27/12/2025
ATT: RESTSURANT OWNERS:
WHY BEING INVISIBLE IS COSTING YOU 30% OF YOUR TABLES 👻
Imagine for a second that it’s Friday night. A group of friends is sitting in a lounge in Randburg, debating where to go for dinner 🍝 They want something "vibey," something new.
Naturally, the first thing they do isn't check the Yellow Pages (it’s 2025, grandpa!) or even drive around looking for neon signs.
They open Instagram...
They search for your restaurant's name. They find... nothing ❌ Or worse, they find a page where the last post was a blurry photo of a Christmas tree from 2022 and a menu that looks like it was scanned during a Stage 6 blackout 🔦
In that moment, your restaurant just died 🪦To those customers, you don’t exist. You are a Ghost Restaurant. And ghosts don’t get orders.
THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND THE "DIGITAL APPETIZER"
In South Africa, dining out is an investment 💸 Between the petrol prices and the safety considerations of being out at night, people don't "try their luck" anymore. They want a guarantee ✅
Your social media isn't a "luxury"; it’s the Digital Appetizer! Research shows that roughly 77% of diners check a restaurant’s social media before they even look at the official website. They are looking for three things:
🟢 The Vibe:
Is it a "date night" spot or a "bring the kids" spot?
🟢 The Freshness:
Are you still open? (If you haven't posted in two weeks, the assumption in this economy is that the liquidators have moved in).
🟢 The Proof: Does the food actually look like the menu description?
If you aren't providing these answers in three seconds of scrolling, that group of friends is going to the competitor down the road who did post a 10-second Reel of a burger being assembled with a trending Ama piano beat.
THE 30% TAX ON SILENCE
Industry data suggests that restaurants with an inactive or non-existent social media presence lose out on approximately 30% of potential new diners 👎
Think about your monthly overheads. Think about your rent, your staff, and that R50,000 generator you had to buy. Now, imagine if you could increase your foot traffic by 30% simply by making sure your "digital front door" was actually open 🗝️
Being "too busy to post" is like saying you're "too busy to answer the phone." If the phone isn't ringing, the kitchen eventually stops cooking 👩🍳
If you're an owner reading this, here is how you stop being a ghost before the end of the weekend:
🟢 The "Proof of Life" Rule:
You don't need a Hollywood film crew every day. You need a "Proof of Life" post at least three times a week. A photo of the specials board, a shot of the dining room filling up, or even a video of the coffee machine. Show us the lights are on!
🟢 The Menu Trap:
Stop posting photos of your physical menu. Reflection from the plastic sleeve makes it unreadable, and nobody wants to zoom in on a crumb-stained page. Use a high-quality, text-based graphic.
🟢 The "Human" Element: People don't buy from businesses; they buy from people. Post a photo of your Head Chef. Post a video of your best waiter. Give your restaurant a heartbeat.
The "Ghost Restaurant" syndrome is a choice. You are either a destination that people are excited to visit, or you are a mystery that people are too afraid to try 🤷♀️
In the South African market, where competition is as fierce as Eben Etzebeth in a Springbok Rugby game, you cannot afford to be invisible. You’ve spent years perfecting the flavor of your food—now it’s time to make sure people can actually see it.
Class dismissed!
