Restaurants, Instagram, and their unique relationship.

People have always had a deep fascination for food. They love to eat and look at food. In many cases, they also enjoy cooking food.

Do you know what else people enjoy doing? They enjoy taking photos of themselves. It is not shocking to see current studies showing that people enjoy taking photos of themselves while they are participating in fun activities. For example, they love taking multiple photos of themselves while dining or having a drink at their favorite bar. This is one of the main reasons why Instagram has gained a tremendous amount of popularity over the last few months.

Instagram is a unique photo application that is designed to work with Android Phones and iPhones. Instagram allows users to upload their photographs to many other popular social media sites. Restaurant owners can capitalize on the rising popularity of Instagram in many different ways.

What is Instagram?

Wed Trends and Elise Moreau describes Instagram as a photo free photo application that can be downloaded at Google Play. Instagram is also available at the iTunes App Store. Regular cameras can capture special moments, but they do not have the capability of giving you the opportunity to follow photo streams created by other Instagram users. Your photo streams can also be followed by other Instagram users. You can preview Elise’s complete article on Instagram for more information.

Instagram is easy to use. This is the primary reason why it is attractive to people who are interested in recording some of the most special moments in their life. Almost anyone can become a proficient Instagram user within a matter of moments.

Engaging Customers With Instagram

An article from the National Restaurant Association revealed that close to 500,000 pictures were tagged at various restaurant locations from July to September of 2013. 127,384 pictures were tagged at Starbucks during this time period. These astronomical numbers was recorded by MomentFeed. MomentFeed monitors social media campaigns of sixty five different chain restaurants.

Restaurants such as Applebees, In-N-Out Burger, and The Cheesecake Factory are well-known for attracting people who love using Instagram. Any look into #hashtags on the platform prove that thousands of people love using Instagram while eating at small restaurant chains across the United States. One can only imaging that these numbers will continue to grow over the years.

What type of conclusion can we develop with this invaluable information? Does Instagram pictures (Pins, Tweets, or Facebook Likes) lead to more sales? Can restaurant owners expect to gain more profits from the rapid rise of social media activity? Joergen Aaboe, MomentFeed Director of Marketing, stated, “You can look at social engagement on the channel as a representative proxy for foot traffic.” He also stated that there’s a a deep relationship between check-in’s (on Instagram, at least) and direct sales.

It is fair to say that restaurants can capitalize on the growing trend of social media. Restaurant owners can use Instagram to their advantage by adding it to their sleek direct marketing campaigns. This can put their business in a position to remain relevant to people who enjoy eating out.