TikTok for Restaurants

Last updated on Feb 27, 2023
Michale LeRoy

TikTok can be an extremely powerful tool to market your business, but you might be hesitant to get started if you've never tried this social platform before. Social media marketing for restaurants, bars, and coffee shops has become more important than ever, and TikTok is now recognized as one of the most widely used social apps. We've made this guide to demystify TikTok and help you promote your foodservice business to your target audience. Keep reading to learn TikTok basics like how to start an account and what types of videos will help to promote your business.

What Is TikTok?

TikTok is a video-based social media platform where users create and share short-form videos. This social platform's claim-to-fame is its algorithm, which promotes videos targeted towards each individual user on their "for you page" (FYP). When the app was introduced in 2016, the personalized experience provided by TikTok changed how users interact with social media on a grand scale. The algorithm feeds you content based on your interests, regardless of the popularity of the account, making it a great equalizer for content creators. Because of this, there is great potential to get your videos in front of curious users and we'll explain how.

Benefits of TikTok for Restaurants

TikTok app on a cellphone

In our social media-obsessed world, the benefits of using TikTok can greatly impact your business. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider adding TikTok to your social media marketing efforts:

  • Increase Brand Recognition: Getting your name and logo out there as much as possible makes people more likely to remember your restaurant and the food you serve.
  • Stay In-The-Know on Trends: Many of this year's foodservice trends came from exposure on TikTok. Downloading TikTok means you can stay on-trend and update your menu accordingly.
  • Gain Exposure to New Customers: Videos on TikTok have a high likelihood of being seen by non-followers, which means you gain access to new customers.
  • Boost Your Other Social Accounts: You can cross-post your TikTok video content to your other social accounts, especially with the Reels feature on Instagram.

Getting Started with Your Restaurant TikTok Account

Cellphone demonstrating how to make an Account

If you're ready to get started, we'll explain how to use TikTok to make an account that promotes your foodservice business. The first step is deciding between a personal account or a business account. Check out the differences between these two types of TikTok accounts:

Personal Account: With a personal/creator account, you can access all sounds in the TikTok library. This may seem like a small thing if you're new to running a social media account, but the sounds you pair with your video can give it an engagement boost. For example, if a certain song is trending, you can take advantage of this by using it in your video.

Business Account: When you set up a business account on TikTok, you have limited access to the sound library and you must credit licensed songs on your posts. The main advantages of using a business account are the ability to use third-party analytics and gaining access to TikTok's marketing tools. We'll walk you through the steps of setting up a TikTok business account, which is the popular choice for operators.

How to Set Up Your TikTok Business Account

App screen showing how to set up an account

Follow these steps to set up a business account for your restaurant on TikTok:

  1. You can find the TikTok app online by visiting your favorite app store or just simply searching "TikTok" on Google. Download the app to your smartphone.
  2. Find the TikTok icon on your phone and open the app.
  3. Tap “Profile” in the bottom right-hand corner.
  4. You will then be asked to log in through various accounts such as Facebook and Google, or use your usual email or phone number. Select which one you prefer.
  5. Select your birthday.
  6. Create a strong password to keep your account secure.
  7. Create your username. Try to make it the same exact username as all of your other restaurant’s social accounts so users can search for your business more easily across different apps.
  8. Add your business’s logo as the profile picture.
  9. Click “Edit Profile” and add a bio that tells users about your business.
  10. Add your website to the bio. You can also make a Link In Bio, which is a third-party tool that acts as a URL. This tool allows you to house multiple URLs instead of just one.
  11. In the “Edit Profile” section, you can also link your other social accounts so people can access those from your TikTok account.
  12. Now you are all set with your profile!

How to Make a TikTok Video

App showing how to make a TikTok Video

To make your first TikTok video, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the app and press the plus sign button at the bottom middle of the screen.
  2. You will now have access to the TikTok camera and all of its features.
  3. To start recording, tap the big red button. Tap the button again to stop recording, or wait until the time runs out.
  4. Use the editing tools to slow down or speed up your clips, record and edit together multiple clips, and add effects like filters.
  5. Add a sound to your clip via TikTok’s music library. Select the track you’d like to add to your video. Note that some sounds are only a certain length and may not extend to the length of your video. Avoid using those.
  6. Tap the “Volume” button to adjust the sound’s volume.
  7. Once your sound is chosen, click the “Effects” button to cut clips or add transitions between clips if you have more than one. This is also where you can add text, voiceovers, and stickers.
  8. Once you’re all done with your video, tap the arrow button on the bottom right-hand side of the screen. This is where you can create your post.
  9. Add a caption if you’d like, but definitely add hashtags. Make sure comments, duets, and stitches are toggled on so people can engage with your content.
  10. Once you are satisfied with the entire post and video, click publish.

TikTok Video Features

We mentioned some video features that might be new to you, so we'll explain those in more depth here. Video effects are one of the key elements that make TikTok videos stand out. To add these features to your TikTok videos, simply open the app, record or upload your video, and then tap on the effects button to browse through the various options available. Experiment with these different features to discover what works best for your restaurant and resonates with your audience:

Duets

A duet on TikTok allows users to create a split-screen video with another user’s video. This feature opens up endless possibilities for collaboration, creativity, and interaction with your followers. To enable duets, create your video showcasing your restaurant’s delicious dishes or behind-the-scenes kitchen action. Before posting the video, click on “More Options” and turn on the “Allow Duets” setting. This allows other TikTok users to create duets with your video.

If you come across a video that you’d like to duet with, tap on the “Share” icon and then select “Duet.” This will prompt TikTok to create a split-screen layout with the original video on one side and your video on the other. You can then record your own content to complement or respond to the original video.

Stitches

TikTok stitches are a unique feature that allows users to take a snippet of someone else's video and incorporate it into their own. Unlike duets, which play at the same time, stitches play one after the other. To use stitches, simply find a video you want to stitch, click on the "Stitch" button, select the desired section of the video, and then create your own content around it. This feature can be a great way for restaurants to showcase customer reviews, interact with popular food influencers, or even participate in viral challenges to increase engagement and reach on the platform.

Green Screen

TikTok's green screen effect allows users to replace the background of their videos with any image or video of their choice. This feature opens up a world of possibilities for restaurant owners looking to create eye-catching and innovative content. Whether you want to transport your viewers to your restaurant's kitchen, showcase a new menu item, or even create a virtual dining experience, the green screen effect can help you bring your ideas to life.

To get started with using the green screen feature, open the TikTok app and tap on the "+" button to create a new video. Select the "Effects" option at the bottom of the screen, then scroll through the effects gallery and look for the "Green Screen" option. Tap on the "Green Screen" effect to apply it to your video. You can now choose an image or video from your camera roll to use as the background of your video. Position yourself in front of a solid-colored background to ensure a clean and seamless green screen effect.

TikTok Ideas for Your Restaurant

Woman filming her plate of food at restaurant

Not sure what to make your first TikTok about? Try out a few of these 10 TikTok ideas to market your restaurant. We recommend sticking with ideas that feel authentic to your brand!

  1. Show Off Your Menu: Let people know what they’re missing! Combine video clips that show your freshly plated menu items so customers know what they can expect at your restaurant.
  2. Spotlight New Menu Items: Showcase your brand-new menu items to entice your regular customers to return while also marketing to new customers.
  3. Recipe Videos: Give your customers an inside view of your kitchen and show them how to make a popular menu item. If you want to keep your best recipes a secret, choose a common recipe like a freshly made Caesar salad.
  4. Create a Reoccurring Series: To stay engaged with your fans on TikTok, create a reoccurring series that’s true to your restaurant.
  5. Work with Local Influencers: A great way to spread the word about your restaurant is by inviting local influencers (preferably ones that post often or exclusively about food) to dine at your restaurant and make a TikTok post about it. Treat them to a full meal plus extra compensation for their time and hard work.
  6. Collab with Other Businesses: For a win-win video idea, collab with another local business! Maybe you are starting an ice cream shop and want to team up with the local bakery that has outstanding chocolate chip cookies (and maybe a great TikTok following, too!). Team up with them to make an ice cream flavor that uses chunks of their famous cookies in your ice cream, and cross-market that via a video on TikTok!
  7. Market Your Promotions: Do you have holiday promotion ideas in the works for your restaurant? Or maybe you’re doing a game day promotion at your bar? Whatever the case may be, spotlight your restaurant promotion with a video on TikTok to garner interest.
  8. Participate in Current Trends: There's always a new TikTok trend around the corner, and it's very common for users to create videos featuring the latest sound bites, songs, or dances. Try your hand at making a trend video that features your video in a creative way.
  9. Highlight Staff: Film a “day in the life” style video and follow a staff member as they perform their daily tasks. This shows viewers the hard work and quality that your business strives for when producing your menu items. Always get permission from your employees before featuring them in your videos.
  10. Tell Your Story: If you're willing to be vulnerable, try opening up in a video about what your restaurant means to you. People resonate with businesses that seem more personal, real, and genuine. It also shows viewers the face behind the brand and builds trust within the community you are creating.

Other Ways to Grow Your TikTok Account

While making videos is a great way to advertise your restaurant and potentially go viral, it’s important to stay consistent with the following best practices to grow your account in other ways, too.

  • Reply to Commenters: Boosting your engagement rate is important with TikTok, so responding to comments is a must, especially when you’re first starting out! This also builds trust with your followers and creates a community with your page.
  • Engage with Other Accounts: Building relationships with other accounts is not only great for optics, but it can also lead to other opportunities like collaborations. Plus, commenting on other videos can drive traffic to your account. But remember: nice, funny, and/or encouraging comments only!
  • Stay Up-to-Date with New Features: TikTok puts out new features, such as stitching or dueting, which help content creators get their videos shown across multiple FYPs. The TikTok algorithm favors accounts that use these features, so stay in the know.
  • Use Hashtags: Using hashtags that are relevant to your business helps users find you when they search on TikTok. Some important hashtags that you don't want to miss are your location, the type of business you run, the type of cuisine you serve, and your business name. You can also throw in relevant trending hashtags to gain more visibility. Here are some basic hashtag examples for a sushi restaurant in Chicago: #chicagorestaurants #sushirestaurant #sushilovers #chicagosushi.
  • Trending Sounds are Key: Another easy way to try and get on FYPs is to use the current trending songs as the background music for your video.
  • Keep At It! Don't let impostor syndrome keep you from trying something new. Stay consistent with your posts and don't give up. You will begin to see results that you can track in the TikTok analytics page, which will encourage you to keep posting.

One of the greatest advantages of getting started with TikTok is that you can advertise your restaurant for free. Embracing social media can help you gain visibility and brand awareness without the extra cost associated with other types of marketing. If you're already making videos for Instagram, it's very easy to use the same content for a TikTok account. This way, you can skip the extra labor and take advantage of two social media apps at once.

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Cooking Video Supplies Here is some of the equipment you'll need to film cooking videos: Camera: Whether it's your phone or a digital camera, you'll need a device with high-quality recording capacities and internal storage to capture the videos of your recipe. Tripod: To keep your shot steady and properly angled, use an adjustable tripod that can hold your device as you film. Lighting: Professional-looking videos need to be well-lit so that viewers can see the details of your recipe. You can use ring lights or professional studio lighting to make sure your kitchen is illuminated well enough for your camera. Microphone: Most cameras have built-in microphones, but they may not be as crisp as a professional option. If you're adding voice-over to your videos, an external microphone would be a great addition to your recording kit. Editing Program: Once you have all of your footage, edit the recording together to create the final product that you'll upload on your channel. Some of the commonly used editing programs include PowerDirector 365, Apple iMovie, Animoto, Lightworks, and Adobe Premiere Pro. Cooking Supplies: Make sure your cooking supplies are all clean and gathered before you start working on your video. This makes the filming process run smoothly and can help produce a professional finished product. How to Film Cooking Videos Once you have your filming equipment gathered and set up, your storyboard will help you collect the footage you need to put the video together. Follow these steps as you begin filming your YouTube cooking video: Set up your cooking supplies. Organize your cooking supplies and ingredients in a way that lets you flow from one logical step to the next while keeping your space tidy. Film an introduction. Record a small clip introducing yourself and the recipe you'll be teaching. Show the necessities. Grab footage or a still image of the supplies and ingredients your viewers will need to follow along with the video. Record the recipe. First, you'll need to decide if you'll be recording the prep straight through or grabbing individual recordings of each step. Recording without stopping allows very little room for error but lets the viewer follow in real-time. Individual recordings can be time-consuming but then you can re-record and stitch together only the best footage. Show off the final product. Finish by recording the dish coming out of the oven or refrigerator before you serve it. You can grab a video or still image of the dish plated and ready to serve to close the video. Edit the video and upload. Transfer all of the footage to a computer and edit together the clips. You may choose to add captions and voice-over to get it presentable before uploading. The easier it is to follow along, the better. How to Create Content for YouTube To gain a loyal base of subscribers, you should upload at least one video per week. However, you shouldn't rush and churn out non-descript recipes. Viewers want to see a unique twist on each dish you do because that's what will keep them interested. Here are some tips for planning your YouTube content: Create a content calendar. It’s easiest to keep your subscribers’ attention when you’re producing content for them regularly. Mapping out your videos on a calendar will help you stay organized. Try to account for running out of ideas as you plan your content. Creativity comes and goes in bursts, so consider producing more videos when you’re full of concepts. Keep an eye on trends. Just like with foodservice trends, you'll want to stay informed on what consumers want. Tune in to your competitors' channels and YouTube's trending page to see what people are watching. But, as always, put your own spin on these concepts to create original content. Ask your viewers what they'd like to see. Create a relationship with your subscribers so that you can create content that you know they'll be interested in. They can leave comments on your videos or social media accounts with ideas for you. Skills You Need to Start a YouTube Cooking Show Creating cooking content for YouTube means practicing your techniques and recipes frequently. You'll spend lots of time testing dishes, brainstorming plating techniques, talking to cameras, and thinking about each step in your recipe. Aside from basic cooking techniques, you'll want to make sure you can teach the recipe as you perform it. Break down your recipes into easy-to-understand steps. The key is to stay engaged with the camera throughout the video to bring in viewers and keep them watching. On top of being a great chef and teacher, you'll also need filming and video editing skills to compile your video and upload it for the world to see. How to Gain Exposure for Your Channel Joining the YouTube community will allow you to connect with hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people who love food as much as you. Each of these people is an opportunity for engagement and exposure that your channel needs to succeed. 1. Encourage Users to Like and Subscribe Including these helpful reminders in your videos calls your viewers to action. YouTube's algorithm favors videos with many likes and views, so high rates of engagement could help you be featured on other users' "recommended" feeds or even the trending page. 2. Engage with Your Subscribers Get to know your viewers by reading their comments and responding to some of them. Not only will this help your subscribers feel connected with you, but it can also help you gain insight into what your audience likes about you. Communicating with your audience could give you valuable feedback that you wouldn't have otherwise. 3. Collab with Other YouTube Creators Reach out to other YouTube hosts and set up collaborative projects. Most of the time, “collabs” include creating one video for each YouTuber’s channel, in which the visiting user gains exposure to the other’s audience. This allows you to interact with a whole new group of viewers and learn from fellow creators. How to Make Money on YouTube There are two main ways that you can make money from your YouTube channel: video ads and sponsored content. 1. Getting Ads on Your YouTube Videos When you gain enough subscribers and watch hours on your channel, you can “monetize” your videos, or allow YouTube to put ads on them. You earn money depending on the format of the ad put on your content, the price of the ad featured, or other factors set by YouTube. 2. Getting Sponsorships for Your YouTube Channel If you can grow your channel to have several thousand subscribers, product brands may start contacting you for sponsorship opportunities. Generally, a brand will ask you to use their product in your video and will compensate you according to terms set before you create the video. The bigger your base of viewers, the more attractive your channel will be to brands looking to promote their products. Becoming a Full-Time YouTuber For some people, creating a YouTube cooking show can change the path of their career. Growing your channel to a few hundred thousand subscribers could give you the opportunity to turn YouTube into your full-time job if your videos generate enough revenue. Be Prepared for the Time Commitment While YouTube gives you schedule flexibility, running a successful YouTube channel and its supporting social media profiles is practically a 24/7 job. Subscribers may want daily content on other platforms because they can’t get enough of your unique perspective. Learning how to balance your work with your personal life is a challenge that many full-time YouTubers face. When you work from home and your job is to be present on social media, it becomes difficult to know when to stop working. This is something to keep in mind if you want to pursue YouTube as your full-time income. If you want to explore opportunities for more creativity in your cooking career, consider starting your own YouTube cooking show. This endeavor could help you hone your skills, earn some money, and may even change your career. After working on YouTube full-time, some users find even more success by transitioning to network television. Having a successful YouTube channel is a big time commitment, but your dedication could take your cooking career to the next level.