How to Get More Customers to Your Restaurant: 12 Proven Ways FROM RESTAURANT MARKETING EXPERTS (Sydney 2026)
Updated: 4 days ago
What we've learnt from 13 years and 280+ cafés and restaurants as Sydney's specialist restaurant marketing agency
Winter in Sydney hospitality can be brutal, especially in tougher economic times.
Empty tables on a Tuesday night. A quiet lunch service. A new competitor opening two doors down. If you own a restaurant or café in Sydney, you've felt it. That's why we've written this free piece to show what works in Restaurant marketing right now in 2026.
If you also don't think you need to market your restaurant, café, or food venue, then you are missing out to the thousands of your competitors who are actively doing it!
The good news is that getting more customers isn't luck.
After 13 years of restaurant marketing for more than 280 cafés, restaurants and bars, we see the same strategies work again and again. We also see the same mistakes hold venues back.
Now that Spring is here and people are naturally venturing out more, it’s the ideal time to really deploy some effective strategies to capitalise and bring in more customers!
Short answer:
To get more customers to your restaurant, ypu need to have a targeted restaurant marketing strategy. Make sure diners can find you on Instagram, Google and AI search, give them a reason to visit now rather than later, and turn first-time guests into regulars.
The venues that grow compared to the ones that go out of business treat restaurant marketing as a system, not something they do when they remember.
Below are the 12 restaurant marketing strategies that are bringing customers through the door in Sydney right now.
Why Restaurant Marketing in Sydney Has Changed
A few years ago, nice food photos on Instagram were enough to keep a venue busy. Not anymore.
Diners now find restaurants in more places than ever: Google Maps, Instagram Reels, TikTok, review sites and, increasingly, AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews. According to BrightLocal's 2026 research, 45% of consumers have used AI to find local businesses. Uberall's May 2026 report found that 83% of restaurant locations never appear in AI recommendations at all. BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 — https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
That means two things for Sydney venues. First, if you're not visible in all the places diners look, they'll simply book somewhere else. Second, the venues that adapt early have a real advantage, because most of their competitors haven't caught up yet.
12 Proven Restaurant Marketing Strategies to Get More Customers ( from restaurant marketers for 13 years)
1. Build a compelling Instagram Page With Great Photos, Reels and Stories
This is your first stop and main tool. Your Instagram page is your restaurant's shop window. Without this your’e missing out hugely. It's the number one platform all hospitality venues should be on and master. It's your business card and poster for customers to see before they decide to come or not. It's also where we as restaurant marketers, spend a most of our time on for our clients
In our recent blog we highlighted that nearly 50% of Gen Z and Millennials check out a venue’s socials before deciding to dine or not: READ BLOG BELOW:
Before most Sydney diners book, they check your Instagram to see the food, the vibe and whether the place looks like somewhere they want to go. A tired or inconsistent page loses customers before they ever call. It's also where we spend most of our time at CPM, because it's where the biggest wins come from.
A great restaurant Instagram page has three parts working together:
Great photos, Reels and Stories.
Great photos: make your menu look scroll-stopping
Natural light shots of your signature dishes, close up
Bright venue shots that show the atmosphere
People enjoying themselves, not just empty tables
Consistent editing, so your grid looks like your brand
A fresh photoshoot every season, so your feed never looks dated
Reels: get discovered by new customers
Reels are the most powerful free way for a restaurant to reach people who don't follow you yet. Many Sydney diners now use Instagram like a search engine to decide where to eat.
Chef plating and sizzling grills
Cocktail and coffee pours
Your team's personalities
Venue walkthroughs
Customer reactions to signature dishes
Skit Reels: short, funny videos that stop people scrolling. We recommend one or two a month
Stories: stay top of mind every day
Stories keep you in front of people who already follow you, and they're perfect for anything happening today.
Today's specials and what's fresh this week
Behind the scenes in the kitchen
Polls and questions ("which dessert should we add?")
Countdowns to events and new menu launches
Reshares of guests who tag you
A posting rhythm that works: 2 Reels a week, 2 to 4 photo or carousel posts, Stories most days, and a weekly theme (e.g. coffee Mondays, specials Wednesdays, weekend promos).
Pro tip: authentic iPhone footage often beats slick, expensive production. People want to see the real experience. Also judge your page by profile views and reach, not follower count. Instagram now shows content based on interests, so views are the number that matters.
Instagram matters a lot and as professional restaurant marketers, this is where we still spend most of our attention for our clients even after 13 years!
2. Run TArGETED Meta Ads to POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS Near Your Venue
Organic reach builds your brand slowly, but paid Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) put you in front of the right people consistently. You can target people who live, work or spend time within a few kilometres of your venue.
This is the No. 1 tool that most amateur marketers and people marketing their restaurants for the first time underestimate and miss out on.
Organic posting on socials is a slow burn and build and it takes time to build and audience and awareness. We have seen accounts that have posted organically for years and only reached a small amount of potential clients. The same number you can reach via ads in just a week and with a small budget. Even modest budgets of $20 to $40 a day can make a real difference to awareness, bookings, takeaway orders and even function enquiries.
Meta is a pay to play platform so they give you great results when you run ads but modest and inconsistent results when only posting organically. Meta is alos the platform that gives you much better bang for you ad buck compared to Google ,TikTok or chat GPT in the ad space.
Here at CPM Meta ads play a huge part of our restaurant marketing strategy and its not just hitting boost post! That's a great way to just burn money and give it to Meta.
We start with a targeted audience that is suited to your venue, then laser-target and bombard them with 2 or 3 types of ads at one time. The ads are tweaked along the way until you have a very efficient channel of targeting the right type of customer to book or come in.
A simple restaurant ad setup:
An awareness campaign showing your best dishes to locals
A campaign driving people to your booking page
A retargeting campaign aimed at people who've visited your website or engaged with your Instagram
3. Work With the Right Local Influencers
Influencer marketing in Sydney has grown up. It's no longer about gifting meals to anyone with a big following. It's about choosing creators whose audience matches your ideal diner.
Handpicking the right ones rather than just going for ones with a flattering headline number is the key.
What to look for:
A local following in your suburb or area or type of venue
A high engagement rate, which matters more than follower count. Our best results come from micro-influencers rather than the big ones with scattered audiences. You need ones with loyal local followings not ones with huge audiences from the US and overseas.
A content style that suits your venue, whether that's family-friendly, fine dining, casual or nightlife.
Genuine storytelling, not a generic "thanks for having me"
Collaborations that work best: invitation at their own time , new menu previews, behind-the-scenes chef content and giveaways. Influencers are always busy, and it's their side hustle, so you need to accommodate their time needs. They usually have lots of invites with not enough time to visit them all, so make sure your offering and time slots make it easy for them!
Here at CPM we have an influencer community that goes out to visit our clients and boost it to all their loyal followers. It's part of our standard marketing package, and some of the results have been spectacular! It's put many venues on the map and is an integral part of the restaurant marketing game.
4. Fill Quiet Weekdays With Targeted Offers
Almost every venue we work with has the same problem: busy weekends, quiet Monday to Wednesday. The answer isn't random discounts. It's offers designed to give people a reason to come in on those specific days. It's where you have capacity and need to fill.
Some restaurant marketing ideas that consistently work midweek:
Tuesday banquet or set menu deals. You just need to scout around to see what other businesses are doing and you'll get an idea of offerings. Even the top-end restaurants are doing it
Midweek happy hours
"Locals' night" offers for nearby residents
Kids eat free on a quiet night.
Limited-time menu items that only run Monday to Wednesday
Trivia, live music or themed nights
Why it works: a good offer creates urgency. It turns "we should try that place sometime" into "let's go Tuesday." Pair each offer with Reels, stories and a small Meta ad budget so locals actually hear about it.
5.Make Sure You Get Professional Photography and Reels are Done Strategically
Your photos and videos are often the first taste a diner gets of your venue. They decide in seconds whether your food looks worth booking, and phone snaps rarely do your dishes justice. It's one thing tha,t even if you are DIY marketing for your venue that you need and should get. At CPM we have always used the best specialist food photographers in Sydney over the years and it's really helped our clients stand out and showcased them in the best way.
Phone content is perfect for Stories , behind-the-scenes moments and for making Reels that are authentic.But your Instagram grid, website, Google Business Profile, delivery apps and press features need professional photography, that make people hungry.
Video Reels should be done strategically and mixed up with the right amount of acted skit videos, food videos and behind the scenes videos. Just blasting poduct food videos all the time is a turn off for audiences so a strategic mix is what we always recommend and also do for our clients. Authentic reels also outperform and expensive slick showcased restaurant videos many times, as it resonates with customers. In the age of AI slop crowding social platforms, authentic content really resonates.
What to do:
Book a professional food and venue shoot every three months, so your content always looks fresh and seasonal
Shoot your signature dishes, drinks, the venue, your team and people enjoying themselves
Capture Reels footage at the same shoot: plating, pours, sizzling grills and the buzz of a full room
Plan the shoot around new menus, specials and upcoming events
Use the content everywhere: Instagram, Meta ads, Google, your website and delivery apps
Why it works: professional content stops the scroll, makes your ads perform better and shows diners exactly why they should choose you. Reshooting regularly also stops your audience getting bored of seeing the same dishes.
6. Get Featured in the Media With Hospitality PR
A feature in a respected publication, food guide or "best of" list builds credibility that ads can't buy. These mentions also help your restaurant show up in Google and AI results, because AI tools draw on trusted publications.
What to do:
• Announce openings, new menus, chef appointments and milestones to food media
• Pitch a genuine story, not just "we have great food"
• Invite food writers for a tasting
• Share every feature on your website and social channels
Here’s some of the PR that CPM has achieved for our clients over the years
7. Turn First-Time Diners Into Regulars
It's much easier to bring back someone who's already dined with you than to find a brand-new customer. Yet most restaurants put almost all their marketing into attracting strangers.
What to do:
Collect emails through your booking system, WiFi login, POS or a QR code on the table
Send a regular email newsletter with new dishes, events and VIP offers
Send a birthday offer, which is one of the highest-converting emails a venue can send
Run a simple loyalty program, digital or a classic stamp card
Recognise your regulars by name
Why it works: regulars visit more often, spend more and bring friends. Even a small increase in how often guests return can make a big difference to revenue.
8. Win More Group Bookings and Functions
One group booking can be worth ten tables of two. Birthdays, work dinners, Christmas parties and celebrations are some of the most profitable customers a venue can win.
What to do:
Create a clear group or function page on your website, with packages and capacity
Offer set menus or banquets that make group ordering easy
Promote functions on social media and Meta ads ahead of busy seasons
Make it easy to enquire, with a simple form and fast replies
Pro tip: start promoting Christmas functions by October. Many workplaces lock in their end-of-year venue early.
9. Become Part of Your Local Community
Sydney diners love venues that support their neighbourhood. Community marketing builds loyalty and word of mouth that money can't easily buy.
Ideas that work:
• Partner with local gyms, schools and sporting clubs
• Support local markets, fundraisers and festivals
• Collaborate with nearby businesses on special items
• Name a dish after a local landmark
• Offer something special for local workers, students or families
10. Make Your Google Business Profile Your Best Salesperson
When someone searches "best Thai near me" or "brunch in Surry Hills," Google Maps is usually the first thing they see. Your Google Business Profile is often a diner's first impression, before they ever visit your website or Instagram. It’s also key to being found on AI now like Chat GPT or Gemini. But that’s whole new area of marketing and topic for another blog.
What to do:
Choose the most specific categories (e.g. "Japanese restaurant" and "Izakaya", not just "Restaurant")
Upload your full menu as text, not just a PDF or photo
Add fresh photos every month, including dishes, the venue and your team
Fill in every attribute: outdoor seating, vegan options, good for groups, wheelchair access
Post weekly updates about specials, events and new dishes
Keep your hours accurate, especially over public holidays
Why it works: a complete, active profile ranks higher in Google Maps and gets more calls, direction requests and bookings. It's also the main source AI tools use when recommending restaurants.
11. Get More (and Better) Google Reviews
Reviews influence where people eat more than almost anything else. They also help you rank higher on Google Maps and in AI recommendations.
What to do:
Ask happy guests directly. Train staff to mention it at the end of a good meal
Put a QR code linking to your review page on receipts or table cards
Reply to every review, good and bad, within a few days
Handle complaints calmly and professionally. Future diners read your replies
Pro tip: reviews that mention a specific dish, occasion or suburb ("best dumplings in Chatswood, perfect for our anniversary") are especially valuable for search and AI visibility.
12. Get Your Restaurant Recommended by ChatGPT and AI Search
More diners are asking ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews and other AI tools questions like "where should I go for a birthday dinner in Parramatta?" If your restaurant isn't in the answer, you don't exist to that diner.
This is the newest frontier in restaurant marketing, and most Sydney venues aren't ready for it.
What to do:
Get your Google Business Profile fully complete (see tip 10)
Set up Bing Places for Business. ChatGPT's search draws on Bing, and most venues have never claimed theirs
Make sure your name, address, phone number and hours match everywhere online
Put your cuisine, suburb and signature dishes in plain words on your website
Encourage reviews that mention specific dishes and occasions
Pro tip: try it yourself. Ask ChatGPT "what are the best [your cuisine] restaurants in [your suburb]?" and see whether you appear. If you don't, your competitors may be getting those customers instead.
How to Tell If Your Restaurant Marketing Is Working
Likes and followers feel good, but they don't pay the rent. Instagram now shows content based on people's interests rather than who they follow, so follower count is a weaker signal than it used to be. Most people don't follow every account they see, but they might save, share or even check out on Google instead.
Track these instead:
Bookings and covers, compared month to month and year on year
Google Business Profile calls, direction requests and website clicks
Instagram profile views and Reel reach
Function and group enquiries
Email open rates and bookings from newsletters
Whether you appear when you ask ChatGPT about your cuisine and suburb
Review these every month. Keep doing what's working, and change what isn't.
If you want an honest audit to see if your current restaurant marketing is working then just filll out your details below and we can run an audit on your business to see what is working or not. Just fill in your details below. Helping over 280 restaurants we can spot straight away how you can improve or if you are doing things just fine!
7 Restaurant Marketing Mistakes We See All the Time (what not to do!)
After working with 280+ venues, these are the mistakes that most often hold restaurants back:
Posting only when there's time. Inconsistent posting means the algorithm, and your customers, forget you. We know how busy hospitality owners can get but consistency is what wins if you want visibility
Repeating the same content. The same dish and the same angle week after week leads to audience fatigue. Having enough content is usually the key. If you get a professional photographer in, which we recommend you do, then every 3 months is usually what you need for still and video content.
Ignoring Google. Many venues spend hours on Instagram but haven't touched their Google Business Profile in a year. This is now growing more and more in importance with the rise of AI search as we explained earlier
Discounting without a plan. Random discounts train customers to wait for deals, rather than giving them a reason to visit on quiet days. Discounting for the right reasons such as new dish launch, slow Tuesdays or new brand launch is ok but it needs to be strategic.
Only chasing new customers. Forgetting past guests means missing the easiest bookings available. Having reasons for customersto come back again is important
Chasing followers instead of bookings. Vanity numbers don't fill tables.
Not being visible in AI search. Most venues still have no idea whether ChatGPT recommends them.
Should You Do Restaurant Marketing Yourself or Hire a Specialist?
You can absolutely do some of this yourself. Many owners start by fixing their Google Business Profile, posting more consistently and asking for reviews. It's a small step but there's so much to be done, especially if you have never marketed before. Doing all 12 steps well takes serious time, and the platforms change constantly. Most owners and managers are already flat out running the venue.
If you are a brand new venue, then it's quite essential to get it done professionally to start with. Setting up proper systems, processes and getting things done correctly is very, very important and the difference whether your new venue sinks or swims. We have launched so many new venues, and getting it right from the start is so important and crucial when people will be judging you the most.
It may be time to bring in a specialist restaurant marketing agency if:
Your posting is inconsistent because the team is too busy
You're spending on ads without knowing what's working or how to target the right audiences correctly using Ads Manager, not just hitting boost post
Your bookings have dropped, or a new competitor has opened nearby
You're opening a new venue and need a strong launch
You don't know whether you show up in Google Maps or AI searches or how to optimise for that
You need to work with the best food photographers to get scroll-stopping content
You don't know how to make the right reels properly that will entertain as well as showcase your product properly
You don't understand how to use captions on social media properly to get your found or target your ideal customer. There is such a thing as social media SEO.
A specialist hospitality agency brings experience from hundreds of venues, so you skip the trial and error. Look for one that works only in hospitality, can show real client results, and covers restaurant and cafe specific social media, ads, influencers, PR and Google together.
Restaurant Marketing FAQs
What is the fastest way to get more customers to my restaurant?
The fastest results usually come from combining a strong offer with paid Meta ads targeted at people near your venue, alongside a fully updated Google Business Profile. Ads can start bringing in customers within days. Organic social media, reviews and SEO build more slowly , usually over 6 months + but last longer.
What is the best marketing for a restaurant?
There's no single best channel but the platform that matters the most is Instagram. The restaurants that grow use a mix: Instagram photos, Reels and Stories, Meta ads, influencers, Google Business Profile, reviews, email and local partnerships. Each channel reaches diners at a different stage, from discovering you to booking and coming back.
How do I get more customers on quiet weekdays?
Create offers that only run on your quiet days, such as a Tuesday banquet, a midweek happy hour or a locals' night. Then promote them with Reels, stories and a small, local Meta ad budget so nearby diners actually see them.
How do I get my restaurant to show up on ChatGPT?
AI tools rely heavily on your Google Business Profile, Bing Places listing, reviews, website content and mentions in trusted publications. Make sure each is complete, accurate and consistent. Then ask ChatGPT about your cuisine and suburb to check whether you appear. This is a brand new and specialised form of marketing that is brand new and growing in importance every day.
Is Instagram still worth it for restaurants?
Yes. Instagram, especially Reels, remains one of the main ways Sydney diners discover places to eat. As we mentioned earlier, it is THE platform every restaurant or cafe needs to get right. With Instagram, the focus has shifted from follower growth to reach and profile views, so judge success by those numbers rather than followers. Having an attractive IG page with photographs, reels, highlights and pin posts is the 101 building block you need for your restaurant marketing cornerstone.
How long does restaurant marketing take to work?
Paid ads and offers can show results within weeks. Consistent social media, Google visibility and reviews usually build over a few months or more. AI searches can take up to 3-6 months and traditional SEO even longer. The strongest results come from staying consistent over time.
Final Thoughts: Restaurant Marketing in Sydney Rewards Consistency
Getting more customers to your restaurant comes down to three things: being easy to find, giving diners a reason to visit now, and making them want to come back.
You don't need to do all 12 strategies tomorrow. Start with a strong Instagram page, a consistent Reels schedule and one well-planned midweek offer, then get your Google Business Profile up to date and build from there.
The Sydney venues that win are the ones that treat restaurant marketing as a system and keep showing up, week after week.
Want help getting more customers through your door? CPM Online Marketing has been Sydney's specialist hospitality marketing agency for 13 years, working with 280+ cafés, restaurants and bars.
Get in touch for a free marketing review and we'll show you where your venue is missing out.
READ MORE RESTAURANT MARKETING TIPS:
CPM has been Sydney’s leading hospitality marketing agency since 2013, specialising in cafe marketing, restaurant marketing, paid ads, social media, Hospitality PR, influencer marketing, localised marketing, Facebook community marketing, Video REELS, and strategic promotions to keep cafes and restaurant businesses thriving.
Overwhelmed with all this? Then chat with us at CPM where we have been using Instagram and a suite of other digital marketing tools to build great restaurant and cafe brands across Austalia for nearly 13years. We are more than happy to chat to see how we can help you!
Interested to know how we can help you attract more customers?
The hospitality & restaurant marketing specialists since 2013
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