“That looks good!”
How is it that you are able to judge the taste of something by looking at it?
That’s the power of a great image!
Here are some quick and easy ways to help capture the attention of your customers, and how a restaurant’s online image could immediately impact the bottom line.
Keep scrolling!
According to research, to the mind seeing images of food is the same as seeing the actual food!
“Research shows that when people view an image of food, it stimulates the same brain activity as if they were actually seeing that food on a plate in front of them.”
~ Petit O, “Can Food Porn Make Us Slim? How Brains of Consumers React to Food
in Digital Environments”
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- First off, just let that sink in! To the mind, photos of food is THE EXACT SAME experience as seeing the food in front of you.
- The effort going into taking a great photo should be AT LEAST (if not better) than the effort going into plating the entree for table placement
- Before you share a photo on social media, website, email or an ad… ask yourself “the way this entree or appetizer is presented and the way it looks, would I serve it to my customers?” It’s not just about knowing that it tastes good, it’s about how your potential customers will perceive taste through visual cues.
Taste is the #1 influencer in a diner’s decision-making process
~ Smarty Pants, commissioned by Facebook
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- When posting a photo on social, does the food look exciting?
- Do the people in the photo look exciting?
- Does the food look good?
Food Photography Statistics
People remember images nearly 7 times more than words!
- Image 65%
- Text 10%
“We are incredible at remembering pictures. Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%.”
John Medina, Brain Rules
90-93% of customers rely on photos when deciding to buy
- 93%
“93% of consumers consider visual appearance to be the key deciding factor in a purchasing decision.”
JustUno, 65 Surprising E-Commerce Consumer Psychology Statistics
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Include photos of people consuming the food or beverage.
- Pro Tip – this could be a great suggestive tool to give people ideas, combining food and experience. For example: a picnic by the lake, with a 3-course to-go meal from their favorite restaurant.
Photos that capture food’s texture, color, form and overall quality and detail immensely impacts perceived ownership
In a research by UCLA, researchers concluded that photos that showed a high level of detail and clarity, giving the viewer a clear sense of texture, surface quality and a visual tactile experience – increased the “perceived ownership of the product”.
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Capture content that shows off the textures of ingredients, the colors!
- Close-up, well-lit shots work well!
Vision trumps all other senses. Our brain sees words as pictures
“Pictures beat text as well, in part because reading is so inefficient for us. Our brain sees words as lots of tiny pictures, and we have to identify certain features in the letters to be able to read them. That takes time.”
John Medina, Brain Rules
When buying, the quality of photo matters!
- 90%
Etsy’s findings concluded that the quality of photos and Image is the most important deciding factor in sales for 90% of its users!!!
When a person sees themselves in the photo, consuming the food or drink – it greatly impacts their decision to buy!
- 80%
According to a study by BigCommerce, nearly 80% of online shoppers want photos to bring products to life – they want to see the product as if it’s part of their own daily lives.
BigCommerce, BigCommerce Survey Shows Americans Consider Online Shopping Essential
Beautiful images help consumers to pay attention to your message!
The power of storytelling images in marketing!Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Grab your phone, clean the lens! 80% of bad photos we’ve seen can be dramatically improved by simply cleaning the lens.
- For lifestyle photos (people, individuals), use a free stock photo provider like Unsplash or Pexels to find themed photos that fit your brand. They’re beautiful, and they’re free!
Did you know that 90% of people research a restaurant before making a decision to dine!
Users right now are looking at your business:
- Restaurant’s website
- Social Media accounts
- Review Websites – Google Business, Yelp, Facebook
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Research being a critical part in a consumer’s decision making process – make sure your digital content, website, social media use beautifully-shot photos
- Make sure the photos are above the fold – when a webpage first loads, make sure great images are immediately visible on the screen before a user scrolls. When your Instagram or Facebook profile loads, make sure your profile photos, page cover and the last 6 posts are the best.
- 90%
First Impressions Count! You’ve got 0.05 seconds to get their attention!
It takes a fraction of a second (0.05 seconds to be exact) for a user to form a strong impression and option about your website, and whether they will continue to stay, or leave.
Gitte Lindgaard, Gary Fernandes, Cathy Dudek & J. Brown (2006) Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression!, Behaviour & Information Technology, 25:2, 115-126, DOI: 10.1080/01449290500330448
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- If the image doesn’t get you excited, don’t post it!
- Tightly-cropped photos that show details of the food work great
On average, it takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember your brand.
~Pam Moore, Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Send consistent messaging, publishing regular posts. It can be daily, 2 times a day. Just do it consistently
- Vary the content, so it’s not always promotional (buy buy buy), add some fun to it (behind the scenes, culture, etc.)
Giving away FREE digital branding evaluations!
a $7,500 value!
If you’re a restaurant or retail brand.. simply enter in for a chance to win!
I love what I do. And do what I can to help!
Here’s the fine print… winners are randomly picked. Every 2-3 months. We get busy, sometimes it may be longer.
A great image impacts how people decide new restaurants.
Survey Finds Nearly 50% of U.S. Diners Have Tried a New Restaurant Thanks to Social Media
The survey determined that nearly half (45%) of U.S. diners said they’ve tried a restaurant for the first time because of a social media post made by the establishment itself. Further, 22% said a restaurant’s social post enticed them to return.
~ MGH
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Social Media marketing by all means should be an active, integral part of your marketing strategy.
- Post often. Test frequency – start with 2 a day, 2 hours before mealtime (lunch and dinner).
- Test posting time for breakfast. 1 hour before breakfast time, or the night before.
Poor quality photos on social media discourage!
“On the other hand, 21% claim a restaurant’s social media posts – which includes poor quality content and frequency (too few or too many) – have discouraged them from ever trying the restaurant.”
~ MGH
- 21%
“The average diner now considers more than 4 restaurants before deciding where to eat.”
~ Smarty Pants, commissioned by Facebook- Restaurant A
- Restaurant B
- Restaurant C
- Restaurant D
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Simple, image-forward updates may help you gain the quick competitive edge
- 86%
86% of Millennials try a new restaurant after seeing food-related content online
~ Smarty Pants, commissioned by Facebook
Quick and Easy Takeaways
If you need a quick-and-easy takeaway here…. Just call or text me 😉 323-522-4267
66% surveyed in the US agree that seeing friends’ photos and videos on Instagram helps them decide on a fast-food restaurant
~ “The Role of Mobile in Fast-Food Dining” by Facebook IQ
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Think of every plating opportunity as an advertising opportunity… or,
- Think of it as the dish’s opportunity for a selfie!
- Make sure plating is best it could be (wipe the plate’s frame, garnish intentionally)
- Remember, people taste with their eyes first.
- 66%
Final Thoughts
Quick and Easy Takeaways
- Visual experience – image and storytelling – is one of the critical elements at the heart of a successful brand
- The way images are presented and the quality of photos, whether on a website, social media, or marketing – has a significant and proven impact on whether a person will eat at your restaurant or buy your food & beverage goods, or not.
- The consistent implementation, over a course of time, across all communication channels will begin to shape and define a brand; the restaurant’s persona, tone, story, look and feel that will play a critical role in impacting perceived taste – which ultimately may influence how a potential customer responds to your restaurant’s marketing and communication visual cues, and whether they will spend their money with you.
I want to see you and your restaurant succeed!
If there’s anything I can do to help your operation grow, just let me know!
Here’s to great food and even better company!
~ Andre Ivanchuk
