Attention sells
People decide where to eat, shop, and spend on their phones. Here's what the research says, what to post, and a way to estimate what it could mean for your sales.
What the research says
90%
of diners check a restaurant's social media at least sometimes before deciding to eat there.
85%
of people say a video has convinced them to buy a product or service.
83%
of businesses that use video say it has directly increased their sales.
81%
of social media users say social drives them to make impulse purchases.
76%
of small and mid-size businesses say social media improves their business performance.
5–9%
more revenue for an independent restaurant from a one-star increase in its Yelp rating.
Where to post
Share of U.S. adults on each platform, from Pew Research Center, 2025 (opens in a new tab), with guidance from Wharton (opens in a new tab).
Instagram
50%Best for visual businesses. Wharton's guidance names restaurants as a natural fit. Reels for reach, posts for your menu and space.
Facebook
71%Still where most local customers are. Wharton recommends it for nearly every business, for the sheer number of people on it.
YouTube
84%The most-used platform, and searchable. Longer recaps, brand films, and Shorts that keep working for months.
TikTok
37%Fast discovery for vertical video. The same clip we cut for Reels works here.
Any size of business
The research holds from one location to a whole athletic program.
Small businesses
Most small businesses already see the payoff: 76% say social media improves their performance. The hard part is time. 54% struggle to keep their content fresh. We make the content so you can run the business.
Growing businesses
Consistency compounds. Regular, recognizable posts keep you in front of regulars between visits and give new customers a reason to try you. A steady schedule beats one big push.
Established brands and programs
At scale, quality is what separates you. Video that looks like your brand, made on a schedule, sized for every platform your audience uses: game days, openings, seasons, and launches.
Run your own numbers
Pick a starting point, then change any number to match your business. Views, then people who act, then people who buy.
How many times your posts are seen. Grows with consistent posting.
Visit your profile or site, call, or save the post.
Come in, order, book, or buy a ticket.
What a typical customer spends per visit.
Your estimate
- People who act each month
- 100
- New customers each month
- 20
- Added sales each month
- $600
- Added sales over a year
- $7,200
An estimate for planning, not a promise. It counts first visits only; repeat customers would add more. Your results depend on your offer, your location, and how consistently you post.
What to post this month
Free ideas you can use today, with or without us. Pass them along to someone who runs a business.
Restaurants
- Your best-selling dish, shot close, in the first second.
- The kitchen in motion: one pour, one sizzle, one plate.
- This week's special, posted the day before.
- A face: the chef or a regular, saying one line.
- Ask happy regulars for a Google or Yelp review, and reply to every one.
Businesses
- A before-and-after of the work you do.
- Your team at work, not posing.
- One common customer question, answered in 15 seconds.
- What's new this month, and why it matters to the customer.
- Reply to every review within a day, good or bad.
Sports programs
- A hype clip the day before the game.
- The play of the game within 24 hours.
- Senior night, milestones, and records.
- Practice and locker-room moments fans never see.
- Thank sponsors and boosters by name, with a clip of the game.
How we move the numbers
1. Make the content
Video and photos shot in-house, planned for vertical from the start and edited for the first three seconds.
2. Run the accounts
A monthly calendar, posting, captions, and replies, so your feed stays active without taking your time.
3. Amplify and convert
Video ads shown to the customers most likely to buy, with the versions that bring people in kept running, pointing to a fast website that turns visits into orders and bookings.
Let's talk about your project
See it work for your business before you spend a dollar: new clients get their first commercial free.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, 2025 (opens in a new tab): Americans' Social Media Use. 5,022 U.S. adults, February–June 2025.
- Toast, 2024 (opens in a new tab): Survey of 850 U.S. guests who use social media weekly: 62% sometimes check, 28% always check.
- Wyzowl, 2026 (opens in a new tab): Same survey, video marketers' responses.
- Sprout Social Index, 2025 (opens in a new tab): 4,044 consumers in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia who follow at least five brands, September 2024.
- Verizon State of Small Business, 2025 (opens in a new tab): 600 U.S. small and mid-size businesses, surveyed by Morning Consult.
- Harvard Business School, Luca (opens in a new tab): "Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com," HBS Working Paper 12-016, using Washington State restaurant revenue data. The effect holds for independent restaurants, not chains.
- Wharton Online (opens in a new tab): Which social media platforms should I use for my business?
Figures are from third-party surveys and describe people and businesses in general, not Windsor Peak clients.