Influencer Marketing for Restaurants: Why It's Worth It

Have you ever wondered why some restaurants always seem busy while others struggle to get customers? A big reason is influencer marketing. 

Think about it—when you see someone you follow on Instagram or TikTok raving about a new restaurant, don’t you get curious? That’s the power of influencer marketing. It’s like a friend recommending a great place to eat, and people trust it more than regular ads.

In this blog post, we’ll cover the main reasons for influencer marketing, for restaurants, and some of the best strategies to do it!

What Is Influencer Marketing and How Does It Help Your Restaurant?

Influencer marketing is when you team up with a social media influencer to promote your restaurant. Instead of spending on ads, you invite them for a meal or pay them to share their experience with their followers.

Here’s how it can benefit your restaurant:

Attract New Customers

Influencers have followers who trust their recommendations. When they talk about your restaurant, their audience is more likely to visit and give it a try.

Boost Social Media Presence

When influencers post about your food, drinks, or ambiance, it creates buzz. This helps your restaurant reach more people without you spending hours managing social media.

Affordable Marketing

Influencer marketing is often cheaper than traditional ads, as you talk to the actual advertiser (aka the influencer) instead of a whole ad agency.

With platforms like Bulba, you don’t need to spend cash on influencer fees. Instead, you offer a free meal or experience, making it a budget-friendly way to promote your restaurant.

Targeted Reach

Influencers often focus on specific interests, like foodies, families, or travelers. By working with the right ones, you can reach people who are most likely to visit your restaurant.

Build Trust and Credibility

People trust the influencers they follow. When those influencers say good things about your restaurant, it feels more real than a typical ad.

Increase Foot Traffic

Influencer posts often inspire people to visit soon after seeing the content. This can lead to a noticeable boost in walk-ins and reservations.

Easy to Manage

Since you talk directly to the influencer, it is much easier to manage and collaborate, and there are no agents between you.

Platforms like Bulba can simplify the process even further. You don't have to reach out to influencers manually, influencers instead send you a request to visit your restaurant. You can then approve them with a few clicks. It saves time and makes the whole influencer marketing process stress-free.

Types of Restaurant Influencers

Not all influencers are the same. Choosing the right type of influencer can help you attract the right customers—whether it’s tourists, locals, or food lovers looking for their next favorite spot.

Here are the main types of influencers that can promote your restaurant:

Food Bloggers

Food bloggers focus entirely on food-related content. They visit restaurants, try new dishes, and share their experiences through photos, reviews, and videos. Some also create content about restaurant hacks, recipes, and food trends.

Why food bloggers work for restaurants:

• Their audience follows them specifically for food recommendations
• They create detailed reviews that help potential customers decide to visit
• Their content has a long lifespan—blog posts and YouTube videos stay online for years

If you want detailed reviews and long-term visibility, food bloggers are the best choice.

Travel Influencers

Travel influencers explore different cities and countries, trying local food and sharing unique dining experiences. They can help turn your restaurant into a must-visit spot for tourists.

Why travel influencers work for restaurants:

• They bring in tourists who are looking for the best places to eat in a new city
• They can make your restaurant stand out as a destination
• They often have followers from around the world, which increases brand awareness

Travel influencers work well if you want to attract tourists and make your restaurant a destination spot.

Local Influencers

Local influencers live in your city and are known for finding the best places to eat. Their followers trust them because they are considered experts on where to go and what to try.

Why local influencers work for restaurants:

• They attract customers who live nearby—not just visitors
• Their recommendations feel more personal and trustworthy
• They help restaurants build a loyal customer base

For restaurants that rely on local customers and repeat business, local influencers are the best fit since their followers trust their recommendations for places in the area.

How Bulba Helps You With Restaurant Influencer Marketing

Setting up your restaurant influencer marketing campaign in Bulba is easy!

Choosing Collaboration Event

Bulba gives you three ways to bring influencers in, depending on what suits your restaurant best:

Regular Collaboration

This is great if you want to bring in influencers one at a time for ongoing promotion.

• Each influencer visits during their own scheduled time.
• You can book several influencers across different days or weeks.
• Perfect for creating a steady flow of content that keeps your restaurant in the spotlight.

Example: You invite one influencer every Friday for a month to try your new menu. Each one shares their experience with their followers, creating buzz over time.

One-Off Event

This works well for special occasions where you want multiple influencers all at once.

• Great for grand openings, live music nights, or themed parties.
• Multiple influencers visit at the same time, helping to generate a big wave of content.

Example: For your 2nd-anniversary party, you invite several influencers to attend and post about the event on the same night.

Recurring Event

This is perfect if you run a weekly or monthly event and want to keep promoting it.

• Multiple influencers visit during the same time slot to highlight the experience.
• It’s a smart way to build excitement and keep your event top of mind.

Example: If you host a "Taco Tuesday" or "Wine Tasting Night" every week, you can invite different influencers each time to show their followers why they should attend.

Choosing Gifted Vs. Paid Collaboration Types

Bulba also lets you choose what you offer influencers.

Gifted Campaigns

This is a smart way to fill your empty tables while getting valuable exposure.

• Instead of paying influencers with money, you offer them a free meal or dining experience.
• It's a great option for working with local micro-influencers — these are creators with smaller but engaged audiences.
• Even though you may not get top-tier influencers, having lots of smaller influencers post about your restaurant can still create a big impact.

Example: On a quiet Tuesday, you invite a few local food bloggers for a complimentary dinner. They post about their visit, helping to bring in new customers.

Paid Campaigns

This gives you access to top-tier influencers — the kind with larger followings or stronger influence.

• With Bulba, you control the budget and decide how much you're willing to pay.
• Unlike typical influencer deals, Bulba takes no commission on paid campaigns.
• This approach can often cost less than reaching out to influencers directly.

Example: You launch a paid campaign, offering $100 to a well-known food influencer to visit your restaurant and post about their experience.

If you choose the Paid option, you can set how much you want to offer to influencers. This payment will be held until the influencer publishes the content.

Setting Your Influencer Eligibility Criteria

Bulba also helps you narrow down the type of influencer requests you receive by letting you set "influencer criteria." You can set minimum average views, followers, and even the amount of guests they're allowed to bring in with them.

Bulba's campaigns page also lets you set "Categories" for your influencers. These categories help you connect with influencers within a certain niche. 

For example, setting "Food & Drink" in the category lets you filter out other types of influencers, and you'll only get requests from influencers who specifically make food and drink content.

Best Practices for Restaurant Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Running a successful restaurant influencer marketing campaign takes more than just inviting an influencer for a free meal. To get real results—like more customers, increased brand awareness, and stronger social media presence—you need a clear plan.

Here are the best practices to follow when working with influencers.

Set Clear Goals for Your Campaign

Before reaching out to influencers, decide what you want to achieve. Are you looking to increase reservations? Promote a new menu? Boost online engagement? Setting clear goals helps you measure success and choose the right influencers for your restaurant.

Pick the Right Influencers for Your Brand

Not every influencer is a good fit for your restaurant. Look for influencers whose content and audience match your brand. 

A small café may benefit from a local influencer, while a high-end restaurant might work better with a food blogger known for fine dining reviews. Check engagement rates, audience demographics, and past collaborations to find the best match.

Give Influencers Creative Freedom

Influencers know their audience better than anyone. Instead of controlling every detail, let them create content in their style. 

Authentic content performs better than scripted promotions. However, you can provide key talking points, such as menu highlights or special promotions, to guide them.

Make the Experience Memorable

The better the experience, the better the content. Make sure your food, service, and atmosphere are at their best when hosting an influencer. 

Consider offering a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen, a tasting menu, or an introduction to the chef to make their visit more engaging.

Encourage Engagement and Sharing

Ask influencers to tag your restaurant and use specific hashtags so their followers can find you easily. You can also reshare their content on your restaurant’s social media pages to build credibility and reach a larger audience.

Track Performance and Measure Results

To know if your influencer campaign is working, track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:

• Increase in reservations or walk-ins after the campaign
• Social media engagement (likes, comments, shares) on influencer posts
• Follower growth on your restaurant’s social media
• Use of discount codes or special promotions shared by influencers

Build Long-Term Relationships With Influencers

One-time promotions can bring in new customers, but long-term collaborations build trust and keep your restaurant top of mind. Instead of working with different influencers each time, consider building relationships with a few who truly love your brand.

Doing all these steps can be time-consuming, plus you need to do a lot of research just to find the right influencers that fit your restaurant’s brand. Not to mention that after you’ve found an influencer to collaborate with, you have to put in the extra effort to maintain connections with them.

Sounds like too much work, right? Why not let Bulba manage restaurant influencer marketing for you? Bulba makes restaurant influencer marketing easy, affordable, and scalable. Let's talk about how it can help you find the right influencers.

Scale Your Influencer Collaborations With Bulba!

Bulba makes influencer collaborations simple, cost-effective, and scalable. Whether you run a restaurant, hotel, bar, or attraction, you can attract new customers without spending on ads—just offer experiences in exchange for social media exposure.

With our real-time data tracking and automated approvals, you can manage influencer marketing effortlessly and grow your brand without extra work.

Lowest prices. Highest scalability. Most seamless process. That’s Bulba. Sign up today and start driving real engagement!

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FAQs About Influencer Marketing for Restaurants

How do I ask an influencer to promote my restaurant?

Find the right influencers with an engaged target audience. Send a friendly message on Instagram, TikTok, or email. Offer a free meal for a social media post or discuss influencer marketing costs for a paid campaign. Align your marketing strategy with their content for effective influencer marketing efforts.

With Bulba, you don’t have to search or reach out—local influencers request collaborations directly. You simply approve the ones that fit your brand, making influencer marketing effortless and focused on the right audience.

Do restaurants pay influencers?

Some do. Nano and micro-influencers often accept free meals, while macro-influencers usually charge a fee. Influencer marketing cost depends on audience size and engagement. Many restaurants use influencer marketing campaigns to reach their target audience and grow in the restaurant industry.

Bulba makes influencer marketing more affordable by removing cash payments. Instead, restaurants offer free meals in exchange for content, ensuring authentic promotions while keeping costs low. Plus, Bulba’s real-time data helps you connect with influencers who truly influence their audience.

What is a restaurant influencer?

A restaurant influencer is a social media influencer or food blogger who shares dining experiences. They play a big role in restaurant influencer marketing campaigns by influencing their audience’s food choices. Local influencers and food influencers help restaurants boost visibility through authentic social media posts.

What is influencer marketing for food brands?

It’s when food brands partner with food influencers to promote their products through influencer campaigns. Restaurant influencer marketing relies on social media influencers, from nano-influencers to macro-influencers, to reach the right audience. A strong marketing strategy makes influencer marketing efforts more engaging and effective.