Choosing the Best Hospitality Marketing Agency in London

If London is known for anything, it’s the hospitality. From fish and chips to fine dining, pubs, bars, takeaways, and everything in between, if you’re looking for somewhere for a bite to eat, something to drink, or music and dancing, you’re spoilt for choice. But if one of these venues is your business, standing out from the crowd in such a bustling marketplace can be difficult. So, choosing the best hospitality marketing agency in London is a vital element of your success.

But that’s easier said than done. Just google “nightclub marketing” for example, and you’ll be met with thousands of results from agencies and solopreneurs, all vying for your attention and your money. So how do differentiate between the teenager working from their bedroom and the established agency, and make the right choice for your investment?

Whether you’re looking for pub marketing, a marketing agency for bars, or a one-off service for your pop-up venue or event, you need to do your research well. In particular, at ttagz we recommend that you consider the following factors when looking for the best hospitality social media marketing agency.

Experience

Everybody’s on social media these days, but that doesn’t qualify everyone to deliver effective digital marketing for pubs or restaurants. You need to find an agency that understands the hospitality sector, and has in-depth knowledge of the unique challenges that face the different types of establishments they serve, and how these challenges flow and evolve over time.

The world of hospitality changes from season to season. Then there are fashions and trends that influence what people eat and drink at any given time. Even the political climate can impact licensing and zoning. So, it’s vital that the partner you choose to handle your social media marketing understands the particular demands and requirements of your unique corner of the market.

You want someone with proven experience, who doesn’t need a lesson in what differentiates a pub from a bar from a café. And you want someone who can show their effectiveness with a portfolio of happy customers behind them.

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Expertise

And then, of course, comes a deep understanding of the medium. It’s one thing to know the industry, and another entirely to know the right channels for you. While the restaurant down the road might find its customers on Instagram, yours might spend more time on TikTok, Facebook, or even LinkedIn. Knowing where to find your new clientele can mean the difference between marketing bucks well spent, and money down the drain.

There may be plenty of providers offering social media marketing for pubs, for example, but how many of them know which times of day you should be posting for maximum organic reach? How many of them know how often you should be posting? How many and which hashtags should you be using?

They also need to keep up to date with changes to the relevant platforms. Does your chosen agency know how the Instagram update in September 2022 affected the performance of existing marketing strategies? And do they know about forthcoming Instagram updates? Or what about the recent privacy questions facing TikTok? This deep level of understanding, and a commitment to the latest industry best practices, can make a big impact on the effectiveness of your marketing partner.

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Creativity

Of course, at the heart of any social media marketing campaign, there is the content itself. You want to ensure that your business is properly represented, but capturing the audience's attention requires more than a few nice pictures of your shopfront or interior. Whichever agency you choose should be buzzing with pub or bar marketing ideas. They should know just what it takes to stop people scrolling and pay attention. And they should know the difference between your clientele and those of your nearest competitor.

Is the focus sexy? Is it funny? Is it tasty? Is it high concept and avant-garde? Perhaps your goal is to use your marketing channels as an information resource. What’s on the menu this week? Who’s DJing? Which bands are playing? Do you need to reach out urgently to let everyone know you’re closed due to a burst pipe?

Ultimately, your content and the way you use it should be aligned with your business identity, your strategy, and goals. And, of course, it must look good. This is such a given that it’s easily forgotten. But does your chosen marketing partner have the design and video skills required to do your business justice?

Getting to know you

Any experienced marketer will know that the most effective marketing is simply an extension of your business’ voice, values, and visual identity. And any marketing activities that you undertake should be completely in alignment with these things. They should represent the best of you, what you stand for, and what you have to offer. 

If you pride yourself on serving the finest guest ales, then you wouldn’t focus on your décor. If your USP is the quality of service you give to your customers, you wouldn’t base your marketing on your location. Or perhaps it’s a combination of factors that make you unique, special, and appealing.

 For any marketing agency to effectively represent you on social media or anywhere else, they must know and deeply understand you. They should spend time getting to know what’s important to you, what makes you tick, and why your customers come to you, rather than the other place down the road.

This kind of relationship requires an investment of time and effort by all parties, but it’s a worthwhile investment. Taking the time upfront to understand who you really are is like fuelling a rocket to the moon. Get it wrong and you’ll fall short. But if you get it right, you could go all the way.

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Network and Research

As any businessperson knows, the most effective marketing is word of mouth. And why should a marketing agency for pubs or bars be any different? So, use your network. Speak to your colleagues in the business, to friends and family, and find out which agencies they’re using. Are they any good? What kind of results have they had? What worked and what didn’t?

Read online reviews and draw up a shortlist. And then speak to a few who seem to know what they’re doing, and see if you resonate with the people behind the company name. Get to know them. Do you like them? Can you work with them?

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Speak to us

It stands to reason that here at ttagz we’re confident that we tick all these boxes. We’re proud of our stand-out engagement rates and believe we have what it takes to get new customers through your door.

But don’t take our word for it. Give us a call for a friendly chat. We’re an approachable bunch and eager to show you that we’ve got what it takes to elevate your business to the next level. We believe that delivering success to our clients is about building synergistic relationships based on honesty and openness. We’ll be happy to explain our philosophy for driving multi-site growth for your business, about how we raise awareness and engagement, and discuss our different customer packages.

And if you think we’re not the right fit for you, that’s absolutely fine. After all, this is about the success of your business and you’re about to spend your hard-earned cash, so it’s either a “hell yeah” or it’s a “hard no”. In the bustling hospitality market, there’s no room for half measures, and you need to stand out from the crowd, so make sure you choose the right partner for your business.

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