How to Use at Your Pinterest at Your Restaurant

Pinterest is a unique social media platform that relies exclusively on images to engage users, acting as a virtual bulletin board. Pinterest’s motto is “organize and share things you love” and it offers restaurants a quick and easy way to build an online reputation and enhance your other social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Remember that Pinterest isn’t just about pinning pictures. It’s getting customers to eat at your restaurant. Your Pinterest boards should ultimately work toward bringing the customer to your website, where they can make reservations or see your full menu or help spread word of your restaurant, through pins. Read on for different ways to use Pinterest to promote your restaurant.

Photos of Your Restaurant Menu

Food is huge on Pinterest. Snap some good quality photos of all your menu items and post them on boards designated by area, such as an appetizers board, soup and salad board, or entrees and dessert boards. Link the photos back to your restaurant website, where customers can peruse your entire menu.

Cocktails

Does your restaurant serve a signature house cocktail? Post pictures of pretty drinks and link back to the recipe on your website or how-to videos of your bartender on your Youtube channel. Do you have nightly drink specials? Build board around happy hour or ladies night.

Tour of Your Restaurant

Show off your restaurant through photographs. Along with views of your restaurant’s dining room, bar and entrance, post a snapshot of your most requested table, with a link to your reservations page. Other ideas include behind the scenes photos of your kitchen, fun pictures of your staff and customers, and promotional events.

Brand Your Restaurant

Think outside the box (or board, in this case). What are some things that represent your restaurant? Kate Spade makes handbags, but her Pinterest page includes many photos of other things. But they all have a common theme – city, urban, bold colors – which is a pretty good representation of the Kate Spade brand. What would represent your restaurant? Do you offer Italian cuisine? Perhaps pins of Italy, Tuscany, olive groves would represent your restaurant concept. Country Cousin Restaurant in Washington has pins of roosters, country quotes and other rustic, country themed images.

Local Attractions

Dedicate one board on Pinterest to your local area. Pin pictures of local geography, like mountains, rivers, beaches, etc… Also include cultural attractions, like museums, galleries, zoos, theater. Show off all the things you can do in your area, along with eating at your restaurant.

Catering Services

Weddings and other party ideas are among the top categories on Pinterest. Brides (well, women in general) plan their whole weddings on Pinterest. If you restaurant offers catering services, build boards that showcase different types of events. Along with buffet tables and place settings, include shots of the whole dining room, any special services like a champagne toasts, chocolate fountains or food stations. Include as a wide a variety of functions as possible, from formal to casual. Also consider wedding idea boards, such as ideas for decorating, table settings or invitations. Give brides a reason to follow your wedding boards. Read more about restaurant wedding trends.

Follow Other Local Boards

Just like friending people/organizations on Facebook and re-tweeting on Twitter, Pinterest is all about reciprocity. Follow boards of your fellow businesses, employees, and local organizations.

Recipes You’d Like To Try

Food and drink is a huge category on Pinterest. Pin recipes you would like to try at your restaurant and open the board up for customers to pin recipes they would like see at your restaurant.

Seasonal Boards

Starbucks has Pinterest boards for each season and holiday. Along with their seasonal coffee drinks and pastries, they include holiday crafts and recipes.