Fill your tables on the quiet days, not just the busy ones
- Flat-out weekends, empty Tuesdays, dish photos stuck in your phone.
- Here's how one 30-minute session plans a month of posts around your specials.
Vera's Studio learns your menu, your specials and how you talk, then plans and designs a month of posts around the dates that matter. You approve them between services, and they publish.
Meet VeraPinLead’s AI Creator, the brains behind Vera’s StudioDemo post for a sample business
You’re not the only one asking
Real searches Australians type into Google about this. This page answers every one of them.
Sound familiar?
Weekends are flat out and Tuesdays are dead.
I take photos of every new dish and they never get posted.
By the time service is over, the last thing I want to do is write captions.
We tried paying for posts and they looked like any other café.
People walk past every day and still don't know we do dinner.
Every empty table on a quiet day is income you don't get back. The café down the street isn't always better. They're just posting more often, so they're the one locals think of when it's time to eat out. A social media manager costs A$1,500–A$5,000 a month.
Your kitchen and your counter already make great content every day: new specials, fresh bakes, the regulars, the team. The problem isn't ideas. It's turning them into posts every week when you're already working a full service.
More enquiries, less effort, starting this week
More reasons to drop in
Specials, new dishes and events posted every week give locals a reason to visit on the quiet days.
Your food, your voice
Built from your own photos and menu, with captions that sound like your place. No stock photos.
Your month, planned today
Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, school holidays and the Christmas rush are already in your plan.
Approve between services
Tick posts on your phone in a few minutes. Nothing goes out without your OK.
How Vera’s Studio works for cafés and restaurants
Set up your brain once
Tell Vera's Studio who you help, what you offer, how you talk and what you'll never say. Paste your website and it fills in most of it for you.
Get your 30-day plan
A month of posts mapped to your calendar, each with a hook, a format and the reason it's there. Swap anything you don't like.
Approve and it posts
Finished carousels, image posts and short videos, ready to tick. Approved posts publish straight to your accounts. No downloading.
Built for how cafés and restaurants work
Planned around your busy dates
Your plan knows the dates people eat out: Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in September, school holidays, Melbourne Cup and the Christmas party season. It fills the quiet days with specials and reasons to drop in.
Made from your own food
Upload photos of your dishes and coffee, and Vera's Studio builds posts around them. No stock photos of someone else's menu.
Your prices, your words
Specials, prices and opening hours come from what you enter, and you check every post before it goes out.
Approve between services
Tick posts on your phone in a few minutes. Nothing publishes until you say so.
Six posts from a demo month
Real post ideas from a plan made for Saltbush Café, our sample business.
0:22Saltbush Café Smiles on both sides of the counter, most days anyway.
What's your usual order? Tell us below.
0:18Saltbush Café Banana bread, straight out of the oven before the doors open.
Come early before it's gone.
What time is too early for cake?
Saltbush Café The owner's honest cabinet tour: the lamingtons won't last.
Which one are you grabbing?
Saltbush Café Slow-cooked lamb toastie and a small coffee, 11am to 2pm Tuesdays.
Who are you bringing? Tag them.
0:27Saltbush Café Here's most of how we make it.
Tag someone who always asks for extra.
Saltbush Café Two coffees, two toasties and the park down the road.
Save this for the weekend.
Where's your go-to brekkie spot?
Which social media is best for cafés and restaurants?
Instagram suits food and coffee best, because people use it to decide where to eat, and Reels reach locals who don't follow you yet. Facebook is still useful for events, specials and reaching older locals. Keep your Google Business Profile up to date too. Vera's Studio publishes to Instagram and Facebook from the same plan.
What it costs compared with the alternatives
| Freelancer or agency | Doing it yourself | Vera’s Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | A$1,500–A$5,000 a month for management, or A$22–A$110 an hour | No fee, but it costs your evenings | From A$97 + GST |
| Sounds like you | After briefs and rounds of revisions | Yes, when you find the time | From week one, built from your brain |
| Short videos | Usually charged extra | Only if you can film and edit | Included |
| Your time each month | Briefing, reviewing, chasing | Several hours a week | About 30 minutes to plan and approve |
Freelancer and retainer figures: Solohourly, Social Media Manager Rates in Australia (2026).
A month of posts for less than one hour of an agency’s time
Agencies charge A$1,500–A$5,000 a month to do this for you. Vera’s Studio does the planning, writing and design, and you keep control of every post.
Try it before you pay. Your first 3 images are free and you don’t need a card. If it doesn’t sound like your business, you’ve lost nothing.
Agency retainer: A$1,500–A$5,000 a month
- Your business brain, set up once
- A new 30-day plan every month
- Carousels, image posts and short videos
- Three caption options for every post
- Direct posting to Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
- Pro: A$149 + GST a month for 300 images
Want it done for you? PinLead can run it all for you, from A$2,499 + GST a month.
See done-for-youQuestions cafés and restaurants ask about social media
Which social media is best for cafés and restaurants?
Instagram suits food and coffee best, because people use it to decide where to eat, and Reels reach locals who don't follow you yet. Facebook is still useful for events, specials and reaching older locals. Keep your Google Business Profile up to date too. Vera's Studio publishes to Instagram and Facebook from the same plan.
What should cafés post on social media?
Specials, new menu items, fresh bakes, behind-the-scenes from the kitchen and the people on your team. Add clear reasons to visit, like opening hours, events or a quiet-day offer. Vera's Studio plans that mix around your busy dates.
How can I get more customers to my café?
Make it easy to find you, easy to choose you and easy to visit. Regular posts of your real food and team help with the first two, and clear hours and a booking or ordering link on each post help with the third.
Is social media worth it for a small restaurant?
For most, yes. People often check a place's Instagram or Facebook before they visit. Steady, real posts show them what to expect. You don't need to go viral. You need locals to see you week after week.
What should a café post on Instagram?
This week's specials, new menu items, behind-the-scenes from the kitchen, the people on your team, and clear reasons to visit, like opening hours or a quiet-day offer. Real photos of your own food do better than stock images.
How often should a restaurant post specials?
Post a special when it starts and again before it ends, and keep it to the days you most want to fill. A plan that spaces specials around your quieter days stops your feed turning into one long menu.
How often should a café or restaurant post on social media?
Three to four posts a week on one or two platforms is enough for most small cafés and restaurants. Posting steadily every week matters more than posting a lot in a burst. The 30-day plan in Vera's Studio spaces your posts out for you, so the month is covered before it starts.
How much does social media management cost in Australia?
Freelance social media managers in Australia typically charge A$22–A$110 an hour, and monthly management retainers usually run A$1,500–A$5,000 a month. Vera's Studio starts at A$97 + GST, your first 3 images are free, and you approve every post yourself.
Can I use AI to write my business's social media posts?
Yes, as long as the AI knows your business and you check each post before it goes out. Vera's Studio starts from a brain you fill in once with your services, clients and tone of voice, so posts sound like you rather than a generic template. Nothing publishes until you approve it.
Do I need to be good with technology?
No. If you can fill in a form and tick a box, you can run Vera's Studio. Most people set up their brain in one sitting and have their first month planned the same day.
Free tools to get you started
Each one is free and useful on its own.
30-Day Marketing Plan
Answer 5 quick questions and get a simple plan for what to say on Google and your website. About 2 minutes.
Get my 30-day plan →AI for Absolute Beginners
A plain-English, step-by-step starter path with prompts written for small business owners. It asks for your name and email to keep your place.
Start the course →2-Minute Growth Check
Six quick questions show which area needs attention first: being found, enquiries, trust or follow-up. Instant result.
Take the check →Picture the week before Mother's Day.
Your page has been posting your food and your team every week, the bookings post went out on time, and locals already know where they're taking Mum.
Make my first 3 images freeNo card needed. You approve every post.
PinLead Studio is an Australian AI marketing agency. It builds Vera's Studio and offers done-for-you content services for small businesses.