By Megan Prevost
Bars and restaurants are always the last businesses to adapt to modern technology, like social media. While it may seem like a drag, especially if you’re a small, local bar with not a lot of employees, having an active social media presence should be on your list of priorities. An active social media presence can help you not only attract new customers, but engage with regulars.
Customers who follow bars on social media do so to get the inside scoop, the information that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. By giving them the content they’re interested in and therefore increasing their interest in your brand, they’re more likely to visit your bar when they’re craving a drink instead of another place that they’ve interacted with less.
However, while there are so many benefits to running a social media account, we totally understand that it can be, well, draining. Creating a content calendar is one of the best ways to ensure you’re staying on top of posting. To prevent social media burnout, create batches of posts at once and schedule them out. This way, you don’t have to worry about updating your page every few days.
Another way to prevent burnout is to mix up the type of content you’re posting. This will benefit both you and your customers in the long run. If you’re bored of posting the same types of content over and over again, chances are your followers are bored of seeing it. If you’re looking to change things up, here are a few different ways to do so.
1. Giveaways
Giveaways not only draw the attention of your current followers, but you can use them as a way to gain more followers.
There are many ways to run giveaways on social media platforms, but one method on Instagram seems to be the most popular. For every friend a follower tags in the comments, they get an extra entry. In exchange for helping you grow your follower base, they get a better chance of winning whatever the prize is. The people that they tag may be interested in winning, and therefore will follow and tag more people.
The winner may even be someone who had never heard of your bar before seeing the post. In these giveaway posts, you don’t have to give away anything large. Prizes can range from a free bottle of wine to free drinks for a night. It’s completely up to you.
2. Event Information
Like we said earlier, many people follow businesses on Instagram to get the inside scoop and stay up to date on all things surrounding your business. The same is true with bars. People want to know what’s going on. If you’re holding an event, getting the word out there is important. While you should definitely advertise in-house by way of flyers, table tents, and more, advertising on social media is a great way to ensure you don’t miss anyone.
In these posts, you should include all the vital details about your event, such as the date, time, and type of event. Is it trivia night, karaoke night, or ladies night? Tell the people what they need to know! You can even offer a discount on cover for people who show your social media post at the door, incentivizing more people to follow and engage for future events.
3. Menu Spotlight
Break up pieces of your bar menu and showcase them on your accounts, especially when you change up your menu and add new, delicious creations. You can do this by utilizing posts, stories, or reels/TikTok. Short-form content has taken over the social media space, and this is a great way to create fun, satisfying content. Use your in-house bartenders and create captivating videos of them making fan-favorite drinks.
When the seasons change or when a holiday is right around the corner, upload content that matches by showcasing holiday drinks or new seasonal drinks whenever you can. By showing new options, you may entice regular customers to stop in and try something new! You may even catch a new customer (or a few) with these new, enticing videos.
Mix Up Your Social Media Content
Not only is it important to mix up the types of content you’re posting, but also the platforms that you’re using. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are some of the most popular platforms these days, so you should ensure that you’re using all of them to your advantage. Twitter is best for text updates and short information, while Instagram is best for photo and video content. TikTok, of course, shines when it comes to short form content, and Facebook is a catch-all, where you can post pretty much anything.
It may seem daunting to take over the task of social media, but it’s important for your business. With intriguing non-repetitive content, you’ll be able to build up your audience in no time, therefore increasing your customer base.