Influencer Marketing for Restaurants (Steal These 4 Strategies)

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

If you think influencer marketing is only for skincare brands and tech unboxing channels, boy, do we have news for you. 

Your restaurant has more potential on Instagram than you think. And no, we don’t mean paying an influencer $250 for a flatlay that only gets 5 likes and one sad emoji comment. We’re talking real, trackable ROI (return on investment) from influencer marketing for restaurant brands.

In fact, restaurants that use food influencer marketing the right way have seen revenue spikes, long-term engagement, and free word-of-mouth that snowballs into sold-out weekends. If you’re a restaurant owner wondering if this is your sign—yes. This is your sign.

Let’s dish out 4 influencer marketing strategies that restaurant owners are already using to grow their brand. Feel free to steal them (we won’t tell).

Why Influencer Marketing for Restaurants Works So Well

Food influencer marketing is the marketing equivalent of love at first sight. Your food is already camera-ready. Influencer content brings it to the table (literally). Here’s why restaurant influencer marketing makes so much sense:

• Visuals: Food sells through photos and videos. Instagrammable food = instant engagement.
• Social proof: People trust people, not your Facebook ad.
• It’s scalable: One story can bring in dozens of visits and redemptions.
• It’s cheaper than you think: Especially if you don’t overpay for vanity metrics.

And unlike traditional ads, influencer posts don’t just vanish into the void. A well-timed Reel or Story can live on as saved content and spark those “Where was that place you went to again?” moments.

Take Aftermeal, for example. Their campaign with lifestyle creator @chanwon92 offered a free dessert with an SMS-based redemption system. Aftermeal generated RM6,068 ($1,429) in revenue from direct redemptions alone. This excludes the ripple–effect of the customers who came later.

The best part? These customers didn’t just come once. They came back. And again. They spent more. Aftermeal didn’t need to build an app or hire an entire agency. Just one well-planned influencer campaign.

So, how do you replicate it?

Strategy 1: Offer a Tempting Freebie

See, we’re not saying hand $200 steak dinners away for free. But a free cocktail or dessert? That’s influencer marketing gold. Freebies work when they feel exclusive yet manageable. Aftermeal didn’t give away their most expensive dish, they gave away mousse cake slices, then used SMS tracking to monitor redemptions.

Here’s how Aftermeal did it:

1. Chanwon told her followers to swipe up to claim a free dessert.
2. Customers keyed in their phone numbers to get the voucher for a free dessert.
3. The instructions to redeem the page appear on the following page.

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Partner with a local micro-influencer
2. Let them promote a free item with urgency: “Claim within 14 days!”
3. Use a well-designed loyalty program tool to track redemptions via SMS or WhatsApp

The genius of this strategy? It gets customers in the door and once they’re there, most order more than just the freebie. Plus, you get their number for future promos. Simple? Yes. Effective? Absolutely. From the data we’ve collected, over 56% of returns came after the campaign ended. What does that actually entail? The campaign planted long-term value, not just a sugar rush.

Strategy 2: Make it Easy to Join

One mistake restaurant owners make is adding too many steps. Customers hate jumping through hoops. Nobody’s signing up for your influencer promotion if they need to download an app, follow 10 accounts, and recite their social security number backwards, unless you plan to lose customers.

The best campaigns feel like magic:

• One link in the influencer’s story
• One form asking for their phone number
• One automated SMS with a reward code

They show up. They redeem. You track it.

When Go Noodle House started expanding, they didn’t do splashy celebrity ads. They let the food speak and let loyal fans rave about it. A good tip is to choose influencers whose audience is local and already familiar with your cuisine. Even better if they’re regulars.

And it doesn’t stop there. Using tools like WhatsApp opt-ins or SMS redemption features helps remove all friction. It’s 2025. You don’t need a punch card. Need a push? Let’s dive in deeper into how you can leverage WhatsApp Marketing to boost your restaurant’s sales.

Strategy 3: Leverage Micro-Influencers with Macro Trust

Although it’s tempting to chase big names, your influencer doesn’t need 1 million followers. They need trust. Micro-influencers (5k-50k followers) are in hindsight the true MVPs of restaurant influencer marketing.

Why?

• They have tighter-knit, more engaged audiences
• They cost significantly less
• Their recommendations feel authentic—not sponsored fluff

In a clever micro-influencer campaign for its U.S. debut, Jollibee worked with 22 local influencers targeting specific regional markets. They produced authentic, review-style content that felt like talking to a friend.

The results:

• Over 1.3 million targeted impressions across U.S. markets
• 3.5x increase in foot traffic at participating outlets.

Pro tip: Vet your influencers. Check who’s engaging (real comments vs bots), where their audience is based, and if they’ve worked with restaurants before. Because the goal isn’t just to look good online, but to get bums in seats.

Strategy 4: Tie Influencer Campaigns to Your Loyalty Program

Running a promo without a follow-up plan? That’s like giving away cake and forgetting the candles. If someone comes for the influencer freebie, what happens next? Whatever that may be, don’t let them vanish into the night. 

Here’s what smart restaurants do:

• Capture phone numbers during redemption
• Assign loyalty points instantly
• Send automated SMS reminders and offers later

Aftermeal used SimpleLoyalty’s point system to reward every RM1 spent. So even a freebie customer could become a VIP over time. Loyalty programs turn influencer visitors into repeat guests. Keep reading if you’re keen to see if a loyalty program like SimpleLoyalty will actually work for your restaurant. This isn’t just influencer marketing. It’s influencer-powered retention.

How to Choose the Right Food Influencers for Your Restaurant

Choosing the right influencer can elevate your brand like a well-paired wine—it just works. But the wrong one? It’s like pouring hot sauce in your coffee. Confusing and almost impossible to swallow.

Here’s your foolproof recipe for picking an influencer who actually drives traffic, not just likes:

Audience Match

Before you slide into any DMs, stalk their followers (respectfully, of course).

Think:

• Are their followers local? There’s no use working with someone whose audience lives 500km away.
• Are they food-curious? If they only post about pilates and Shein hauls, your New York Strip might feel out of place.

Engagement > Reach

10,000 ghost followers won’t fill your tables. 

What you want to look out for:

• Comments like “Where is this?” and/or “Need to visit ASAP!!”
• Actual conversation in the comments
• Replies to Q&As or polls

Avoid accounts where every post looks like a copy-pasted “Yum!! 🔥”. That’s the influencer version of small talk.

Content Fit

Scroll through their feed.

• Do their photos and Reels fit your brand’s vibe?
• Have they featured similar F&B spots before?
• Does your food or atmosphere match their usual content?

If their grid is all high-fashion editorial, you may as well reconsider other influencers.

Proven Track Record

Check if they’ve worked with other F&B brands. Look for:

• Previous collabs with restaurants or cafes
• Visible engagement bumps
• Campaign results like link clicks or code redemptions.

And don’t be shy—ask for stats.

Influencer Campaign Ideas by Restaurant Type

Every restaurant has its own flavor. Your campaign should reflect that. Here’s how to tailor influencer collabs:

Cafes and casual eateries

• Collaborate with cozy lifestyle influencers for weekday brunches.
• Offer free pastries for IG check-ins.
• Use TikTok foodies to showcase bundles or secret menu items.
• Run weekday lunch promos with influencers sharing their plate.

Bars

• Host “creator nights” with drinks, trivia, and behind-the-bar footage.
• Offer a free cocktail for Story posts.
• Capture cheers moments and reshare to boost visibility.

Fine dining

• Partner with creators for soft launches or private tastings.
• Use cinematic reels and chef interviews to build exclusivity.
• Preview new seasonal menus with limited-access invites.

Mistakes to Avoid in Restaurant Influencer Marketing

Let’s save you from becoming a cautionary tale, you know, the one that spent over $500 on a shoutout only to get one new follower and zero foot traffic.

Here’s what you can do to avoid that:

Picking influencers based solely on follower count

Big numbers don’t always mean big results. An account with 100k fake followers does less than one with 5k loyal foodies. Yikes. Instead, focus on engagement rate, audience fit, and authenticity.

Running a one-off post with no follow-up

Don’t stop at “Thanks for coming!”. Think of influencer marketing as a gateway, not a finish line. Follow up with loyalty or limited-time offers. The best results happen when the influencer campaign leads to something bigger. For instance, send SMS follow-ups to customers who redeemed the influencer offer, or give them points via your loyalty program. This is where one-time visitors become regulars.

Not tracking ROI or campaign redemptions

If you’re not using SMS, QR codes, or reward tracking, you’re flying blind. And wasting money. You need to know who claimed the influencer’s offer, if they showed up, and if they came back. If you’re just posting and praying, you’re not marketing—you’re guessing.

Offering rewards that don’t excite anyone

No one cares about 5% off rice. Boring. Offer something they’d actually post about. You need an offer that will make an impact. A few offers you can opt for include a free dessert they can post on Stories or a signature cocktail available for 3 days only. 

The goal is to make your influencer campaign not only visible, but irresistible and repeatable. And when you do, use tools that let you measure, automate, and follow up.

Conclusion

Forget influencer campaigns that go nowhere. With the right hook, the right reward, and the right tech—you can turn influencer buzz into actual foot traffic. You don’t need a million-dollar budget or a viral TikTok dance. Just a smart and simple plan that makes people say: “Hey, let’s eat there. I saw it on Instagram.”

Start today. Go on and steal these strategies. And if you want to make it even easier? Start your first influencer-linked loyalty campaign with SimpleLoyalty. It takes less than 10 minutes!