Millions of people use Instagram every single day, which means there are tons of people just waiting to discover your coffee shop on Instagram.
In this blog, we’re breaking down Instagram marketing for coffee shops, from how effective it is (and why) to five tips you can follow to make the most of your efforts. Plus, we’ve also created a resource to take your Instagram captions to the next level.
Let’s start off by answering the question on everybody’s mind:
Does Instagram marketing for coffee shops actually work?
How effective is Instagram marketing for coffee shops?
Instagram marketing is a great way to generate awareness about your coffee shop, showcase your offerings, and build a loyal audience of followers (who want to become real-life customers).
Here are a few reasons Instagram stands out as a must-have social channel for coffee shops.
- Instagram is the second most-used social media platform in the world, with ~3M monthly active users
- Most American adults use Instagram, with 80% of adults 18-29 (and 62% of adults 30-49) using the platform
- Instagram is the top social media app for engaging with restaurants and coffee shops, according to OpenTable research
So, while Instagram marketing for coffee shops is generally effective, the content you post also plays a role in how successful your efforts are. Different content formats have different strengths on the platform.
- Instagram Reels can help expand your reach while also improving discoverability, especially if you use trending audio or hashtags
- Instagram Posts can help you build brand identity, establish a brand personality, and become instantly recognizable online
- Instagram Stories can help you build loyalty with existing followers, creating what feels like a personal friendship with whoever’s online
Keep these differences in mind as you’re creating Instagram content for your coffee shop, so you can make the most of your efforts and see the best results.
5 Instagram marketing tips for coffee shops (with examples)
1 — Showcase your brand personality
Since tons of coffee shops already use Instagram, it can be hard to stand out. That’s where showing off your brand’s personality comes into play.
For some coffee shops, standing out means taking a fun approach, with tongue-in-cheek jokes that show they don’t take things too seriously. For others, taking things seriously is their brand, with posts that show off their highly aesthetic coffee shop and high-end offerings.
For your coffee shop, it might be a mix of the two or something different altogether. Luckily, there’s no “good” or “bad” way to show off your personality on Instagram. As long as it comes through consistently in your posts, you’re doing it right!
Examples
- Dunkin’s Spidey D takeover — Dunkin’ showed off their not-so-serious side this past Halloween with a series of fun, Gen Z-targeted,and slightly inappropriate Spidey D posts.
- Tim Horton’s Canadian pride — Tim’s shows off their roots with tons of Canadian- and community-focused posts, from Sunday morning Timbits hockey to snowy winter scenes.
2 — Partner with influencers
If you’re looking to grow your coffee shop’s Instagram marketing audience, working with influencers is a great way to do it.
With influencer marketing campaigns, your coffee shop can effectively “borrow” a wider social media audience. Collaborative content is shared on your coffee shop’s Instagram feed and your influencer’s feed, so both audiences get to see the same Reel or post without duplicate efforts.
Influencer marketing has also proven to be successful for boosting engagement, too. Take Dunkin’s collaboration with Cringe Carter, for example. The partnership post generated 3+ million likes, 10M+ views, and 11K+ comments — and all he did was film himself trying new Dunkin’ drinks.
→ For more on working with influencers, check out our two-part blog series: “Part 1: How to Find the Perfect Partner”and “Part 2: The Ultimate Guide!”
Examples
- Starbucks x Blitz the Seahawk —Starbucks borrowed the Seattle Seahawks audience with their latest Blitz collab, leveraging Super Bowl LX excitement while generating brand hype.
- Dunkin’ x Matt R. King — Dunkin’ tapped into Matt King’s audience of 927K followers with a collab video, promoting the brand’s $6 Meal Deal as a go-to breakfast for game day Sundays.
3 — Tap into trends
To make your coffee shop’s Instagram marketing efforts as relevant as possible, tap into social media trends every now and again.
Mixing up your coffee shop’s evergreen content with trending audio, photo formats, or Reel concepts helps you stay relevant and shows that you’re paying attention. Plus, when you use trending sounds or hashtags, you’ll show up when people click on them, increasing your visibility and expanding your content’s reach.
To find out what’s trending, poke around your coffee shop’s Explore page, take note of what the big players are doing, and turn to your own personal accounts to see what’s new. You don’t have to be online 24/7 to stay up-to-date!
Examples
- Starbucks snowman cookie trend —Over the holidays, Starbucks jumped on the snowman cookie hype, sharing a bunch of super-cute photos with puppies, babies, and even a Labubu.
- Rook Coffee costume trend — Rook Coffee hopped on the Halloween costume trend, creating a fictional New Orleans cold brew costume (that customers actually said they’d buy).
4 — Post high-quality photos
This one might seem obvious, but high-quality photos can really help your coffee shop’s Instagram marketing efforts.
According to a Toast survey, 40% of people have tried a new spot after seeing their food photos on social media. So, since people rely so heavily on your coffee shop’s social media to decide if they want to visit, it’s worth taking the time to make sure your photos and videos are top shelf.
If you’ve got the budget, you can hire a professional to help with this. Or, you can learn to take your own Instagram-ready photos with a few basics, like using natural lighting, the rule of thirds, and a consistent editing style.
Examples
- Dutch Bros’ breakfast photoshoot — Dutch Bros had a fun, high-quality photoshoot to celebrate the launch of their new Banana Bread, Smooth Strawberry, and Maple Waffle drinks.
- Peet’s Coffee’s green-themed feed — Peet’s has been promoting their Táche pistachio milk collab on Instagram with a range of gorgeous (and highly aesthetic) color-coordinated posts.
5 — Engage with your audience
Our final tip for stronger Instagram marketing for coffee shops is simple: engage with your audience.
Your audience wants to know that there are real people behind their favorite coffee shops, and you can easily show that by consistently and meaningfully engaging with your followers. Reply to as many comments as you can. When you get tagged in a Story, repost it. Give back to your audience with giveaways and interactive posts that encourage them to share their thoughts.
Showing your appreciation for your followers online can go a very long way in building brand loyalty. Then, brand loyalty translates to real-life visits, increased spending, and word-of-mouth recommendations… and that is priceless.
Examples
- Dunkin’ ProDUNKtivity Sweepstakes — Dunkin’s cozy merch giveaway boosted audience engagement with follows, tagged friends in the comments, and a hashtag to encourage visibility.
- Anecdote Coffee’s “ask the audience” — Anecdote turned to their audience to figure out their next drink launch, encouraging engagement while actually delivering what people want.
Wrap up
Now that you’ve got everything you need to start Instagram marketing for your coffee shop, it’s time to get things moving on your first few posts — and we can help with the captions.
Download Craver’s 100 Coffee Shop Instagram Caption Ideas for:
- Funny and punny caption ideas
- Inspirational and feel-good caption ideas
- Captions for new menu items and promos
- Informative and behind-the-scenes caption ideas
…and more!
Take “writing Instagram captions” off your to-do list with our free list of 100 Instagram Caption Ideas.
FAQs
Instagram ads do work for coffee shops, especially if you strategically use the app’s ad features like audience targeting and ad placements. It might take some experimentation to figure out what kind of ads work best for your coffee shop’s audience, so don’t be afraid to try out new things and see what sticks.
How often should you post on Instagram?
Coffee shops should post on Instagram 3-5 times a week, and on Instagram Stories 1-2 times a day. It’s important to share a range of different content formats, mixing up carousels, Reels, and static posts so your feed stays exciting and engaging to your audience.
