Being based in Liverpool City Centre means that we are lucky enough to be surrounded by a whole host of amazing restaurants. But while TripAdvisor will tell you where is the best place for burgers or fine dining with a view, we are here to tell you who is doing great things with their social media, and in particular, Instagram.
We all know that food photos do great on the image sharing platform, but how can restaurants stand apart and turn online ‘food porn’ browsers into real life bookings?
Here is how some of the best restaurants in the city are utilising Instagram to their advantage.
Restaurant Bar and Grill
The Restaurant Bar & Grill (@rbgliverpool) • Instagram photos and videos
Restaurant Bar and Grill have some absolutely beautiful images of their food and cocktails. From the melted chocolate dripping down on the chocolate bomb to the cinnamon dust settling on a cocktail, the salivating images are bound to stop even the most absent minded scroller in their tracks.
360 Sky Bar Gino Dacampo
360 Sky Bar (@skybarginodacampo) • Instagram photos and videos
One of the newer restaurants to the city, Gino Decampo’s Sky Bar is making great use of food imagery and showing off the impressive views of the city. What it also does very well is action shots, many of the pictures give you a real feel for what it is like to be there. For a restaurant that is attached to a chain, it knows itself very well and the atmosphere of who they are, who they want to be and who their clientele are comes across well.
Luban
Lu Ban Liverpool (@lubanliverpool) • Instagram photos and videos
Luban do a fantastic job of showcasing the faces behind the brand. Chef Dave is a huge selling point of the business and the Instagram account shows this off well. As well as sharing wider team photos, there are plenty of shots of Dave in action as well as piece to camera stories so customers feel they know the team before they even arrive. You get a real sense of the atmosphere and how you will be treated and a ‘behind the scenes’ insight that you wouldn’t get with other platforms.
The Florist
https://www.instagram.com/thefloristuk/
For a restaurant that is like a real life Instagram filter, it’s no surprise that the stand out feature on The Florist’s Instagram is the beautiful aesthetic. Pretty imagery is shared in a dusky tone. Every detail has been considered to keep the brand at the forefront as you land on the page, including making the ‘highlights’ icons all flowers.
Six by Nico
Six by Nico Liverpool (@sixbynicoliverpool) • Instagram photos and videos
While which restaurant sells the best food is up for debate, we really have saved the best until last in terms of social media with Six by Nico. The quirky restaurant based around an ever changing six course tasting menu, provides an absolute masterclass in how to get the most out of Instagram.
Six by Nico uses Instagram to support its vision, it doesn’t just use social media to promote what it is doing elsewhere. Instead it uses the features to become part of the process – such as building intrigue for future menus with teaser clips and countdowns.
This has created a community of those ‘in the know’ – customers who have been are keen to show off that they have been. Six by Nico doesn’t need to tell us how exciting the new menu will be – it has a host of advocates ready to post all about what a great experience there is to be had there. The fact that the menu changes means people want to visit time and again and are therefore keen to follow to see announcements of new menu.
The restaurant uses the grid format in a ‘takeover style’ to announce each new theme and each menu cleverly has its own branding and colour scheme.
There is plenty of audience interaction with interactive polls where people can vote for their favourite dish using an emoji. The results of this actually influenced the next menu with the winners of each round forming a ‘Best of 2021’ menu, allowing fans to be rewarded with a real life impact on a business that they love.
Behind the scenes footage (and bloopers!) showcase the work that goes into each menu via Instagram Stories and Reels.
If you are looking for inspiration as to how social media can do more than just share images of your products, but instead become an integral part of your marketing strategy then look no further.