If you’ve heard of Travis Scott’s McDonald’s meal or Sabrina Carpenter’s Dunkin’ drink, then you’re no stranger to restaurant influencers.
But how impactful are restaurant influencers? And where do you find them?
In this blog, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about restaurant influencers, from what influencer marketing even is to where you can find restaurant influencers yourself.
Let’s get into it!
What is restaurant influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a form of collaborative marketing where your restaurant partners with an individual (who has a significant online presence) to promote your business.
Influencer marketing can look like tons of different things, including:
- Product collabs
- Sponsored videos
- Giveaways or contests
- Influencer discount codes
There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to approach influencer marketing for your restaurant — but we do know that putting effort into influencer marketing can really pay off.
Why influencer marketing works for local restaurants
Influencer marketing has been proven to deliver results for businesses of all kinds, from increased brand awareness to better audience targeting.
But, for restaurants in particular, there are three areas where influencer marketing really shines:
Increasing conversions, capturing attention, and improving local reach.
✔ Influencer marketing can boost spending
Influencer marketing has been shown to encourage (and actually increase!) spending..
49% of consumers “make purchases at least once a month” because of influencer marketing they’ve seen, where 86% of consumers make an influencer-inspired purchase once a year.
But what if your restaurant isn’t big on social media? No worries — the conversion-causing impact of influencer marketing isn’t limited to socials.
A Sprout Social survey found that 80% of consumers “would be more likely to buy from brands that partner with influencers beyond just social media content,” including things like in-person events or online campaigns.
→ The bottom line? Influencer marketing — both on and offline — can ramp up your restaurant’s conversions.
✔ Influencer marketing can get your restaurant noticed
Influencer marketing is a great way to capture your audience’s attention in a fresh, exciting way.
According to Sprout Social, food and drink influencer content is the most effective at capturing consumer attention, with 30% reporting it as their favorite kind of influencer marketing.
And, what’s more, today’s consumers are actively seeking out influencer content, too.
More and more diners are turning to social media influencers for restaurant reviews and tips on which restaurants to visit, with 38% seeking out restaurant reviews on Facebook, 38% on Instagram, and 33% on TikTok.
→ The bottom line? Influencer marketing can help you better capture your restaurant’s audience, especially online.
✔ Influencer marketing can reach more locals
Finally, influencer marketing can help your restaurant reach more prospective customers locally.
90% of marketers say sponsored influencer content “performs better in terms of reach” than organic content, helping your restaurant reach more people online than a normal post would.
You don’t need a huge budget to improve local reach with influencer marketing, either, because small influencers often have more engaged local audiences than big names.
A survey by the content platform Trend found that micro-influencers have stronger local engagement than macro-influencers. Plus, their commitment to genuine audience engagement can help extend their content’s reach.
→ The bottom line? Influencer marketing can help you widen your local audience (and you don’t have to break the bank to do it, either).
Types of restaurant influencers you might consider
Influencers can be broadly grouped into four main categories: mega, macro, micro, and nano.
| Type of Influencer | Nano influencers | Micro influencers | Macro influencers | Mega influencers |
| # of Followers | 1K – 10K | 10 – 100K | 100K – 1M | 1M+ |
| General Price Point | $ | $$ | $$$ | $$$$ |
Now, the type of restaurant influencer you partner with is up to you (and your influencer marketing budget), but some research suggests sticking to the micro side of things can have better results.
Nano and micro influencers typically have better engagement rates, ranging anywhere from 7% to 20%.
That’s because it’s far easier for smaller creators to meaningfully engage with their followers by responding to comments or reposting stories… which can also lead to stronger, more authentic relationships at the same time.
On the other hand, macro and mega influencers’ engagement rates cap out around 5% for two reasons.
Not only is it virtually impossible for macro and mega influencers to meaningfully engage with their millions of followers, but they’re usually juggling other commitments as celebrities, TV personalities, and athletes, too.
→ The bottom line? Nano and micro restaurant influencers are the best choice for local restaurants, not only because they’re typically more affordable, but because they can build deeper, more meaningful connections with your local audience.
How to find restaurant influencers to market your business
So, you’re ready to try influencer marketing for your restaurant… but where are you supposed to actually find restaurant influencers?
Here are a few different ways you can find restaurant influencers for your business.
Search hashtags on Instagram/TikTok
One way to find local restaurant influencers is by searching hashtags on Instagram or TikTok and seeing which accounts pop up.
So, let’s say you’re looking for a restaurant influencer in the San Antonio area.
Head to Instagram, look up food-related hashtags like #SanAntonioFoodie or #SanAntonioEats (for example), and take a look through the posts that come up.
You’ll likely have to sift through a mix of posts from restaurants and regular foodies to find the actual influencers, but it’s an easy — and free! — way to find influencers in your area (while also taking a peek at their content to see if you like it before you reach out).
Try a Google search with relevant keywords
Another way to find restaurant influencers is a good old Google Search — similar to the way you’d search hashtags on Instagram.
Using search terms like “best restaurants in San Antonio” or “top 5 best restaurants in San Antonio” will often pull up food blogs by local restaurant influencers (alongside the more generic results like TripAdvisor). You can also simplify things with more straightforward search terms like “food influencers in San Antonio,” for example!
Google searching for restaurant influencers lets you check out their work before reaching out to them, while also peeking at how well they rank online — the better their SEO, the more visibility your restaurant can get if you end up working together.
Use an influencer marketing agency/platform
If you’ve got a little more room in your marketing budget — and less time to do this all yourself — you can also find restaurant influencers through influencer marketing agencies and/or platforms.
When you work with an influencer marketing agency or platform, they do most of the up-front work.
They’ll find restaurant influencers that match your niche and budget, vet them to make sure they’re aligned with what you need, handle the contracts and payments, and sometimes even manage the actual campaigns from ideation to posting.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
So, now that you know the basics of influencer marketing for restaurants — and where to find restaurant influencers — you’re probably wondering what’s next.
In Part 2 of our influencer marketing series, we’ll outline the rest of the influencer marketing process, including how to structure a collab and how to measure its success. We’ll also share some top-shelf influencer marketing examples to help you get the collab ideas flowing.
In the meantime, why not brush up on your social media best practices with our Restaurant Social Media Marketing Guide?
Grab your free copy below!
