How Tiktok Changed the Game for Restaurants
Wonder what Remi Bader has to say about this.
by JULIA PAPERNY ★ JULY 19, 2022
From newspapers to magazines, Vine to Instagram, and now TikTok, social media’s reach is ever-expanding. What were once isolated platforms with defined roles has become a free-for-all. Everyone has a voice… and I mean everyone. I know it wasn’t just me who spent 30 minutes scrolling to find the perfect makeup routine or trendiest outfit of the month on YouTube. Now, influencers, specifically on the younger side, are carving out vast, relevant, appealing feeds to show you the inside “scoop” on their favorite dine-in spots.
TikTok is the latest and greatest platform to sweep the world off its feet. When sitting in your dorm room with friends, eating at Chipotle, or riding in an Uber, there’s almost never a time when someone isn’t scrolling on their For You Page. The game changed when an app that gave you your own personal FYP was born. It algorithmically boosts content onto users’ feeds, regardless of whether they follow that specific account. Even with an account with a microscopic following, something small can turn into something enormous. Before TikTok, it would have taken a blog or YouTube account years to gain the number of followers necessary to reach “micro-influencer” or influencer status. TikTok provides the opportunity for all people to go viral in, literally, minutes.
With making money via sponsored content (incorporating a product or restaurant into a video) and receiving ridiculous amounts of emails/dms/texts from brands asking for attention in return, how could you say no?
Credit: SamTell.com
There are restaurants and businesses with even the smallest amount of attention or media play, and you still may like it. But how can you trust it? You trust the influencers. Even if they post the most random things, viewers will trust the person with the most followers. Usually, you trust your gut or hear opinions from others, but when it’s someone who is distinctly popular, you want to get in their shoes… or their stomachs.
It’s a cycle. The influencer posts. The brand/business is happy they posted for them. The influencer gets likes, comments, and notoriety. However, those comments aren’t always pleasant or agreeable. The influencer could receive backlash or negativity because they posted a review and told their followers to go get this product, and the viewers ended up not liking it.
“Why post this? It wasn’t even good! I’m supposed to be listening to this?”
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But, most of the time, the viewers listen.
“If this influencer recommends it I gotta try! I’m eating at the same restaurant as Kylie Jenner!”
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That influencer can have a substantial impact on their followers' decisions.
For example, a well-known influencer, with over thousands, maybe millions on TikTok, posted a video of their triumphant review on this unknown restaurant. It had no connection to the millennials, it was small and unpopular. Within hours of the video post, a line of hungry spectators was waiting for a mile outside the door! As of today, their post was seen by about 10 million people.
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It is true. TikTok has given the opportunity to millions of restaurants around the globe. Owning the ability to share your opinion on an app like this is powerful. Let it drive business, influence, and have an impact.
Cover Photo Credit: Pinterest