Holiday Social Media Post Ideas for Restaurants
The holidays are a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll be barreling straight through to New Year’s—juggling specials, promotions, giveaways, events and gift guides. Here are some sure-fire holiday social media post ideas for restaurants and food brands to promote, celebrate and build connection with your community this holiday season.
Holiday Hours
Are you and your team taking time off? Be sure to update your social bios and website with this information as early as possible. Also put a pinned post about your holiday hours up on Instagram so it is easy for your guests to find. Are you a restaurant that is open on a holiday when everyone else is closed? Be sure to let your guests know about that as well—they may be looking for options.
Giving Thanks
Put the social back in social by creating special posts to thank your staff, vendors and collaborators. And don’t forget to thank your customers—they are the #1 reason you are where you are today!
Holiday wish list
Create a carousel post about food-related gift ideas for the at-home chef. Include any merchandise you have—Tshirts, cookbooks, sauces, gift sets etc.—and don’t forget to include your gift cards. (Bonus if a portion of your earnings go to support a food bank or other worthy cause.)
Parties + Special Events
Whether you are offering special holiday menus or hosting a full-on holiday party, be sure to share the details early and often with your audience. Develop some promotional graphics for the event and sprinkle them throughout your feeds. And make sure it is super clear how to reserve event tickets on your website.
Take-Home Feasts
Can you offer a take-away feast? If so, highlight what’s included, how to order and how easy it is to serve at home. Help people see how it can simplify their holiday hosting stress. Are you a restaurant offering a non-traditional option like ribs instead of turkey? Be sure to highlight what makes your feast special! Side note: killer photos will go a looong way toward selling these. We definitely recommend either hiring a local food photographer or staging the best shots you can yourself. Tip: Try to shoot composed table shots that feature the whole meal that give the viewer the sense they are about to sit down at the table.
Ice + Icing
Now is the perfect time to promote coffees, cocktails and desserts with a holiday twist. Have a peppermint latte on the menu? Offering gingerbread cookies? Have a cocktail with a wintery flavor profile? Now is the time to show them off! Tip: If you have regular annual holiday specials, plan a photo shoot just for these seasonal items and you can use them year after year.
Giving Back
The holidays are not about selling, they are about giving. Share the ways you are contributing to your community this holiday season. Are you donating to food shelters or hosting an event for a non-profit organization? Be sure to promote these worthy causes to inspire your audience to do the same.
Get in the Holiday Spirit
Sprinkle seasonal illustrations and graphics throughout your feed to bring the holiday vibe. Ask your audience questions like “What is your favorite holiday cookie?” or create polls like “Turkey or Ham?” and share the results.
Giveaways
Give away a restaurant gift card. Even better, let your audience nominate someone else to receive it—just ask them to tag a friend in the comments and select one randomly. You can also create a gift basket with your merchandise, and give it away through a contest on social. For instance, ask your audience to share their favorite holiday food recipe or moment.
Most importantly, remember that your audience is wading through tons of content focused on selling them something. If you can share an emotional connection, provide an entertaining moment or offer a way to support them during the busy holiday season, it will go a long way toward encouraging loyalty to your restaurant all year long.
PLAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS