4 REASONS WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS GREAT NEWS FOR YOUR BAR

We are sure many of you have your own personal Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram accounts but does your bar have one? As more and more customers are using the internet to find out information on the hottest bar in town, new drinks and taking photos in every venue they visit, it is more important than ever to get involved.

Whether you are a bar manager or bartender, social media matters to you and your venue. The best social media accounts are ones where the personality, style and uniqueness of a venue is displayed and the bar interacts with their customers. Here are our top four reasons to get your bar involved in using social media.

1. GET YOUR BAR FOUND

Unsurprisingly, the internet is the place where everyone is going to first to get their information. Your bar may already have a website, but more and more people are checking a venue’s Facebook page for this information. Some things to consider are:

• How often you update your social feeds. We recommend posting a couple of times a week with key information about promotions, what’s going on in the bar, any news, new staff, etc.
• The benefit of having social media is that you can do a post about holiday opening hours or simply change the hours in the "about" section on your Facebook profile.
• You can also add a map to your Facebook profile so people can easily find you.

2. IT’S COST EFFECTIVE

Before social media, many venues would have used costly ads, flyers and signs to promote their bar but now with social media you can reach a much bigger audience, for a smaller amount of money. Some of the top things you can share include:

• Promote your bar’s drink menu
• Showcase a new cocktail you have created
• Share an event
• Show the interior and style of the venue
• Share an exclusive offer on your Facebook page that only your fans can use
• If your bar gets any press coverage or you or one of your fellow bartenders wins an award, you can share this information easily and tell the world how great you are!

Another way of promoting your bar is allowing your customers to do the work for you with Facebook check-ins, tagging accounts and hashtags. You want your customer to be easily able to mention you in their social posts every time they go to your bar and take a photo. Social media can really promote the bar’s personality and that of the people who work there and, of course, the more successful your bar is the more successful you will be.

3. TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY

Nowadays more and more people are coming to a venue’s social media pages to ask questions, make complaints and of course give compliments! Social media allows you to:

• Give customers a quick response – something customers are expecting more of all the time.
• Build a personal relationship with you customers just as you would when you work behind the bar.
• Conveniently make suggestions and answer booking enquiries.

One thing to be aware of is to ensure you do not promote drinking to anyone under the legal age of purchase.

4. KNOWLEDGE

One of the biggest bonuses of being on social media is the access to influencers in the drink industry and creates engagement. You can tweet, tag and private message some of the biggest names in the industry and ask them questions. This is a great way to engage with influencers and create association with brands. For example, if you make one of Gerry’s Calabrese’s cocktails, why not tag him and tell him! Customers will see this initiative and assume you are a bar that is leading the industry too. Whether that’s asking a brand ambassador about the best way to make a cocktail or tagging your favorite brand in a cocktail you have created. Social media is an exciting place to gain knowledge and showcase your unique talents and what makes your bar different.

STAYED TUNED!

So whether you mention these reasons to your manager or offer to take charge and help run the social media accounts with some other bartenders—now is the time to start!