3 Reasons Your Restaurant Shouldn't Kill "Foodstagramming"

"Foodstragramming" is either the bane of the food service universe or a masterful strategy for promoting your restaurant to legions of online consumers.

For years, restaurants have been selling consumers on the idea that dining out is about more than food-it's about the experience. Customers have embraced the experiential concept with open arms, and are Instagramming and snapping TwitPics of their favorite dishes in record numbers.

But according to a recent article in The New York Times, trendy eateries are now banning foodstagramming because they deem it to be impolite, intrusive and a distraction to other diners. At the same time, social media is playing an increasingly larger role in restaurant recommendations. In fact, Empathica research shows that three out of four consumers (72%) have used Facebook to make restaurant or retail decisions.

So as a restaurant owner or manager, should you ban foodstagramming or embrace it as a way to increase brand visibility and drive guests to your tables?

Why Your Restaurant Should Encourage Foodstagramming?

It can be intimidating to know that guests are directly sharing images of their food with hundreds or even thousands of online followers. But there are several reasons why foodstagramming and a proactive social engagement strategy are good for your restaurant.

1. Customer Satisfaction

For many customers, the act of sharing photos of their food with their social media network is part of the dining experience. Although it's important to create boundaries that prohibit diners from standing on tables or setting up tripods, you can improve guest satisfaction ratings by allowing and even encouraging your guests to capture great images and share them via their mobile devices.

2. Brand Advocacy

The occasional flash of a smartphone camera is a small price to pay for the amount of brand advocacy foodstagramming generates for your restaurant. Rather than banning the capture and distribution of images, you can amplify the volume of positive brand messages even more by implementing a solution that posts real-time feeds of positive mentions on your website or Facebook page.

3. Customer Experience Improvements

There's no avoiding the fact that foodstagramming creates pressure on restaurants to consistently serve up exceptional dishes and dining experiences. If nothing else, the feedback you receive from social networks will force you to focus on customer experience management, which will ultimately result in more customers and a more robust bottom line.

The reality is that diners are going to share their perceptions about your food and restaurant whether you ban foodstagramming or not. So instead of laying down the law and placing unnecessary restrictions on your customers, the best approach is to leverage foodstagramming as a catalyst for recruiting social media advocates and creating truly exceptional restaurant experiences.