If you are trying to promote your bar, restaurant or other Class B COAM locations on social media, coming up with what to post can seem like an intimidating hurdle - especially when considering that in order to be effective on social media, it’s important to post as frequently as you can. Below are some ideas to help your bar or restaurant’s social media pages succeed.
Create a Social Media Calendar
First of all, we recommend creating a monthly social media calendar or posting schedule. In other words, decide that you’re going to post something every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then choose your content for each day. This will require you to set aside time and plan ahead, but it will help make sure you are consistent and productive with your posting.
Decide What Content to Post
Next, you must decide what kind of content to post. We recommend trying to stick with topics and graphics that are relevant to your business and to the social media platform you’re using. For example - memes and cartoons are great, but are they in line with the message you want your bar/restaurant to convey? Also, if you’re OK with being informal on Facebook, should you be more formal on LinkedIn? Think about all your different social media outlets, and consider expanding your platform if you don’t already have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yelp and/or LinkedIn.
Here are some suggestions for what to post on your social media pages:
Holidays
You can post about major holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you decorate your bar with a Christmas tree or other holiday decorations, take pictures and share them! But don’t forget the little holidays. Do you have a delicious chocolate cheesecake? Make sure to post about it (and maybe offer a special) on National Chocolate Day.
There are plenty of resources to find fun and wacky holidays online. Use Google to find a list that works for you.
Pictures of Your Food and Drink
Take pictures of your popular menu items on your own, or check what people are posting on Yelp, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If you decide to use shared content, you want to always err on the side of caution and make sure you have their permission to re-post. It’s also best practice to give the user credit for taking the pic.
Example post - “Becky S. shared a picture of our world-famous margarita! We’re featuring them tonight along with our $1 tacos.”
Specials & Events
Post a calendar of weekly specials or make individual, daily posts to remind people about a particular special. Is there an upcoming trivia night or karaoke night in your bar or restaurant? Create an event on Facebook to highlight it.
Post What Makes You Unique
Why should a consumer visit your location versus your competitor? If you’re unsure what makes people keep coming back, check your Yelp or Facebook reviews and look for certain themes. Do people visit because one of your bartenders makes awesome drinks? Or do you have killer mac and cheese? Whatever it is, make sure to post about what customers love about you. It’s also okay to take snippets of reviews and feature them.
Example Post - Michael C wrote on Yelp “the mac and cheese here is amazing. I’ve been on the hunt for the best mac and cheese all over the US and I think I finally found it here.” Thanks Michael! Make sure to stop in on Wednesday nights for our $5 mac and cheese and see if it is really the best in the US!
Skill Gaming or Amusement Machines
Do people love your pool table? Have you recently had a big winner on the skill gaming machines? Post about it! Visit our Facebook page for graphics you can use to promote these wins, or just your games in general.
When you first get started with social media, you may find that your posts may not receive much interaction from your customers. It can be hard in the beginning to stay focused and keep creating content, which is why creating a monthly calendar can be beneficial. It will encourage you to stay on track. Keep experimenting with different types of posts and see what resonates with your customers. You’ll find your voice, and your audience, before you know it!