MGH, a full-service restaurant marketing agency, announced the results of a study that examined how influential a brand’s social media marketing can be when it comes to driving restaurant trial and customer loyalty.

The survey determined that nearly half (45 percent) of U.S. diners said they’ve tried a restaurant for the first time because of a social media post made by the establishment itself, while 21 percent claimed posts could be a deterrent. Further, 22 percent said a restaurant’s social post enticed them to return.

Results from the study demonstrated that positive restaurant-to-consumer social media engagement often leads to increased customer visits. Of respondents who actively follow and engage with restaurants on social media, 74% say they are more likely to visit or order food from those establishments.

“For restaurant marketers, it’s clear that high-quality social media content, along with active engagement practices, still has great relevance to consumers,” says Ryan Goff, Executive Vice President, Social Media Marketing Director at MGH. “When done right, social content marketing can have great influence over where diners choose to spend their hard-earned money.”

Other notable stats included:

• 42 percent of U.S. diners say they have interacted with restaurants on at least one social media platform. Of that group, 66 percent said they are more likely to visit or order food from the restaurant.
• 13 percent of U.S. diners say a restaurant’s social media post has discouraged them from returning to a restaurant.
• 36 percent of U.S. diners follow restaurants on social media, and 39% of that group mainly do so to help determine if they want to dine in or order food from the restaurant.
• 89 percent of U.S. diners have a social media account.
• 62 percent of U.S. diners say they log on to their social media accounts several times per day.

In February 2019, MGH conducted an online survey of 1,069 U.S. adults ages 18+ who dine in, order takeout or had food delivered from a restaurant at least once a month. The margin of error is 3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.