How to trial TikTok for a restaurant: the dos and don’ts of quickfire content creation

As part of Bdaily’s latest feature week, The Business of Social Media, we’ve taken a look into how Tik Tok can help restaurants stand out against the competition.

It’s only recently that TikTok has made its mark in business, with ‘#BusinessTok’ receiving 1.2billion views and ‘#hospitality’ receiving over half a billion views and counting. So how is it that hospitality venues can utilise TikTok to gain engagement from customers and ultimately increase footfall?

Donna Torres, VP of UKI at staff scheduling platform, Planday, has rounded up five successful hospitality TikTok accounts, with top tips on the do’s and don’ts of approaching the platform as a hospitality business owner:

Donna says: “It’s fair to say that TikTok isn’t just the future anymore, it’s the now and businesses across all industries, including hospitality, are wanting to utilise the app to ensure they don’t fall behind the competition.”

Bag O’ Nails, Glasgow 213K likes

Glasgow based bar, restaurant and music venue, ‘Bag O’Nails struck gold when posting a behind the scenes CCTV snippet of two ‘work besties’ spontaneously dancing together behind the bar. With over 1 million views, it was no doubt a smart move for this establishment and potentially increased brand recognition worldwide!

Do: When customers see that your staff are genuinely happy, they’re far more likely to feel a sense of loyalty towards your business and keep returning to support you. This video is a great way of naturally portraying your team’s amazing culture and showing the more personable side of your business that customers will be able to relate to.

Don’t: Seeing this side of your business is great every once in a while for the above reasons but it’s important not to inundate your feed with these types of videos or the likelihood is that your venue won’t be taken seriously.

Cafe Hope, Keswick 102.9K likes

Cafe Hope based in the Lake District raked up 48.5K likes for this quick video showing viewers how they train baristas using a mixture of water and washing up liquid when trying to nail the perfect froth so that they don’t waste milk during the process.

Do: Fun and interesting ‘behind-the-scenes’ or tips and tricks are great for fellow businesses and will allow you to build a network of potential business partners/acquaintances that you’ll possibly be able to utilise further down the line.

Don’t: Not all tips and tricks are that interesting to the majority of your audience so you must be selective with which ones you choose to share on your TikTok account.

Robbie Bell, Head Chef and owner of City Larder 8.9million likes

Self-made Robbie Bell has created his own personal brand through his savvy use of TikTok, promoting his business, City Larder. The particular video that granted him 992.9K likes was his ‘one-handed Roche technique’ where viewers were urged to ‘duet’ him and see how their skills match up.

Do: If there’s a skill within your team to shout about then don’t miss this opportunity! Whatever it may be, put yourself or your team out there and showcase their unique skills - not only is this super likeable content, it puts your business at the head of the game and pays tribute to your talented staff.

Don’t: As a business, it’s easy to see a trend and hastily jump on it to try to amp up your views, likes or followers, however, if you’re not an expert in a field, do not try your hand at it. This may convey your business as unprofessional and can easily translate as out of touch to younger viewers.

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