#Food: The Best Hashtags for your Restaurant

If your restaurant is on social networks like Twitter and Instagram, then you are probably looking for some exposure for your business.  And if you are looking for exposure and using social networks as marketing tools, effective use of #hashtags coupled with enticing pictures of dishes from your menu is one of the best tools you can utilize.

Food related hashtags help your food pictures get more views, by linking them to anyone else using the same hashtags.  Taking great food pictures and posting them to your networks will get your fans interested, but using effective hashtags to accompany your posts will leave mouths watering from brand new potential customers who have never set foot inside your restaurant.  Here are some of the biggest hashtags you can start using today to see help your food pictures take over the internet:

#Breakfast, #Lunch, #Dinner, and #Dessert

Using these hashtag is simple; just attach them to whatever category your dishes best fall into.  When using these hashtags, make sure to post your dishes at appropriate times for your market.  Posting a picture of a delicious Eggs Benedict on instagram with the #Breakfast hashtag right when your potential customers are scrolling through pictures of what they should eat to start their day can bring those internet viewers through your door.

#Snack

Have a picture of a delicious appetizer or side dish that doesn’t fit into one of the categories above?  Consider tagging it as a #snack: snackers are easily impressed by delectable bites, and you can share pictures with this hashtag any time of the day.

#Foodstagram and #Food

On Instagram especially, these popular hashtags are used to mark your post as a food-related one.  Using these hashtags will bring your pictures to the attention of those who browse social media in search of the best dishes to share with their networks, but may not make your posts stand out as they are some of the most popular hashtags online.

#Foodie

Hoping that connoisseurs and fancy dining enthusiasts will stumble upon your latest food pics?  Throw this hashtag onto your posts to draw the attention of self proclaimed “foodies,” or lovers of all things food related.

#Yummy and #Nommy/#Nomnom

Use these hashtag to categorize your posts that look especially irresistible and delicious.  The first hashtag will cater to older and less tech savvy users, and the second one is a favorite tag of younger food enthusiasts and browsers.

#CleanEating and #Healthy

Social media users know that food can look delicious and inviting and still be healthy and not send you in search of a bigger belt, and use of these two hashtags means your dishes are health inspired.  Use this for delectable looking salads or lean cuts of meat prepared with calorie counts in mind.  Use of the #CleanEating hashtag especially doesn’t have to be relegated to only your most healthy dishes, and can be applied to big and hearty entrees as long as they aren’t prepared with a lot of oil or sugar.

#Vegetarian and #Vegan

The veggie and vegan eating crowds have big communities behind their diet choices, and these animal product free food fans live online too.  Tagging your food with either of these hashtags, when appropriate, will draw some very specialized viewers to your food pictures, and you can expect a lot of love from vegans and vegetarians if you post delicious looking food that meets these criteria.  Just make sure you aren’t fuzzy on these dietary definitions before you post: a salad with bacon bits isn’t #Vegetarian, and anything with butter or eggs isn’t #Vegan, so be careful what you post to avoid negative attention from these groups.

#Ingredient (Fill in with your own!)

If you have a dish that showcases a particular ingredient well, feel free to use a hashtag to show it off!  #Strawberries on top of your delicious french toast can look mighty appetizing, and that #steak you prepare for your high class dinner crowds is sure to make mouths water.  Feel free to use #Ingredient based hashtags to draw attention to some of the best parts of your dishes, just don’t go overboard and tag everything!

The Bottom Line:

Mentioned above are some of the most popular and widely viewed food hashtags out there at the time of this article’s writing, but you should be aware that the winds of social media and trending hashtags change frequently.  You should spend some time every few months researching what hashtags are gaining the most traction, have the most views, and will lead the most eyes to pictures of your food.

If that sounds like a lot of work or a headache, don’t be discouraged!  The rewards of using good hashtags for your food related posts is huge, as you will be getting some global exposure if you use hashtags correctly.  Tell us some of your favorite #food related hashtags below.

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