Social Media for Newcastle Cafés: What Actually Fills Seats

Every café in Heaton, Jesmond and Ouseburn has the same problem. The coffee's good, the bakes are good, the room's lovely, and the Instagram went quiet the week it got busy.

Here's the thing: you don't need a content strategy. You need a routine you can actually keep up between the lunch rush and the cash-up.

Google Maps beats Instagram. Do it first.

When someone types "coffee near me", they get a map, not your grid. If your Google Business Profile has the wrong hours, three photos and seven reviews, you lose them before they ever see your reels.

Fix the hours (including bank holidays), add 20 real photos, list the menu with prices, and ask every regular for a review. Our Google Business Profile guide walks through it.

Post the stuff only you have

Nobody follows a café for a stock photo of a latte. They follow for:

• The first tray out of the oven. Ten seconds of steam. Post it before 9am.
• Your people. The barista who remembers everyone's order. The regular with the dog.
• What's new this week. Guest beans, the soup, the new bake, the bottle you just got in.
• The room at its best. Golden hour on a Sunday. Rain on the window. Candles on.

Phone footage is fine. Better than fine. Polished ads look like ads; a wobbly clip of a cinnamon bun looks like a reason to walk over.

TikTok and Instagram, in that order of effort

Short vertical video gets shown to people who don't follow you yet, which is exactly who you want. Make one clip, post it to both. Instagram for your regulars, TikTok for the people three streets away who've never been in. More on that in our TikTok guide for local businesses.

The 20-minute weekly routine

• Monday: film 5 short clips during the quiet hour. Bakes, pours, faces, room.
• Through the week: post one a day (three is fine if five is too many). Add a caption that sounds like you talking.
• Every day: reply to comments and DMs. Someone asking "are you dog friendly?" is a customer.
• Friday: post what's on at the weekend.

What not to bother with

• Twelve platforms. Pick two.
• Paying for followers. They don't buy coffee.
• Giveaways that need 3 tags and a share. You get followers who only like free things.
• Posting at exactly 11:37 because a blog said so. Post when the food looks good.

And if you haven't got the time

That's normal. You're running a café. Our social media management starts at £165 a month: we come in, film, post, and answer the comments. You make the coffee.