Many new restaurants post a countdown and a photo of the ribbon. The ones people talk about give the neighbourhood something to watch: the room coming together, the first plates, the line on opening day. Here’s a plan in three stages.
Set up first
Before the first post, claim the restaurant’s name on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, with the same name and photo on each, and set up its Google Business Profile. Google’s guidelines ask a business to “Represent your business as it’s consistently represented and recognized in the real world across signage, stationery, and other branding”, and say “There should only be one profile per business” (Google Business Profile guidelines). Use the name on your sign, the address, and the opening hours once you know them.
Before you open
Film the room coming together, the team’s first practice service and the dishes you want people to come for. Each post is a reason to follow before the doors open, and a reminder of the date.
Opening day: ask the line
For a new Shah’s Halal Food location, a drone shot found the line along the storefront, then we handed the microphone to the people in it: “What’s the thing about Shah’s?” The answers came fast: the Philly cheesesteak, chicken over rice, the shawarma. We cut it to nineteen seconds, to the rhythm of the answers, so a stranger finishes it knowing what to order.
A line is proof that’s hard to fake. Film it, and let the people in it do the talking.
An opening-day shot list
- The line, from above or from the end of it, so its length is clear.
- The first customer through the door, and the first plate out.
- People in the line answering one question: what did you come for?
- The kitchen at full speed, close enough to hear it.
- The team after closing, tired and pleased.
Ask before anyone is the focus of a shot, and leave out anyone who says no.
The weeks after
Opening week brings the curious. The weeks after decide whether they come back. Keep posting: the food made start to finish, the team, and the regulars who return. “Video ideas for restaurants” has thirteen ideas to rotate.
Opening another location
A chain’s new location is news in its own neighbourhood, not across the city. For Qahwah House we filmed café by café: each one’s own street, its own room and its own crowd, around the same coffee. For Adobo Mexican Grill, a meal film runs from the street into the restaurant and onto the grill, with its own street sign, on Grand Avenue, in the frame.
Plan the first month
Put the opening on a calendar before it happens: the posts before the date, the day itself, and four weeks after. “How to plan a month of posts” shows how we plan a month.
| When | What to film | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Four to two weeks before | The room coming together, the sign going up, the team | Gives the neighbourhood something to follow |
| The last two weeks | The dishes people should come for, the first practice service | Makes them want the first plate |
| Opening day | The line, the first plate, the people in the line | Proof that people came |
| Weeks one and two after | Food made start to finish, the team, first regulars | Gives the curious a reason to come back |
| Weeks three and four after | Questions and dares in the comments, a busy night | Keeps a post always coming |
Opening offers and reviews
An opening offer can fill the first week. Keep it apart from reviews: Google forbids content “posted due to an incentive offered by a business - such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services” (Google Maps, prohibited and restricted content). Ask the first guests for an honest review, with a link on the bill, and never tie it to the offer. If the restaurant is licensed, opening posts that promote drinks fall under the AGCO’s liquor advertising guidelines; “Social media for restaurants” covers them.
What to count after opening
Views tell you which posts travelled; comments and shares tell you which ones people cared about; and the calls, direction requests and website visits on your Google profile show interest. Whether people came shows in your covers and sales, week against week. Compare the weeks after opening with each other, not with an older restaurant’s account.
Let us film it
We plan the month, film on site and post on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, with 250,000 to 1 million views a month guaranteed. See the plans.
Questions owners ask
When should a new restaurant start posting?
Before it opens. The room coming together and the first plates give people a reason to follow before the doors open.
What should I post on opening day?
The line, and what the people in it came for. Let them do the talking.
Can I offer a discount for reviews when I open?
No. Google removes reviews posted because of a discount, free food or another reward. Run the opening offer apart from any request for a review.
How do I market a new location of an existing restaurant?
As its own place: its street, its room and its crowd, so the neighbourhood sees a restaurant of its own.
How do I start?
Apply to work with us: a few quick questions about your business. We read every application, and if we can help, we write back to set up a free thirty-minute video call. Apply to work with us
Keep reading
- RestaurantsRestaurant video ideas for TikTok and Reels
- PlanningHow to plan a month of posts: a content calendar
- RestaurantsSocial media for restaurants: what works
- FranchisesSocial media for franchises and chains
Sources
Updates
- : Lengthened: setting up accounts and the Google profile (Google’s guidelines read), a calendar from four weeks before to four weeks after, an opening-day shot list, opening offers and reviews (Google’s review policy read), drinks, and what to count.