Restaurant Social Media Statistics in 2025

Recent restaurant social media statistics show that social platforms now have the power to boost the sales of any food establishment. 50% of customers choose restaurants based on social media, yet many businesses still treat social media channels as add-ons.

Recent insights reported that the average person spends about 144 minutes daily on social media, which makes these platforms a viable and conducive avenue for promoting businesses and running special promos.

Along with using QR code menu software, restaurants should also create social media pages to reach more potential customers and establish a strong online presence for improved brand recall.

Gain better knowledge about the influence and relation of social media to business growth in this article.

Social media restaurant statistics

Benchmarking on social media is an excellent opportunity for your business to grow, considering the number of daily active users.

In fact, valuable insights emphasized that:

• 72% of people use social media to research restaurants, and 68% check the restaurant's social media before visiting.
• Even more, 74% of people use social media to decide where to eat, and 54% browse platforms like Instagram and Facebook to pick a restaurant.
• 88% of patrons trust online reviews much more than personal recommendations, and aside from online review platforms like Yelp, diners now post their feedback on a restaurant’s social media page, according to the recent restaurant industry statistics report.
• 85% of customers share positive dining experiences on social media.
• 50% of diners claim that social media can influence their restaurant choices.
• Roughly 22% of customers are inspired to revisit a restaurant due to its social media presence.
• Meanwhile, 71% of patrons say they are more likely to recommend a diner that offers a convenient restaurant ordering system and responds quickly on social media.

Additionally, Smart Insights and Clutch reported that 27% of written articles, 26% of videos, and 24% of images are the most engaging social media items.

However, more than 45% of American customers concurred that after viewing a restaurant's social media posts, they are skeptical of it for the first time, while 21% claim that these posts may hinder them from dining in.

Nonetheless, these restaurant statistics clearly show that social media is a crucial facet of your business today. It can boost your online presence and drive more customers to your establishment.

What percentage of restaurants use social media?

Social media for restaurants has revolutionized the indsutry's advertising. Restaurants now view social media as the most successful marketing technique, followed by online directories and search engine optimization.

According to TripAdvisor, about 82% of restaurants in the United States use social media marketing as part of their growth strategies.

Restaurateurs, hoteliers, and other business owners spend a portion of their budget investing in food advertisements and other promotions to establish their businesses on the most popular social media channels. 

94% of U.S. restaurants monitor their online reviews and insights through social media, allowing them to see their businesses from their customers’ perspectives.

Furthermore, one out of 10 of these restaurants even hires a third-party company to handle social media engagements.

4 insightful statistics across all social media platforms

Knowing how social media is used in the restaurant industry is crucial. Since the platform has different uses, learning to gauge and benchmark in the online market will bring more opportunities to your business.

Leveraging social media in restaurant strategy keeps patrons informed and updated swiftly about your establishment – whether it is an updated interactive QR code menu or a promo deal for the season.

There are 5.42 billion active social media users worldwide, which is beneficial if you want to boost your restaurant's branding online.

Even 56% of restaurant owners believe online evaluations drive more customers to their establishments than conventional advertising.

1. Foodstaggramming

Food flat lays are as important as saying grace before meals.

It has also become customary to take pictures of food and post them on Instagram. This behavior has helped restaurateurs expand their customer reach without paying extra advertising fees. 

As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes. Instagram shows no bounds and uses this adage to help restaurants showcase their menu offerings. 

#Food—the most popular hashtag on Instagram—has more than 250 million posts on the platform.

Users get on Instagram about 18 times a day, making food popular on this social network. 38% of Instagram users look at food content, and 27% of users share food content.

This is an excellent opportunity for your restaurant to open an Instagram account and connect with your target clientele – especially after understanding the food and social media statistics.

According to Forrester, Instagram's per-follower engagement can achieve a 4.21% engagement rate on top brands' posts. However, Sprout Social reported that the median engagement rate across all industries is around 0.43%.

Nonetheless, 8 out of 10 individuals follow at least one business on Instagram, especially in the food service sector. This is where patrons can search for the best foods and drinks online. 

Additionally, Instagram has an engagement rate 84 times higher than Twitter. This is excellent for your business, especially if you want to engage and build stronger relationships with your patrons.

In essence, fast food chains outperform full-service restaurants on Instagram, with a 21.4 engagement ratio vs. an 18.4 engagement ratio. 

The ideal times to post are 9 AM, noon to 1 PM, and 8 PM. People are eating and gazing at their smartphones during these hours. These periods are optimum for your restaurant to upload content on Instagram.

2. Increased customer engagement on Facebook

Over 50 million SMEs use Facebook Pages as one of the restaurant's social media marketing tools to communicate with their customers, and around 8% pay for Facebook ads. This is almost the same as the percentage of restaurants using social media.

Nearly 75% of customers used Facebook to choose a restaurant based on comments, pictures, and reviews from other patrons.

Replacing traditional paperback menus with a QR code menu allows you to cater to a positive customer experience in your restaurant. 88% of restaurateurs even say that it helps streamline their business.

In addition, customers are more likely to submit positive reviews on Facebook than on any other review website.

Additionally, six out of ten restaurant owners use contactless payment solutions in the long run. This has a favorable effect on the hospitality sector, especially when building a brand on Facebook.

3. Trends on X

Even with the huge number of Facebook users, X users have the highest engagement with restaurants compared to all other industries. 

32% of tweets mention food and beverage companies. And 39% of users tweeted pictures of their meals, and 45% of UK X users tried a new dish based on something they saw on X, which makes it one of the marketing tools that seemed to be effective.

More than half of consumers who visited a restaurant because of what they saw on X mentioned promotional deals and discounts, 43% said it was a food photo, and 39% said it was because of the establishment's excellent customer service.

A person's passion for food and drink has become a far more significant component of who they are, leading them to refer to themselves as “foodies.”

4. Virality in TikTok

TikTok bagged the title of the most popular website in 2021. This social media platform allows you to engage with your target customers actively using innovative, eye-catching short videos.

There are 1 billion users of TikTok worldwide, and 65 million of them are in the U.S. 

The platform's engagement increased by 0.85% in 2021, in contrast to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. That's why robust TikTok restaurant marketing ideas can help you establish a brand online and boost customer interaction. 

You can post the bestselling menu items in your account since 51% of users visit a restaurant because of its menu content. 20% of users also dined at a restaurant in a different location after seeing it on the platform.

Furthermore, 55% of users visit a restaurant after knowing its diversity of menu offerings on TikTok. It is best to include out-of-the-box culinary flair in your account to entice more customers.

TikTok is not just a platform where you can see videos of people doing dance challenges or singing song covers.

This social media platform allows you to surpass restaurant competition by attracting new customers, providing local exposure, generating engagements, and connecting with micro-influencers

5 key impact of social media on restaurants today

Indeed, social media is no longer something nice to have but a vital point for restaurant's success. Take a look at how social media impacts restaurants in 2025:

1. Boost visibility and brand awareness

Social media for restaurants gives power to showcase the food, space and vibe to a broader audience – often without spending much.

Eye-catching photos or viral videos can introduce your brand to thousands of potential customers, making even small, local spots more discoverable.

2. Influences customer decisions

Many people now eat with their eyes before stepping foot into a restaurant.

Diners often browse Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook to check menus, photos, and reviews.

A strong and appealing online presence can directly influence where someone choose to dine or order.

3. Builds customer loyalty and community

Engaging with customers through comments, reposts, or behind-the-scenes content helps build trust and familiarity.

Regular interaction turns followers into loyal fans who not only return but also promote your restaurant to others through tags and word-of-mouth.

4. Drive sales and bookings

By integrating reservation or ordering links directly into social profiles, restaurants can turn followers into paying customers instantly.

Promotions, daily specials, and exclusive drops shared through posts and stories help drive both online orders and foot traffic.

5. Offers real-time feedback and insights

Social media acts like a live feedback loop. Restaurants can see what dishes customer love, which posts perform the best, and what customers have in mind.

These insights help improve service, tweak the menu, and stay in tune with customers preference.

Best practices for restaurant social media this 2025

It's time to gear up on your social media tactics. To help you in your planning phase, here are some of the effective practices you can start with:

Prioritize short-form video

Create quick, visually engaging videos on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Show off your food being prepped, introduce staff, or give a peek behind the scenes in under 60 seconds. Use trending audio and hashtags to increase discoverability, and focus on making your content feel authentic rather than overproduced.

Target your local community

Tap into hyperlocal audiences through location tags, neighborhood-specific hashtags, and collaborating with nearby influencers.

Also, engage with your community by highlighting local events or landmarks and positioning your restaurant as a staple of the area.

This kind of targeted content helps you attract real customers who are close enough to visit.

Launch social-first menu drops

Create excitement by promoting exclusive menu items or specials on your social media channels.

Tease them with countdowns, using limited seats messaging, or order via DM to call for an action.

These exclusives give your followers a reason to stay connected and drive food traffic from socials directly to your restaurant.

Encourage user-generated content

Invite your guests to share their dining experience, tagging your location or using a branded hashtag.

Repost their photos, videos, and reviews to your own feed and stories. This type of content not only builds trust with potential diners but also makes your current guests feel seen and appreciated.

Integrate booking and ordering tools

Make it as easy as possible for followers to take action by adding reservation and ordering buttons directly to your social media profiles.

Platforms like MENU TIGER, OpenTable, or Bento Box can streamline the experience and reduce friction.

The easier the path from scroll to eat, the more likely you'll convert interest into sales.

MENU TIGER: Strengthen your social media marketing for restaurant success with a QR code menu software

MENU TIGER is a digital menu service provider that allows you to streamline your customers’ dining experience. 

It has the best features for the most affordable price. This no-code software enables you to create an interactive restaurant menu that you can edit and curate anytime, ensuring a more engaging and personalized customer experience.

Here are highly advanced solutions for you:

• Dayparts feature

This allowing you to highlight and change your menu at any time. This can be from brunch to dinner and happy hour.

• Restaurant website

Establishing an online presence is one of your key restaurant goals, especially during this digital age. Your restaurant will need a website and engaging social media accounts to redirect your customers to your engagement platforms. 

With MENU TIGER, you can easily customize your built-in restaurant website and use the white label for restaurant domain customization. This will make it easier for customers to search for your restaurant on the internet, hassle-free.

• Personalized URL (Unified Resource Locator)

Moreover, you can also generate a customizable URL for your restaurant where you can link your social media accounts using MENU TIGER and QR TIGER.

Boosting your social proof through restaurant social media marketing will drive more engagement and help grow your customer base.

Be on trend with the restaurant's social media statistics

Knowing the latest restaurant social media statistics will help you stay one step ahead of your competitors in the industry.

These ever-changing trends can guide you on what you should and should not do in your restaurant.

What better way to improve your food services than using a QR code menu software to help you provide an exquisite dining experience to customers?

Aside from that, the software offers convenience and increases visibility across your different social media platforms.

Create your brand account and engage more customers today using MENU TIGER.