Instagram Best Practise for Cafes: Our Top 27 Tips Plus Five Real Examples
If you talk to any successful café owner, they’ll tell you that maintaining a strong social media presence is just as important as brewing the perfect cup of coffee. But for those unfamiliar with this side of the business, navigating the social realm can feel overwhelming. Recently, we had the pleasure of sitting down with one of our new café partners who had just taken the exciting leap of opening her own café. With years of experience as a barista and café manager, she was well-equipped to run a café, but like many, felt less confident when it came to building an Instagram presence.
So, we shared some tailored tips to help her shine on social media—and we thought, why not pass those insights on to you? Instagram is your café’s digital stage, where your menu, personality, and brand can captivate an audience and keep them hooked. In today’s blog post, we’ll be sharing our Instagram best practices—25 top tips—starting with curating your grid, engaging through stories, and collaborating with influencers!
Curating Your Instagram Grid
Your grid is the heart of your cafe—it’s not just a collection of photos, it’s your brand, your vibe, your visual signature. When people check out your grid, they’re not just thoughtlessly scrolling , they’re vetting, judging, and assessing. Giving off the best impression possible will increase the likelihood that they’ll visit, spend money, talk about you, and maybe even give you a share.
1. Your Grid is Your Menu: Think of your grid as a living, breathing visual menu. When people are curious about what’s on offer, the first place they’ll go is your grid. It’s the perfect opportunity to make their mouths water, so showcase your dishes, drinks, and specials in the best possible light.
2. Consistency is Key: The best way to tell your brand’s story is through consistency. Maintain a uniform look and feel across your feed by using the same colour palette, fonts, and filters. If you’re using professional photography, stick with it to avoid a disjointed grid.
3. Less is More: You don’t need to post every day. Posting high-quality content every 2-3 days keeps things fresh and polished. Posting too frequently can come across as spammy and may annoy your followers. Carefully selected posts will have more impact and reach.
4. Showcase Your Space: One of the best ways to draw people into your café is by showing off its ambiance. Whether cosy, vibrant, or chic, include shots of your space on your feed. Beautiful spaces often get great engagement on Instagram.
5. Celebrate Your Team: Your staff are the heart of your café. Featuring your baristas, chefs, and servers in your grid adds a personal touch and makes your business feel more relatable. It also shows that you value your team.
6. Customer Moments: Showcase your customers enjoying your offerings. Seeing real people having a good time creates FOMO (fear of missing out) and builds confidence in your audience.
7. Invest in Professional Photography: Even if you’re skilled with a camera, hiring a professional can elevate your grid. They’ll capture your café and its offerings in ways you may not have thought possible. Many cafés outsource every 3-4 months to keep their content fresh.
8. Captions Matter: Avoid generic captions. Be genuine and thoughtful, and add value. Short captions work as long as they’re engaging—try prompting with open-ended questions like “What’s your go-to coffee order?”
9. Tag & Collaborate: Boost engagement by actively involving the local community. While giving special mentions is a good start, taking it further by collaborating on posts or stories with local businesses, influencers, or loyal customers will create even greater impact. Joint content not only expands your reach but also strengthens connections within your community.
10. Show Off the Skills: Café culture and latte art go hand-in-hand. Share Reels of your baristas’ handiwork or your chefs creating masterpieces. These moments are prime for viral content!
Engaging Through Instagram Stories
While your grid may be the storefront, your stories are where the action happens. Stories allow you to share the daily pulse of your café—keeping followers engaged and on your radar. Also, it’s important to remember: some people just don’t engage with posts, instead they live through stories. You want to make sure you’re catering to both types of Instagram users.
11. Mix Spontaneous with Planned: Use stories to be spontaneous. Capture moments like a busy morning rush, a dish in the making, or quick team interactions. These real-time updates bring your café closer to your audience.
12. Maintain Consistent Branding: Just like with your grid, keep the branding consistent in your stories by using your signature fonts, colours, and style.
13. Use Story Features: Boost interaction with polls, quizzes, and Q&A stickers. These features build a sense of community and encourage engagement.
14. Use Captions/Subtitles: Many users watch stories with the sound off, so include captions to ensure your message comes across clearly.
15. Utilise Story Highlights: Group key stories into highlights on your profile. This gives new followers a chance to see important content even after it disappears from the 24-hour story cycle.
16. Announce Specials & Events: Use stories to make announcements like special events, new menu items, or exciting news. Sometimes getting behind the camera and speaking directly builds deeper connections.
17. Repurpose Grid Content: Share your best grid posts on your stories. The tall aspect ratio makes for an engaging viewing experience.
18. Create Story Sequences: Lead your audience through a series of stories that tell a narrative or process. This keeps them engaged and coming back for more.
19. Mentions & Reposting: Tagging customers or reposting their stories about your café boosts traction and doubles your reach. Reposting shows followers that you value their shout-outs.
20. Utilise Hashtags & Location Tags: These tags make your stories discoverable to a wider audience, expanding your reach beyond your current followers.
21. Add a Clear CTA: End your stories with a call-to-action (CTA). Whether it’s “Swipe up,” “DM us,” or “Check out the link,” prompt your audience to take the next step.
22. Don’t Overdo It: A few stories a day will keep followers hooked, but too many can overwhelm them. Aim for 3-4 engaging stories per day.
Collaborating with Influencers
Influencer marketing can work wonders for cafés, but it has to be done authentically. Here’s how to collaborate effectively:
23. Micro-Influencers Are Key: Micro-influencers often have more engaged communities and offer a better return on investment than mega-influencers. Look for local influencers whose content aligns with your café’s vibe.
24. Choose the Right Fit: Work with influencers whose values and audience align with your brand. Authenticity matters—choose someone who genuinely enjoys your product.
25. Focus on Long-Term Partnerships: Building ongoing relationships with influencers leads to more credibility and sustained promotion. Long-term collaborations also feel more authentic to their audience.
26. Give Creative Freedom: While it’s important to provide guidelines, allow influencers the flexibility to create content in their own voice and style. Their followers engage with them for their unique perspective, so it’s important to maintain that authenticity.
27. Showcase Something Unique: The best way to go viral is by highlighting one standout item from your menu, rather than posting generically about your entire café. People are naturally drawn to what’s distinctive and special, rather than what feels common or routine.
Bonus Tip
Keep It In-House: No one knows your brand better than you. While outsourcing to an agency is convenient, managing your own social media ensures your voice and engagement are more authentic and consistent.
In conclusion, building a standout Instagram presence for your café is all about balancing quality, authenticity, and engagement. By following these best practices for your grid, stories, and influencer collaborations, you’ll not only attract new customers but also create a loyal community that loves what you do.
FIVE Real Examples
Here are five of our favourite Australia-based cafes who are doing an incredible job on the socials, be sure to check them out and give them a follow for some inspo!