Social Media Marketing for Pubs - Tips & Tricks

The days when pubs and bars could run successfully without marketing campaigns are long gone. Social media marketing for pubs and bars is extremely important in today's world. However, it has become difficult for marketers to keep up with continuous algorithm updates, changing customer habits, and evolving trends. 

Whether it be a countryside pub or a city-centre bar, pub or bar owners are always on the lookout for new social media marketing strategies to help them stay ahead of their competitors. In recent years, the pub and bar industry has become highly competitive. Therefore, to retain their customers, pub and bar owners have no choice but to develop new pub marketing strategies continuously. 

Do you also feel like your social media marketing plan for your pub has become stagnant? Worry no more. From social media marketing to customer engagement and SEO, we have brought amazing ideas and strategies to get your pub or bar back on top charts. So, scroll down to explore the best practices for crafting a pub marketing plan in 2023. 

8 Bar Marketing Ideas to Increase Your Bar's Social Media Growth in 2023 

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Are your regular tipplers decreasing in numbers? Well, in that case, they might be enjoying their time in the bar next door. Pubs or bars with stale social media marketing campaigns usually lose their regular customers to competitors. If you want to avoid that, here are a few bar marketing ideas to attract and retain customers using your bar's social media platforms:

Use High-Quality Images

Posting pictures of delicious food and refreshing beverages work like a charm for foodies, who are your key audience. Many pubs or bars post images of food but fail miserably to attract new customers. Do you wonder why? It happens when the images are of poor quality, less relevant, or in most cases, copied from Pinterest. Over the years, customers have become smarter and can easily identify fake images. 

Therefore, instead of posting fake food or beverage images, bar or pub owners should post authentic, compelling, professional, and relevant images taken or made by professional photographers or graphic designers. Once you get the image part right on your bar's social media profile, many foodies will surely be tempted to try your bar or pub at least once. 

Promote Special Offers and New Product Launches

Who does not love special offers or discounts? Absolutely no one. Therefore, you should offer creative social media perks to keep your bar or pub full of customers. People always check the bar or pub's social media profiles for special offers and discounts before paying a visit. If there are no special offers or discounts on your bar's social media platforms, the customer might turn to any of your competitors. 

Also, have you launched a new dish or beverage in your bar? Use your bar's social media platforms to create a buzz around and invite people to join you for the upcoming product launch. It is a tactic that has worked wonders for many businesses. The more special offers and product launches, the more footfall you get at your bar. 

Optimise Your Bar's Social Media Profiles 

Digital marketing for pubs requires a good understanding of search engine optimisation. Imagine you post mouth-watering images and creative social media perks. However, they do not reach your target audience. Will the engaging content on your pub's social media profile be of any use then? Absolutely not. Therefore, to increase the visibility of your pub's social media platform, you will need to optimise it.

Not sure how to do that? Here are a few optimisation tactics to ensure your pub remains on the top of search results:  

• Use high-ranked niche keywords in the bio
• Use popular hashtags in your posts 
• Adds CTAs on key areas of your social media platforms 
• Provide complete contact details 
• Pin important content or promotions for improved visibility 

Nowadays, search engine optimisation has become crucial for any business. Therefore, it is no surprise that business owners are paying SEO experts significantly to optimise their social media profiles. However, if you don't have the resources to take help from any SEO expert, you can optimise your pub's social media using the abovementioned strategies. The more you populate your bar's social media platforms with keywords, hashtags, valuable menus, and booking details, the more search-friendly your bar gets. 

Humanise Your Bar on Social Media Platforms 

Bar's social media profiles are often loaded with logos and taglines that create a barrier between the establishment and customers. People believe that business pages are always there to sell them something, which is absolutely true. However, sometimes it turns offs users. 

Therefore, it has become important for bars or pubs to humanise their brands by sharing their story. You can post behind-the-scenes snippets of your bar or pub's daily operations to connect customers to your bar or pub. Also, you can share your pub or bar's achievements. 

Offer Personalisation 

One of the biggest trends in nightclub marketing is personalisation. According to Zonal and CGA reports, 80% of customers are interested in personalisation when visiting pubs, restaurants, or bars. As a result, many bars or pubs have already started giving their valuable customers personalised drinking experiences. 

If you have not added personalisation to your pub or bar, you are missing out on something big. In recent years, personalisation has turned the tables for many small businesses. Here is how you can offer your customers a personalised experience at your bar or pub: 

• Provide custom drink offers 
• Allow the customers to blend and customise their orders digitally
• Give customers discounts on their birthdays to make them feel valued
• Give customers tailored recommendations or present them with personalised menus that incorporate their favourite dishes and drinks
• Offer loyalty schemes and VIP perks for your regular tipplers

Improve Your Bar's Google Presence 

While there are now many social media platforms and search engines, Google remains the king. From new to old-school foodies, everyone loves to search for new hanging out spots on Google. Therefore, you should also register your bar or pub on Google using a free "My Business" tool. It will help you add your bar's location, operational hours, photos, and customer reviews. 

Once your bar or pub is registered on Google, chances of more local customers showing up at your bar will increase as Google Maps will direct everyone that searches for a bar in your area to your business.

Allow Online Ordering  

According to a popular marketing agency for pubs, bar digital marketing strategies can fail miserably if you don't give your customers a quick and easy way to act on the information they receive on your bar's social media platforms. In today's digital world, online ordering has become a necessity. Even if your bar or pub doesn't deliver food, online ordering can help customers select food for pickup or reduce waiting time on their visit to your bar. 

Share Quick Recipes 

Do you want to keep customers engaged on your bar's social media platforms? Post quick recipes for food or drinks. Anyone following a bar or restaurant on social media loves good food. Many would also be interested in making good food or drinks. 

Posting quick food or drink recipes will keep many people hooked to your bar's social media platforms. Also, they will share the recipes with their loved ones, increasing followers or customers. While creating these videos, you must feature your popular chefs or bartenders to give your customers a chance to see them in action. 

Conclusion: 

In today's digital world, no business can survive without a social marketing plan. Staying up to date on marketing trends has become crucial to any business's success. Therefore, if you want your bar or pub to be at the top, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort improving its social media presence. Bar marketing ideas can increase revenue and grow your business quickly. Nowadays, every bar or pub is paying close attention to social media marketing and adopting the abovementioned strategies. Are you wondering how to stand out in the crowd when your competitors are using the same strategies? Creativity. The more creative you get with social media content, the more popular your bar will get!