Sound familiar?
- Instagram posts get likes from other venues, not bookings
- Midweek covers are low and you do not know how to fill them
- A Facebook ad for cocktail night was rejected
- You have thousands of booking-system emails but have never sent a newsletter
- Christmas party bookings start too late every year
- Your Google Business Profile shows old opening hours and a menu from 2022
Key facts
- Organic social media management from £125 a month + VAT per platform package; paid social from £150 a month + VAT plus ad spend
- CAP Code rule 18.16: people shown drinking alcohol, or playing a significant role, must not be or seem under 25
- Paid online ads for identifiable less healthy food and drink products have been restricted since 5 January 2026
- ASA guidance says the online restriction does not apply where the advertiser paying is a food or drink SME with fewer than 250 staff; franchisees count with their franchisor
- Since 6 April 2025, unavoidable service or booking charges must be included in headline prices under the DMCC Act
- SMS marketing from £75 a month + VAT; email from £95 a month + VAT
Social media that drives bookings
Hospitality is visual, local and frequent. People decide where to eat from a reel on their phone. Our organic social service covers planning, photography direction, captions, posting and replying to comments and messages, so your feed shows what is on this week, not three months ago.
- Instagram: reels of dishes being plated, drinks being made, a quick tour of the room.
- Facebook: events, set menus and local groups, still strong with over-35s.
- TikTok: personality-led short video for venues with a younger crowd.
Every post should give people a reason to book: a new menu, a quiz night, a seasonal special, a table for Sunday lunch. We link to your booking system directly rather than a generic homepage. If you need better food photography or short video, our sister company dijitulmedia.co.uk handles shoots.
Alcohol advertising rules
Section 18 of the CAP Code covers any marketing that features or refers to alcoholic drinks, which includes a pub's cocktail promotion and a restaurant's wine pairing. The rules most often broken by venues:
- Age of people shown: rule 18.16 says anyone shown drinking or playing a significant role must not be, or seem to be, under 25. The ASA judges by appearance; it upheld complaints against a vodka brand's Facebook ad even though everyone shown was over 25.
- No link to social or sexual success, daring behaviour or drinking to excess.
- No encouraging irresponsible deals, such as bottomless offers implying you should drink quickly.
- Targeting: alcohol ads must not be directed at under-18s. On Meta we set a minimum age of 18 for any ad that features alcohol, and many venues choose 25.
Google Ads also classes alcohol as restricted content and allows it only in approved countries and with age targeting. We write, target and check creative to these standards before it goes live.
The 2026 less healthy food ad rules
Since 5 January 2026, paid online ads for identifiable 'less healthy' food and drink products, defined using the government's nutrient profiling model, have been banned, and TV ads restricted before 9pm. For most independent restaurants this has little effect, because the ASA's guidance says the online restriction does not apply where the person paying for the ad is a food or drink SME with fewer than 250 staff. Two things catch people out. Franchisees are counted together with their franchisor; the ASA upheld a complaint about a franchisee's Instagram ad because the wider group had more than 250 staff. And a large delivery platform promoting your dishes is not covered by your SME status. Brand advertising that does not show a specific less healthy product is exempt. If you are part of a group or franchise, we check scope before running any dish-led paid ads.
Prices, service charges and tips
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, from 6 April 2025 mandatory charges must be included in the headline price. A discretionary service charge that diners can remove is treated differently from a compulsory one, but booking fees, compulsory service charges on large tables or deposits that are never refunded need to be clear in the price shown in ads and on booking pages. We check offer wording in ads, emails and set menu graphics against this as standard.
Email and SMS from your booking data
OpenTable, ResDiary, SevenRooms, Collins and similar systems collect thousands of email addresses and phone numbers. Used properly, they are your cheapest marketing channel. Under PECR, guests who booked and were given a clear chance to opt out can receive marketing about similar services under the soft opt-in; everyone else needs consent. We set up a monthly newsletter, birthday and anniversary automations, a lapsed-guest win-back and short SMS messages for last-minute availability. Email marketing is from £95 a month + VAT, SMS from £75 a month + VAT, and automation set-up from £195 + VAT one-off.
What you get
- Monthly content plan: dishes, drinks, events, team and behind the scenes
- Instagram, Facebook and TikTok posting, stories and reels, with community replies
- Local paid social for events, set menus, Sunday lunch and Christmas, targeted by radius and age 18+ for alcohol
- Google Search ads for 'restaurant near me', function room and event searches
- Email and SMS from your booking system data, with PECR-compliant consent
- Monthly report: reach, bookings attributed, and cost per booking for paid campaigns
How it works and what it costs
Google Ads management from £150 a month, social media management from £125 a month and email marketing from £95 a month, all + VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid to the platform. No long contracts.
Free review
We look at your current ads, social, email and analytics, or your plans if you are starting out, and tell you plainly what we would change.
Plan and price
You get a written plan with targets, budgets and a fixed monthly fee before anything starts.
Set up properly
Tracking and consent first, then campaigns, audiences, content calendars or email flows, all in accounts you own.
Run and improve
We manage it every week: search terms, bids, creative, posts and tests, cutting what does not pay and doing more of what does.
Report in plain English
A monthly report on leads, sales and cost per result, not vanity numbers, with what we will do next.
Frequently asked questions
Can we run Facebook ads for our cocktail bar?
Yes, with care. The ads must not feature anyone who is or looks under 25 drinking, must not link alcohol to social or sexual success, and must be targeted at adults. We set a minimum age of 18 or higher and check creative against the CAP Code before it runs.
Does the junk food ad ban affect our restaurant?
For most independents, no. ASA guidance says the paid online restriction does not apply when the advertiser paying is a food or drink business with fewer than 250 staff. Franchisees are counted with their franchisor, and large groups are fully in scope for identifiable less healthy products.
How often should a restaurant post on Instagram?
Consistency matters more than volume. Several posts and regular stories a week, with at least one reel, is a practical target for most venues. We agree a plan based on how much fresh content your kitchen and bar can give us.
Can you use our booking system emails for marketing?
Usually, if guests were given a clear chance to opt out of marketing when they booked. That allows marketing about similar services under the PECR soft opt-in. If your booking system did not offer that, we start with a consent campaign.
Do you photograph food?
We direct and use your photos and short video. If you need a professional shoot, our sister company dijitul media offers food photography and video. Many venues mix a quarterly professional shoot with phone content from the team.
When should we start promoting Christmas?
Earlier than most venues do. Office party organisers often start looking in late summer. We usually plan Christmas party ads and emails to start in September, with a second push in October and last-availability messages in November.
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Get a free marketing review
We'll look at your ads, social, email and tracking, and tell you plainly what we'd change. No obligation.