A simple restaurant social media calendar for a small team

Start small and stay consistent

Three posts a week, every week, is better than ten one week and none the next. Choose a rhythm you can manage in your busiest weeks, not your quietest ones.

If you only manage one post a week to begin with, make it the weekly special. It is the post that gives people the clearest reason to visit.

Most of your posts can be short vertical videos shared to Instagram Reels, TikTok and Stories, with the same message adapted for Facebook and your Google Business Profile.

A weekly restaurant social media calendar

Here is a simple weekly plan. Move the days to fit your own trading pattern.

• Start of the week: this week’s special or offer, with the dish, price and dates.
• The day before your quiet day: a reminder of your quiet-day offer.
• Mid-week: a kitchen moment, a team member at work or a dish being made.
• Before the weekend: your most popular dish, or a reason to book for the weekend.
• Whenever it is relevant: a quick Story repeating the current offer.

A monthly plan on one page

Once a month, take fifteen minutes to plan the next four weeks. Write down:

• Each week’s special, with the exact price and dates.
• Any new dishes and the date they arrive.
• Seasonal moments that matter to your customers, such as school holidays, Valentine’s Day on 14 February or the run-up to Christmas.
• Any changes to your opening hours.
• Local events nearby that might bring people past your door.

Batch the work

The easiest way to keep a calendar is to make several posts in one sitting. Photograph two or three dishes on a quiet afternoon, then make the videos and captions for the next week or two in one go.

Keep a folder of your best dish photos and a note of the captions you use most. Most weeks you only need to change the dish, the price and the dates. Batching also means you are not writing a caption in the middle of a busy service.

If more than one person posts, keep the calendar somewhere everyone can see it, such as a shared document or a sheet on the office wall.

Check everything before it goes up

Before each post, check the price, dates and any conditions against your current menu. Make sure nothing has changed since you planned it, especially if you batched the posts weeks earlier. A quick check now saves an awkward conversation with a customer later.

If a dish includes allergens that are not obvious, make sure your allergen information is accurate and easy to find, and that your team can answer questions about it.

Review your calendar once a month

At the end of each month, look back. Which posts got questions, comments or mentions at the counter? Which days felt busier? Use what you actually notice, not guesses, to adjust the next month’s plan. Keep what works and drop what does not. Write down two or three things you learnt, so next month’s plan starts from them.

Ideas for weeks with nothing new

Some weeks there is no new dish or offer. These posts still give people a reason to look:

• A dish spotlight on something regulars love but newcomers may not know.
• A three-dish menu of your breakfast or lunch options.
• A short clip of your team getting ready for a busy service.
• A reminder of your opening hours and how to book or order.
• A thank-you to customers after a busy weekend or a local event.

Where BiteReel fits

BiteReel can make the weekly special, dish spotlight and three-dish menu posts in this calendar from your own photos and the details you confirm. It does not schedule or post anything, so you keep your calendar and post at the times you choose. Changing only the words of a finished reel, such as next week’s dates, reuses the same pictures at no extra credit.