Brand to Table · 2026-05-21 · 14 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
31 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Over 16 years of restaurant marketing experience has taught Henry Kaminski Jr. that influencer marketing - rebranded as local creator partnerships - consistently outperforms traditional tactics like email marketing and guerrilla campaigns for driving foot traffic. Rather than bringing in sporadic influencer collaborations, Kaminski describes a systematic approach: calling out local creators (moms, community pages, beer enthusiasts, not just food influencers) using language that resonates with the community, then funneling applications through a Google Form tied to Instagram automation. This eliminates manual vetting overhead. The creator night strategy involves coordinating multiple creators to post simultaneously - triggering Instagram's algorithm to flag the account as "hot" and distribute it to non-followers. Kaminski emphasizes building ongoing relationships with creators rather than one-off transactions, sharing how his northern New Jersey network has evolved over the past year. He cautions restaurants to have intentional frameworks before working with creators: giving them bullet-point briefs on what to feature, ensuring the event experience matches the brand vision, and coordinating post-event timing so content drops together for maximum algorithmic impact.
Use Google Forms tied to Instagram automation: when someone comments 'creator' on your post, an automatic DM delivers the form link. Applicants fill it out and their responses go directly to you via email for vetting, eliminating manual outreach and filtering.
Using the term 'creator' generates significantly better response rates from local communities because many micro-influencers don't identify as 'influencers' and are more likely to engage when called by a term they use for themselves.
Coordinate all posts to go live on the same day and time (within a week to a week and a half of the event) so the influx of simultaneous attention triggers Instagram's algorithm to flag the account as 'hot' and push it to non-follower accounts.
Provide specific bullet-point briefs rather than scripts, telling them which food items, drinks, or day parts to feature so they maintain authenticity while highlighting what the restaurant wants promoted.
Invite multiple local creators to the restaurant simultaneously with live music to create a packed, energetic atmosphere they experience firsthand; ensure they have access to the specific menu items and drinks you want featured, then coordinate their social posts for simultaneous release.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode contains some actionable tactical advice (Google Forms automation, timing content posts simultaneously, reframing 'influencers' as 'creators') but much of it is either obvious (prepare specific briefs for creators, build relationships), padding (long setup with personal history and disclaimers), or vague handwaving (mentions a form but won't share details, talks about vetting but no actual criteria given). The core insight - that using the term 'creator' instead of 'influencer' resonated better locally - is potentially useful but underdeveloped and anecdotal.
instead of putting together an night where we have a bunch of influencers come at the same time and kind of post their content...We called it a creator night.
we have to go to ⁓ the of the event...we really want all of this content to go out on the same day at the same time...that triggers your social media platforms that tells Instagram...we got a hot account here
The 'creator night' rebrand (swapping terminology from 'influencer' to 'creator') is a minor tactical twist, but influencer marketing itself is standard practice. The underlying strategy - batch content, use automation, build relationships - is fairly conventional social media playbook thinking. No contrarian viewpoint, no first-principles challenge to the restaurant foot traffic problem, and no pushback against influencer marketing as a tactic.
instead of putting together an night where we have a bunch of influencers come...We called it a creator night
influencer marketing has been the number ⁓ strategy increasing foot traffic
This is a solo monologue with no guest. The host (Henry Kaminski Jr.) is a restaurant marketing consultant, but he provides no third-party validation, no operator perspective from actual restaurant owners, and makes no concrete claims about measurable results. He mentions 'clients' but offers no named examples, no revenue data, and no independent verification. For a B2B audience seeking practical wisdom, a single consultant's claim about 'results going through the roof' without evidence is thin.
I have been doing this for close to 16 years
of all the campaigns that we've ever ran for clients...influencer marketing has been the number ⁓ strategy
The episode lacks concrete data: no named restaurants, no attendance numbers, no revenue uplift figures, no ROI metrics, no names of specific creators, no before/after comparisons, and no actual Google Form questions shared. The claim that applications came in 'hot and heavy' is vague. The only semi-specific detail is the timing (1-1.5 week window for synchronized posting), but even that lacks measurable proof of impact. Heavy reliance on anecdote and generic language ('saw some different results').
we're going to have a packed house
when we got 10-12 creators all posting at the same time...That triggers your social media platforms
There is no host-guest conversation at all; this is a one-sided monologue with zero pushback, skepticism, or follow-up questions. The 'interview' dimension is entirely absent. The speaker occasionally mentions client skepticism ('influencer marketing, you who are these people') but immediately deflects without exploring the real objections. No one challenges the strategy, questions the data, or probes for deeper understanding. This is branded content delivery, not conversational journalism.
So I just wanted to share with you sort of the process and the systems that we have in place here
if you say to yourself, Henry, I just don't have the time...then let's have a conversation
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In Episode 62 of the Brand To Table Podcast, Henry Kaminski Jr. shares a practical restaurant marketing strategy focused on increasing foot traffic through local creator collaborations. Henry explains why influencer marketing has become one of the most consistent ways to build local awareness for restaurant clients, but also why many restaurants approach it the wrong way. Instead of bringing in influencers randomly with no direction, Henry breaks down how to create a more intentional local creator night with clear expectations, a vetting process, and a system that makes it easier to manage interest. The episode covers how changing the language from “influencer” to “creator” helped generate a stronger response, why restaurants should use application forms to qualify potential collaborators, and how Instagram comment automation can streamline the process. Henry also explains the importance of having creators post around the same time to push more attention back to the restaurant’s social media account. More importantly, he makes the case for building long term creator relationships instead of treating influencer marketing like a one time transaction.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Henry Kaminski Jr.: What up everybody? Welcome to another Branta Table Podcast episode. I'm your guest.
I'm your host, Henry Kaminski Jr., your go-to for restaurant marketing and branding. And today, guys, we're talking about foot traffic. How to increase foot traffic to your restaurant.
This has been a question that I get from my clients, and that's the reason why I'm working with them. It's the reason why they reached out in the first place. ⁓ how can you help us get ⁓ foot traffic into our doors? That is the biggest problem that we see day in, day out, year after year.
So I'm going to share with you my take on how I increase foot traffic for my clients and how we've seen the results just go through the roof as we continue to tinker and finesse this particular strategy. So I have been doing this for close to 16 years, right? And a little over 16 years at this point, right? we used to do a lot of email marketing.
We used to do a lot of guerrilla marketing back in the day. mean, thousands of printed flyers being put on people's cars and things like that. But listen, the digital world is now here and ⁓ all that still works. But we taken a more digital approach to getting our restaurants more awareness, right?
over last, let's say three and a half years, I will say that. of all the campaigns that we've ever ran for clients. The one that is been hitting constantly and consistently is influencer marketing. you love it, whether you hate it, influencer marketing has been the number ⁓ strategy increasing foot traffic and increasing local awareness for ⁓ my restaurant clients.
Now, there's a ton of ways that you can skin this cat. And I'm going to share with you different approach than your typical influencer collaboration. And got to tell you, it's been working quite well. ⁓ And takes, yes, a little bit of legwork upfront to set the thing up.
That's why here. But it has been proven. to not only increase engagement on our social media feeds, but also getting people in our doors. So one of the things that I see a lot of people doing is they bring in influencers very sporadically and no real strategy behind it.
It's either they pay them and they come and they do their thing, they post and that's it or you get a little bit more strategic with it where you have the influencer come in to talk about a specific item or day part or or lunch special or whatever it is. And don't necessarily give them a verbatim script, but you give them bullet points that they must follow when it is when they go ahead and create their content. Right. I always my clients to come prepared when speaking with.
influencers because they'll just go out and do their thing. if you don't have anything specific for them, they don't know and they're not going to read your mind and they might not even ask you. So be prepared and get ready for a specific intention when it is that you're working with influencers. Now, what we've done recently for a local client has proven to to really move the needle when it comes to foot traffic.
And here's what we did. know, a lot of times, this is something I learned over the years, a lot of times people with so large Instagram accounts or social media accounts, but have quite a bit of influence in their neighborhood or social media, they don't consider themselves influencers. They call themselves creators. And I about this for a second.
And I was like, let's switch this up this time around and see what kind of response that we get. instead of putting together an night where we have a bunch of influencers come at the same time and kind of post their content and do thing, But they're all in ⁓ the house at same time, right? We called it a creator night. We, we called out all the local creators.
So we just didn't stick with, you know, food influencers. We said we want local moms. We want beer lovers because this place is sort of a tap house type of atmosphere. Right?
We want community pages that want to get involved with a local restaurant. So we just didn't pigeonhole food influencers. spoke the community and we called them creators. We didn't call them influencers.
And I think that was step one in realizing, we're starting to get a really good response here. And I think it's because of the language that we chose to use this time around, because I will say this. I've thrown out influencer night campaigns in the past and they were hit or miss. They were.
But when I threw out this local content creator, it was like, whoa, right out of the gate, we got a tremendous response. And I was like, ha ha. So number one is pay attention to the language that you use when you call out the these influencers. Try using the word creator.
You probably will get a better response from special, the local community. Right. ⁓ that was the first thing we did. The second thing we did was created this form.
So we just didn't get anyone was interested in this to DM us. And then we would have to field several dozen and try to weed out who wouldn't be good fit, who would be a good fit. ⁓ So what I was I created this Google form. It's free.
You just go to, if you have the Google Suite, you go to Google Forms. And then you create this form. And we made this form very specific to who we were looking to collab with. Right?
we had specific questions in there. I won't get into all them. But if you want to check it out, you could always pull me aside, shoot me a DM. I can show you the, the, the, what you call it, blanking out here, the form.
So you can kind of get an idea of the questions that we were asking. But we it very specific because we wanted a specific type creator, which I talked about before, right? So ⁓ had the form, okay, created. And when somebody put the word creator into our comments, an automatic message got sent to them via DM and that DM had the Google form link.
You could call it an application if you will. They clicked on the application, they filled out the form, and then I got an email with all their information. I forwarded that to the restaurant team and we had a point person that went through that form started to weed out the good fits and the bad fits. So this is what I'm talking about when it comes to strategy and a little bit more of involved upfront because here's what happened.
Once I that event promotion or initiative. The automation did all the work for me. So it replied back to the interested party. It gave them the form.
It told them what to do. All I did was sit back, relax and waited for the forms to come in, which they started to come in hot and heavy on day one. I think that we were going to get that much of an influx of interest. right away.
I thought this was going to have kind of trickle in and maybe eventually catch some steam, but right out of the gate, these freaking application forms came flying in. So I was like, okay, we're doing something right here. So we created a system on the back end for the restaurant owner to kind of vet all of these. And we kind of, them some hints.
Like, you know, there was a couple applicants that just, I didn't think were good fits. And I just, flagged them. said, listen, guys, I'm going to send this to you anyway. You'll feel free to do what you want.
But I don't think this one might be as good of a fit as the other seven that came in. So we created this flow, this system, and it really started to work. So now what happens next? So on that specific date, right, we're having all of these influencers come in at the same time we're going to have live music.
We're going to have a packed house. So they're really going to be able to catch the vibe that we're looking for. They're really going to be able to experience the food the drinks and all of that in the vibe that we want them to experience, So once we had all that down, now we have to go to ⁓ the of the event. We got to make sure that they're all set.
They have everything that they need, that we feature the certain food items and the drink items that we want them to ⁓ feature their content. And then on the back end, once they leave, we actually are going to tell them, listen, guys, we'll give you about a week, week and a half max, but we really want all of this content to go out on the same day at the same time. Why is that? Because when you get an influx attention to your social media account, so when we got 10-12 creators all posting at the same time and tagging you and then all of their audience starts to come to your page kind of all at the same time.
That triggers your social media platforms that tells Instagram. we got a hot account here. What's going on? And then that account will start to get fed to more non follower accounts, which is what we want.
Right. And that trigger sort of pushes all of that attention. and all that engagement to your account. And that's what we want.
So that's sort of the setup this content creator night that we're creating for one of our clients. Now we're gonna rinse and repeat this for other accounts. so if we get the same creators? It doesn't matter.
I'd rather create a relationship with specific creators and have them in my network so every time I get a new client, they come with me. Right? I always, always, always lean towards relationships over one and done, you know, little pop-offs and then the next thing you know, you never talk to them again. That's not the way I roll.
I'd rather have this network. And I got to tell you, over the last year, I had about a half a dozen or almost a dozen influencers. We did a little influencer series on this podcast. Last year, that came out really great.
And I really got to meet some really awesome influencers who I'm doing work with today, almost a year later. So I have to, you know, just give a shout out to lot of the clients that I have that have given me sort of the free will to kind of execute this and put this together for them. Cause at first they were kind of like, you know, influencer marketing, you who are these people, you know, do they have any credentials? Like, you know, why should we use one over the other?
They were very, very skeptical. And I told them, listen, you know, attention's attention. And if you, ⁓ connect with the right people, which I have done over the last year, you're going to get the right results, right? So it took me a while to figure out who is who and sort of the creator world, especially in the northern New Jersey area, because, wants to be the next critic they want to be the next, you know, who's who in the game.
And I kind of had to sift through. you know, a few to kind of get an understanding of who was who. But I did. And I'm still learning.
There's there's people popping up left and right that I'm connected with. But this network that I've established has a long way. And I've seen them put out some really, really awesome content. And that's why we're working together.
So, you this time around, again, we changed the language instead of influencer night. We went with. Local creator, we call that person out. And we saw some different results.
And so I just wanted to share with you sort of the process and the systems that we have in place here. This is one of many different strategies that we create for our restaurant clients because. Listen, you got to have some sort of framework for all of this to work. If you're just throwing shit against the wall, which I know a lot of you are, or you're going to, you know, somebody that is pretty good with a camera.
and is putting out some really videos for you, that's great. But what happens after that? How do you capture all that attention and bring it in and actually see the revenue benefits from all of that work and effort and money that you're paying these people? So few things there that I wanted to share with you.
So take this and run with it. And if you say to yourself, Henry, I just don't have the time. I don't have the people. don't have the...
the hands to do this, then let's have a conversation because this is the stuff that we do behind the scenes for our client. Above and beyond all the content that we create for them to really help them get the results that they're looking for. So hope you enjoyed this episode. Let me know if you have any questions.
Shoot me a DM. I'm constantly on Instagram. So you shoot me a DM, me questions if you have any about influencer and marketing collaboration. I'll be happy to help you.
So. Have an amazing day, guys. Don't forget to like, share, comment, you leave a review, all that good stuff, because that helps this show grow. I appreciate all of you guys and all of your support.
And catch you on the next episode real soon. We got some really cool guests coming up that I can't wait to share the conversation with. So have an amazing day. I'll catch you on the next one.
Peace.
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