Social media tips for promoting festive experiences

The festive season is in full effect, which means plenty of diners are eager to socialise out and about with great food. But how can you make sure that your spot is the place they visit? OpenTable’s Experiences help you create special meal moments that give guests a festive dinner to remember. And by using social media, you can tap into OpenTable’s imagery options to get your curated experiences in front of more eyes and boost bookings. Here’s how.

Best practices for promoting Experiences 

Your OpenTable digital kit offers a variety of images* sized for the leading social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They also include text highlighting broad categories of Experiences, making it easier to communicate with diners about your unique festive offerings without the need to take photos. 

Below, we’ve got you covered with how to set yourself up for success when sharing these images across your social media accounts.

Instagram feed

Make it easy to book

Link directly to your OpenTable profile in the bio and facilitate a direct route to reservations. If you take advantage of services offering multiple links – such as Tap.bio, Lnk.Bio, LinkTree, – ensure they’re up-to-date with links to your Experience offerings or OpenTable profile. Draw attention to the link in your bio, so diners know where to go for your Experiences.

Don’t skimp on the details

Use your captions to include details about the special Experiences on offer, explaining why you’re prompting them and what guests can expect. 

Example: Get in the festive spirit and join us for a special Christmas tasting menu featuring our unique take on traditional dishes. Book now for £75 per person, or customise your visit with extras like wine and a cheeseboard. Click the link in our bio to reserve your table.

Include a call to action (CTA)

Encourage potential guests to book with a call to action in your copy. Ideally, you’ll use something catchy but not too pushy while keeping the messaging in line with the tone of your restaurant. It can be as simple as ‘come celebrate with us’. Or feel free to get creative. 

It’s all about the hashtags

Hashtags help your posts circulate on social media, increasing the chance of them reaching further than just your followers. Aim for a mix of holiday-specific and common hashtags related to your location – to illustrate, #KnightbridgeNYReservations works if you’re a Knightbridge-based eatery offering a new year course.

Instagram Stories

Encourage people to book

Add a link to your IG story and take diners directly to your Experiences reservation page. Stories let diners feel like they’re getting a sneak peek behind the scenes when you create content sharing your Experience menu or provide a video walkthrough of your restaurant. You can even show pictures of the chefs hard at work cooking up a storm in the kitchen. 

Add pictures beyond the ones provided by OpenTable

Use stories to announce Experiences with the image provided by OpenTable. But you can then add additional imagery of your own to give your guests more context by painting the whole picture. 

Facebook

Encourage bookings

Ensure that each post links directly to your restaurant or Experience page, so guests enjoy a seamless transition when switching from Facebook to your restaurant. 

Provide plenty of details

Include detailed captions featuring details about the special Experiences on offer, such as price, seating times, booking restrictions, etcetera. Doing so gives guests plenty of information and increases their chances of making a booking. 

Example: Get in the festive spirit and join us for a special Christmas tasting menu featuring our unique take on traditional dishes. Book now for £75 per person, or customise your visit with extras like wine and a cheeseboard. Click here to reserve your table.

Twitter

Encourage more bookings

Like Facebook, make sure that each post links directly to your restaurant or Experiences page, so diners have easy access.

Think about character limits

Unlike Facebook, Twitter has a character limit. That means you’ll want to keep captions offering Experiences within the 280 characters. Don’t shy away from shortening words where possible, like using NYE instead of New Year’s Eve. 

Get discovered with hashtags

Twitter also lets you use hashtags, meaning you can get discovered outside of your immediate followers. Adding hashtags to specific words in your caption can lead to more views. Examples include #NYE, #XmasEve, #ChristmasDinner. 

LinkedIn

Tailor messages

LinkedIn is different from other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, as it’s more business-oriented and likely to appeal to people in your industry. Therefore, consider changing your message to fit the type of content on LinkedIn. Ask people to engage with you where it makes sense or use it as a way to advertise to future employees.    

Example: Celebrations are in full swing this Christmas, and we want to give diners great Experiences. See how we’re using special menus to get people in the festive mood and book a table this winter.

Summary: nailing your socials for better Experiences

With the tools available from OpenTable’s digital kit and the tips in this guide, you can capitalise on festive experiences and get more diners to your restaurant, making it a very merry Christmas indeed.

*Images included in the social asset creative we provide to you as part of the Digital Kit cannot be used as a standalone image, edited, modified, cropped or altered in any way.