By Matt Plapp
Let me tell you about a Facebook post that lit up the feed like a crazy dinner rush.
Circles & Squares Pizza Co. in Newark, Ohio, asked its audience: “How many pizzas do you think we sell on an average Saturday?” That’s it. No coupon. No sales pitch. No limited-time offer. Just a question. And guess what? The internet responded. Within 13 hours, Circles & Squares had received:
- 129 comments
- 34 shares
- 50 likes
- More than 6,000 views
This simple post crushed everything else they’d been posting, even their best food photos. Why? Because it was social.It pulled people into the story. It invited interaction. And most importantly, it felt human.
As someone who’s helped more than 2,500 restaurants scale their marketing and who’s obsessed with helping mom-and-pop shops win the attention war, I’ll say this bluntly: You need to stop treating Facebook like it’s Valpak with a news feed.
Here’s the problem: You’re using social media like it’s 1997. Every week, I see restaurants post the same stale content:
- A pizza photo
- “Order now!”
- A special deal
And guess what? It gets two likes—one from your cousin, the other from your manager’s mom. Meanwhile, the algorithm buries your post faster than a pizza in a deep freezer.
The truth? Social media is not about promotion, it’s about connection. If your goal is to sell more pizza (and it should be), you’ve got to stop selling. Start engaging. Make people stop scrolling. Make them think. Make them comment.
And posting contests like “guess how many…” gets them to stop and engage.
The Power of Asking Questions
When you ask a good question, people lean in. They feel smart. They want to participate. It taps into a primal part of the brain that says, “I have an opinion, and I want to share it.”
That’s why questions work better than sales posts. They invite interaction, which boosts the post’s reach, which leads to more eyeballs, which leads to…more pizza orders. Just like Circles & Squares did.
12 Powerful Questions Any Pizzeria Can Ask Right Now
There are a few ways you can attack this. First, you ask questions and have contests that are “undercover food posts” like the question from Circles & Squares: “How many pizzas do we sell on a Saturday night?” Second, you engage customers with questions and contests about what’s happening outside of your restaurant, whether it be sports, your community or holidays.
So, with that in mind, I’m going to give you a sample question for every month about your food and about other topics. Here’s a quick list of high-engagement, no-brainer prompts you can copy/paste (or tweak) to post starting this week:
12 Food-Focused Post Ideas
- How many pizzas do you think we sell on an average Saturday? Guess below for a shot at a $25 gift card!
- Pineapple on pizza: yes or no?
- Are you team Blue Cheese or Ranch?
- Which drink has to go with your pizza order? Pepsi, Coke, Dew? [Note: Don’t list what you don’t sell.]
- Chicken wars: Drums or flats?
- Do you have a “go-to” day of the week that is PIZZA DAY?
- Boneless wings or traditional wings?
- If you could name a pizza after yourself, what would be on it?
- Finish this sentence: The perfect pizza is ____.
- Who in your family eats the most slices? Be honest!
- Crust: stuffed, thin, hand-tossed or deep-dish?
- What’s your favorite childhood pizza memory?
12 Non-Food-Related Facebook Post Ideas
- Who’s going to win the big game?
Comment below “Cincinnati” or “Kansas City” for your chance to win a $25 gift card! [Pro tip: Don’t use “Super Bowl” to avoid trademark issues.]
2. Valentine’s Day is coming fast!
Tag the special person in your life for a chance to win a $100 gift card for V-Day dinner.
3. Bracket Madness is back!
Comment below with the college you’re betting it all on—one lucky winner gets a $50 gift card during the tournament run.
4. Mother’s Day is next month—and Mom deserves more than just one day.
We’re featuring special stories about moms in our pizzeria community. Comment with a memory (and a photo, if you have one) of you and your mom for a chance to win our Mother’s Day Prize Pack.
5. Dad’s got tools on the brain this Father’s Day!
We’ve partnered with Ace Hardware to give away a $250 gift card. Comment below if your dad should be entered to win!
6. We’re feeling patriotic for the 4th of July!
Check out all the American flags we’ve placed at the restaurant [insert image]. Guess how many flags are on display—closest guess wins a $25 gift card!
7. Fantasy Football fans—who’s your top draft pick this year?
Comment below and let’s see who’s building the ultimate squad.
8. Back to school time = Throwback time!
Post a blast-from-the-past school pic of your kids for a chance to win a pizza night on us.
9. Now let’s see those new school year pics!
Comment below with a photo of your little ones kicking off the school year—cutest pic wins a gift card.
10. Halloween is creeping up!
Drop a pic of your kids in their past Halloween costumes for a chance to win a $25 gift card!
11. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
Comment below and let the delicious debate begin.
12. 3…2…1…GO! Best Christmas movie of all time?
Comment below with your pick—one random entry will win a holiday treat on us.
These aren’t throwaway posts. They’re conversation starters that build community, increase reach and lead to sales. But if you stop there, you’re still leaving money on the table.
As you’ll notice, not all posts need to have a contest. It doesn’t hurt, but with the right question, people will happily engage for free.
Next-Level Move: Making Comments Equal Sales
What if every person who commented on your Facebook post was automatically added to your marketing database? That’s not a theory—it’s a proven play.
Take a look at the data below. It comes from a pizzeria in Ohio using Facebook’s Comment Growth Tool (CGT) to fuel its VIP program.
Let’s break it down:
- The pizzeria posted engaging content using simple questions.
- When someone commented, the page automatically messaged them, captured their data, and added them to a traffic-driving promotion.
- From the Facebook comments alone (lines 2 and 3), 333 people opted in.
- Out of those, 126 redeemed an offer and came in to spend $2,368.77.
- That’s a 38% redemption rate and nearly $2,400 in sales, funded by engagement.
Let that sink in. This wasn’t a paid ad campaign. This was organic engagement turned into bankable revenue. All from asking smart questions, combining it with a bot, and following up with an irresistible offer.
Multiply that by 50, 100, 200-plus comments, and you’re not just going viral—you’re building a revenue machine. Now imagine doing that every week.
Final Thoughts: Attention First, Pizza Second
Social media marketing isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about getting smarter.
People don’t come to social media to be sold to. They come to scroll, laugh, argue and answer questions like “Is pineapple on pizza a crime?”
So meet them where they are. Ask questions. Spark conversation. Capture data. And then, once you’ve earned their attention, sell the heck out of that pizza.
My name is Matt Plapp. I’m the CEO (chief energy officer) of America’s Best Restaurants. I’ve worked with thousands of restaurants since 2008 when I started this company, and over the next 12 months, we will help 2,500-plus restaurants with their marketing. This is the latest article in an ongoing series of columns for PMQ Pizza to help restaurant owners understand the gold mine we have to market in 2025—and beyond.
