I ask every prospective client “ What do you want from the restaurant design?” The answer I get pretty much every time is; “It needs to look good on Instagram!”
I get it, restaurants like Sketch and Revolution have seen an amazing hike in visitors, predominantly due to Instagram fame.
The amazing thing about any social media channel, especially Instagram, is that it is free publicity and marketing for your business. As soon as a photograph or post goes viral and celebrities or influencers are seen visiting, it instantly becomes the place to be. What follows is you see the same shots over and over again on millions of different accounts. How many times have you seen people pose in front of Revolutions Angel Wings? Or the toilets in Sketch? Now tell me, what food/ drink do they offer? Interesting right?
So here ‘s the thing. The purpose of publicity and marketing is to raise your business profile, which in turn will raise income and fundamentally profits. With people spending more and more on the experience of their interiors, surely in order to survive it is vital that your profit lines are healthy. Now I cant say I have looked at the cash flow for the two examples I have mentioned, no doubt they are hugely successful. But (now this is a contravercial big but!) Is Instagram the core reason to their success? When the question is posed so simply, the answer seems obvious. Of course not! These businesses spend huge amounts on PR, marketing, branding, interiors, training and staff. Their success is due to a combination of all of these.
Good PR and Marketing gets people interested, good food and service gets people to stay and revisit, good customer relationships and experiences result in word of mouth and eventually higher revenues and profits. The thing about Instagram is, is its free publicity. This means that smaller businesses unable to spend thousands on everything, think they can earn success with little to no investment through Instagram.
They aren’t wrong. What I need you to think about though is the business reasoning behind Instagram or indeed any business decision you make, including redesigning your restaurant. I may be shooting myself in the foot here, but what you really need to do is go right back to basics.
Who is your ideal client? If it is a female in her early 20s to mid 30s, Instagram is absolutely where you need to be, statistics show this is the market demographics most active on Instagram. However, this of course is not everyone taget market.
I mentioned this in my discussion around branding, that your restaurant and everything it offers needs to be geared to your ideal client. Your ideal client is loyal, will return and will ensure everyone they see or talk to know who you are. This is the marketing you want and need. This may be Instagram, but it may not be social media at all. That is your call to make. I urge you to think things through and not rush into spending thousands on Instagram worthy interiors, only to find it was a phase that passed by too fast. Business is hard work and it will only succeed on longevity and adaptability.
Besides I fit into the Instagram demographics (sort of!) and I love things that go viral like Sketch toilets (Love!) but I also love things that are more toned down and sophisticated, that may not go viral. Go see my Instagram feed to know what I mean!
In summary, should your restaurant be Instagram friendly? The answer depends on who you are and who your clients are. I think all spaces have their place on Instagram, it doesnt always mean what you think it means!