It’s easy to get caught up in the social media hype and feel as though your bar or restaurant is getting left behind. That being said, many bars and restaurants seem to be using social media just to say that they are online, and they aren’t really getting anything out of it.

Social media does take some time and effort, but with that should come positive results and increased business.

The Brief:

Pulse Nite Club was looking for a cost effective way to build anticipation for the grand opening of a night club in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio.

The Strategy:

We created a Facebook business page and Twitter account to build Pulse Nite Club’s social media presence online. A Facebook Ad campaign, targeting 21-45 year olds in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio, was implemented to attract users to the new page.

After creating a social media presence, we customized each page. The Facebook page included a customized landing tab that was the first thing seen by Facebook users upon visiting the page.

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We executed a social media strategy a month in advance of the opening. Starting on February 16th, the strategy encompassed a mixture of interactive questions, updates on anything from drink specials to a newly hired DJ, and even a featured countdown until the grand opening.

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Numbers:

In a span of three weeks from February 16th to March 11th, Pulse Nite Club went from no fans to 450 fans on their opening night.

February 19th to the 20th saw a jump in daily interactive users from 0 to 56. The number of fan comments went from zero per day to 32 per day on opening night, with a total number of 344 daily active users.

From opening night on, at least half of the people who were fans of the page continued to interact daily.

Results:

On opening night, Pulse was at full capacity with little non-social media advertising. One Facebook fan commented that when she left at 1:00 a.m. the night of the grand opening, there was still a line out the door to get in.

Customers continued to interact with the page daily. Any inquiries regarding drink specials, cover charges, and hours of operation were directed toward the Facebook page. With a quick response rate to customer comments and concerns, customers quickly came to see the Pulse Nite Club Facebook fan page as a customer service area.

After the grand opening, the fan page was tagged in reviews posted by Facebook users. Fans were coming back to the page to share their experience with Pulse, as well as other users.

If you’d like to set up a similar campaign or are looking for some direction on Social Media to drive sales in your business, then give Barry and the team at Interactive Hospitality a call on the number below now.

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Once you click on the deals tab, this is what you’ll see.

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We live in a world where marketing opportunities have become easier and more available to the common man, yet many see this devolved world of marketing  as an easy way to target as big an audience as possible in the hope that “something will work”. Such an effort was never more obvious than when one of my colleagues at Interactive Hospitality received an email from a local bar. I’ll let you read the conversation below and make up your own mind as to whether this is the right way to market your business. For obvious reasons (although I’m tempted not to, I have protected the identity of the bar): Email #1 received by colleague:

OK, it all seems fairly normal so far, nothing wrong here, if anything, it sounds like it’s my colleague’s lucky day, until she realizes, she’s never been to the bar, so she replies:

A reasonable response considering we all get too much spam, worry about our personal details and spend half the day deleting garbage from our inbox. In fact, she wouldn’t have done anything until ALL her friends received the same email this morning letting them know that they were winners too!

And so, the classic response:

Yep, you read it right: “Sometimes they will make up the information….”. Now, I have more than a couple of issues with this. First of all, from a business perspective, there are more efficient ways of attracting customers than going into a dark room blindfolded with a shotgun and hoping you’ll hit your target. Second of all, it’s illegal.

Third, maybe it’s time to inform your marketing staff of the legal, ethical and business guidelines associated with how you collect, store and use personal information before it comes back to bite you in the ass.

Fourth, thank you for the laugh this morning, because although this is a serious issue, antics like this make life easier for the bars that make an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.

Rant over.

Yesterday, Facebook began rolling out the new layout for Pages. This update now allows more opportunities to optimize your brand presence on the social-networking site. Upon upgrading to the new layout, Facebook offers a guided page tour. The tour touches on changes in navigation and wall settings, but it barely scratches the surface.

Here’s what the updated layout means for your bar or restaurant:

Login

One of the biggest, and possibly most significant changes, is the ‘Login as Page’ feature. This gives the admin the ability to comment as the Page on other Pages or public profiles. Previously, if admins wanted to comment on public profiles on behalf of their bar or restaurant, they would have to do so under their own name. This change allows the admin to stay behind the scenes.

Alternatively, the new layout also opens the possibility of featuring admins as Page Owners.
By extending your Page’s reach, Facebook has opened the door for more personalized interaction and customer engagement.
Bear in mind, though, that the updated layout doesn’t give your Page the same rights as a Profile. A Page cannot post on a user’s wall or comment on his or her status updates, unless that specific user has opted for the ‘everybody’ privacy setting.

Note: If you would like to comment on a page, for which you’re an admin, as yourself and not your bar or restaurant, be sure to adjust the settings accordingly under Edit Page > Your Settings.

Photos

Despite the fact that Pages still don’t have the same rights as profiles, they’ve certainly taken a step toward it in terms of photos. Fans can now see a stream of featured photos at the top of the profile recently uploaded by the Page.

This allows for your bar or restaurant to specify which photos are visible to fans. Perhaps you’d like to showcase new menu items or maybe you’d like to feature your staff. Whichever you choose, the updated layout makes that possible.

Note: the stream of featured photos will not include any images uploaded to the wall by fans.

Merging and Customization

In terms of merging Facebook Places with your Page, the updated layout allows for customization to still be viewable. I previously advised against the merger, as the Page would then lose the ability to maintain a customized Landing Tab, which would incentivize ‘liking’ a Page.  However, the new layout gives Pages the best of both worlds. Your bar or restaurant can merge the two and still uphold any customization and it now saves you having to check both pages for spam, comments and posts.

Fan History

New to the ‘home’ view of the fan page are icons that allow admins to see an overview of fan history, which includes recent likes and notifications.

By clicking on these icons, you can now see the most recent fan interactions with your page.

This feature allows your bar or restaurant to potentially reward fans. Incentivize liking your page further by offering the ‘500th Fan’ with 10% off their next tab.

Note: By default, Facebook has customized the settings for your page. This default setting makes it so that you will receive an e-mail for each fan comment you receive. To change these settings, visit Edit Page > Your Settings.

If you haven’t already started, here’s what you need to do next:

1. Set your pages category and sub category

2. Set your wall preferences

3. Add featured Page Owners

I can help you set up your Facebook Business Page, create a content strategy for your bar/restaurant. This includes full customization of your Facebook presence to include a welcome screen, email capture, gift card sales and much more. Click the button below to schedule a free 20 minute phone call where I will personally recommend ideas for you to get more engagement on Facebook.

Don’t confuse Twitter with a sales channel. Twitter is, by its very definition, a “social network”. Follow our rule of 1:4 for content. This means for every 1 promotional tweet, you should have 4 replies, retweets, local recommendations or other interesting content.

If you don’t understand Twitter, don’t jump in headfirst. Just observe and pay attention to what people are saying to get an understanding of how to use Twitter effectively.

Get customers involved

Twitter is a great way to engage your customers. Get Followers involved by asking them to name a new cocktail or menu item. Reward the most creative Follower for their suggestion by giving them the newly named item for free.

Challenge Followers to answer a trivia question or “name that tune”, offering an incentive such as a free drink or appetizer to the first Follower to answer correctly.

Share local events

Show your interest in the community. Twitter is a great forum to share local events and encourage Followers to visit your area. This will keep your current followers informed and show them that you care about more than just posting your daily specials.

This will also help you gain new followers. Your tweet will appear as a result when anyone searches about the event on Twitter, which guarantees more exposure.

Answer customer service queries

Twitter can enhance customer service instantly. If someone tweets a question or concern about your bar, you have the opportunity to answer them immediately. Customers appreciate having their voice heard, and they will definitely appreciate your prompt response.

Share photos

Photos can be shared on Twitter as quickly as you can snap a shot on your mobile phone. Instantly share photos with your customers by uploading them to Twitter directly from your phone. Who doesn’t love a “behind the scenes” look at their favorite bar? Snap pictures of your daily special, staff members, kitchen and whatever else you can think of!

Instead of sharing photos from your mobile phone, you can always upload them through twitpic.com.

Keep an eye on the competition

One of the advantages of social media is the opportunity to see what your competitors are doing, and what people are saying about it. Use search.twitter.com or hootsuite.com to set up searches for your competition’s Twitter name, and see what customers are saying about them.

Is your competition using social media effectively? Use their Twitter as inspiration for ways to better engage your own customers.

For more tips and information about using Twitter, check out http://business.twitter.com/.

I can help you set up and create content for your Twitter account. I can also help you get set up properly on Facebook, Foursquare, and Facebook Places. Click the button below to schedule a free 20 minute phone call where I will personally recommend ways to improve your current online activities.

Whilst walking through the countryisde of Kildare in Ireland recently I stumbled upon one of the most unique bars I had ever seen.

What you’re seeing here is a 40 foot long container complete with Murphy’s Irish Stout sign, two picnic tables on the roof, a ladder on the side to climb up and out of view are a number of beer kegs lying around! There’s even an overturned patio heater up there for when it gets cold!!!

Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

2009 is all but gone. It’s been a tough year for some, a hell for others and the end of the road for many a drinking establishment. But let’s face it, the year is almost over. We could lament and mourn the passing of the year, but instead I propose we celebrate.

Celebrate the end of the year, the start of a new year and the hope and potential this new year brings. Hopefully a lot has been learned from the past 12 months to ready you for the year ahead. Whether you have learned anything or not, I can guarantee you one thing. NOTHING will be achieved in 2010 without a plan, so here is your ready made bar action plan for 2010. Consider it your New Year’s Resolution for your bar.

1. I will begin the year by getting rid of all staff members that infect the business, prevent me from reaching my goals and don’t gel with the organization. I will not regret this decision as it will help the business in the long term.
2. I will have my vendors tender their best prices on their products again even if I did it a month ago. New year, new mentality, new profits!
3. I will undertake a physical food & beverage inventory every week without fail. If I don’t have the time or expertise, I will outsource this and will take action on all issues arising from my inventory results as I know about them.
4. I will tweak my business to suit demand, rather than expecting the population to change to suit what I’m selling.
5. I will regularly request feedback to make sure I am providing what my customers want.
6. I will meet other business owners outside of the bar industry frequently to brainstorm business ideas and collaborative possibilities.
7. I will learn to say no to hair brained ideas with no potential, but to never say no the customer.
8. I will work at removing gray areas in my business and instead introduce black and white standards and procedures that my staff will understand, will help my customers and allow me reach my business goals.
9. I will revisit No.1 half way through the year.
10. I will continuously analyze, optimize and monitor the results of my resolutions and tweak as necessary.

If anybody wants to publicly announce their own additions or versions of this for their own business, then add your comments below and we’ll all help you stay on track!

I’m sitting in a hospital waiting room as I type today’s post. My wife is having gall bladder surgery so Dr. Bar Blogger is on call to be there when she wakes up.

Looking around at the systems, procedures and controls in place here in the hospital, it made me wonder what prevents smaller businesses adopt them.

Let me give you an example. When my wife was registered at the desk, she was “tagged” with a bar coded bracelet. From that moment on, we could track her whereabouts on any of the large flat panel monitors mounted around the waiting area.

We knew when she was in pre-op, when she having surgery and when we could expect to see her afterwards. It really was amazing to see a large hospital follow the same procedure over and over again for each patient.

Nurses had hand held scanners to read her bar code everytime they needed to do something and attendants wheeled computers around the wards taking insurance and contact info from patients.

It occured to me that the reasons most bars, restaurants and kitchens don’t reach their margins or they “lose” stock is that a simple rule has not been established for each process and if it has, it’s not followed and rarely punished when not adhered to.

How can a hospital process thousands of patients a day, yet bars and restaurants often struggle with tracking bottles of bear and strips of steak?

It’s down to systems, consistency of systems, measurement and response.

Forgetting any one of these in your business is the reason you’re not reaching your goals and struggle to find out why.

Step 1. Establish a system/procedure
Step 2. Train staff in that procedure
Step 3. Implement a system of monitoring whether the trained system is being followed by staff.
Step 4. Punish/replace those not capable of following your rules.
Step 5. Continued monitoring and tweaking if the system as needed.
Step 6. Repeat for each area of your business.