trendy song.
Your kitchen manager showing how you stack your sandwiches to not fall apart, or showing off their knife skills in short tutorials, or how you clean and separate produce for maximum freshness during shelf life. These are tangible skills and values. They demonstrate trust and transparency. Don’t pass on this for gimmicks.
Think of it less as a sales funnel
Look, I’m a consultant. I can sell you my services, or my self published books on these platforms with one click. At best, you offer pick up or delivery on these platforms. Your product, your experience; these are not purchasable with a link.
You need strict metrics to see direct, attributable sales from followers and views to revenue before paying for managers, content creators, and professional editors. This isn’t to say they aren’t helpful and don’t increase sales, it’s that many SMB are sinking valuable dollars into this before improving the general guest information experience.
What should I do today before hiring a media manager?
I tell everyone to do this with their pages before changing their program, budgets or strategy.
Review your page from a friend’s device to avoid bias
Ask your friend what they think about the page
Ask them & yourself: What’s missing? What is there too much of?
Pin 2-3 informative posts; FAQ, contact info, professionally filmed tour of the restaurant, monthly special or event
Identify your messaging over the last 20 posts
Are you selling something? Telling people about specials?
Are these things really important to your business?
I.e.; You make your own bread and it’s important to you. Do you show that?
You pride yourself on vinyl or your music vibe; do you show your customers your collection/curation?
Do you have a face for the business? Do you want one?
Are you using posters to communicate when videos or photos might do better?
Are you a sushi place with an expensive new cut? Break it down on camera. Communicate your excitement!
I’ll repeat this again, You Are Not Ready for Viral
Review the Profile you should be managing (article release tomorrow)
Sources and additional reading