Happens to see BTS-styled dishes, Korean noodles served in restaurants or plant based dishes in restaurants while eating out? If yes, then welcome to the latest trend trap in the food industry. Social media has changed the way we experience everything from day-to-day communication to eating out. Restaurants have become hotbeds of smartphone activity as consumers happily snap pictures of their plates forcing restaurant owners to sit up and take notice. Social media's influence over food shopping habits has been small compared to other industries, but nowadays every brand has its community managers working hard to increase the engagement and number of followers. 

Based on the statistics that demonstrate the popularity of dining out amongst social media users and high sharing rates, it’s not surprising that a restaurant’s revenue is reflective of its social media reviews.  In fact, a one-star rating improvement correlates to a five to nine percent increase in revenue.  Restaurateurs should stay on top of social media trends and make sure they don’t fall behind in the social scene.

Social media affects the restaurant industry in ways stretching from customer loyalty to public reputation. Photo sharing and review sites increase the need for restaurants to offer not only delicious food but excellent service as well. Apparently, it has equally become imperative for restaurant owners to follow the social media trend and keep updating. 

Restaurant follows the trends

First, look healthy. Today’s culture is based on a healthy body, it doesn't matter what product you are selling, you have to emphasise the most natural and healthy qualities of your brand. If it is high in calories, for example, it could be a good energy source for sports or hard-working days. If it is made out of natural ingredients, why not show the audience how clean and pure is the manufacturing process?

“Sattvic food's good nutritional and medicinal properties have gained popularity in the past few years. Since the covid 19 situation has helped us understand the importance of immunity, a sattvic diet acts as an immune booster that includes natural foods that offer a powerhouse of nutrients, antioxidants and minerals,” founder of Annakoot stated who is witnessing a spike in numbers after sattvic diet is all hyped over social media. 

Social media platforms have become an everyday communication tool. For the food and beverage industry, in particular, social media has become an integral part of professional marketing strategies. Every year is shaped by certain food trends as well as recipes and creations that are hyped by bloggers and influencers on the internet, and it creates a lot of impact on the audience.  

Keeping an eye on healthy communication

“However, for brands like us, social media trends are not impacting our business as we operate in an industry that is focusing on building quality the world of Indian desserts witnessed a major change when the trusted local halwai was overtaken by branded, multi-store chains such as Haldiram’s and Bikanervala. The number of premium mithai brands are witnessing an uprising and the consumption patterns of customers are working out for the better of the industry,” Gaurav Chauhan, co-founder and CEO at Gur Chini said.

Social media started as a platform purely for peer-to-peer communication, but a lot has happened since then. Businesses of all sizes and from a wide variety of industries are all clamouring to attract the attention of social users by putting up profiles, establishing fan pages, and boosting promotional posts as often as their budgets will allow.

Reels are for real

Commenting on the same, Ankit Tayal, Co-founder, One 8 Commune stated that people are spending more time than ever on the internet, and social media in particular - which gives businesses, especially immediate turnaround ones, like restaurants in particular, great current-time leverage to showcase their true potential and reach out into their patron pool. In the last two years, content consumption on social media has exponentially changed with tools like Instagram reels for example hitting the bull’s eye for advertisers. 

“Why, you ask? The aspect it hits on is the instantaneous nature of an upload-to-notification on your smartphone, giving brands a chance to really capture the pulse of an audience nd hit the sweet spot (being “in the moment”, the weather, the day’s happenings, as impromptu as a post within seconds of a match-winning cheer dying out, etc) even without a dedicated follower base, where now - content really gets to speaks for itself and how it no longer rests on “captured audiences” to need to be about high-resolution videos and numbers of followers but a genuine mood that resonates with people. And every day, every post is a fresh opportunity,” he explained.

Well, it’s simpler than ever, the “reels” (short videos) showcase “real” immersive experiences on screens and are building an aspirational value for viewers. The high-end 4k quality showbiz attitude is no more a table turner but it’s now real world, real-time content and how it captures one that is building a sense of trust in people towards and if done right with the right taste, and consistency, can work wonders for brands - because the fact is, who knows. Your content could be grabbing more eyeballs than someone with 100k followers. And what that leads to, is a community that yearns to experience your brand, and grows to trust your social media feeds, which was what we once called “spam”.

Getting the right trend on track

“The biggest point of recognition from our content creation experience has been the personalised, “human touch” element. Being an avid supporter of reel content, I have experienced the reels doing great once put out, when ideated well, with the right choice of “trending” or “appropriate” music of course, dynamic & worth watching treatment and most significantly important, as I said earlier, the human aspect that narrates the complete thought so effortlessly,” Tayal further added.

Especially the posts and stories on food, spa and ambience of a hotel done by visitors on social media create a buzz and inspire others to visit the same place or eat a particular dish. Restaurants and hotels should make sure that they are well-versed with social media tools to leverage it to the core. 

“Also the trends, reviews and comments made on social media help hotels and restaurants receive direct feedback from their guests and accordingly modify their services as per guests’ preferences. Through these networking sites, the hospitality industry can interact with consumers before, during, and after the vacation experience. Social media is relatively new and the advantages are abundant such as it is affordable, it is viral and has the potential to spread brand awareness quickly" Sanchit Gupta, managing director at Nest Jaipur commented.

To sum up, to make the restaurant make a profit from social media one has to develop a strategy that creates engagement and emotional links, improves brand awareness and has a nice clean and healthy brand image. Following the trend has become imperative. Watch out for the latest reels!