1. Tips and Tricks to get Your Bar on the Social Map
Gainingexposure foryourbarin the Phoenix areaisdifficultwithoutanall-aroundstrongsocial media
game. The cityhas a vibrant,youngpopulation,agenerationraisedonhashtagsandlocationcheck-ins,
so inorderto attract the right crowd; youhave to understandhow to playgame.
A comprehensive socialmediapresence is anideal wayforbarslookingto connectwithpeople sooner
rather thanlater. Also,the factthat bars are naturallysocial environments thatattract social people
putsthemin a great positiontobenefitfromthe advantagesoffered throughthesechannels.
If your promotionsaren’tassuccessful asyou’dexpected,it’smostlikelybecause youare doingthe
same thingas everybodyelse,andyouare not measuringyourresults. Itwill take alotof researchon
your part to getgoing;here are a fewtipstohelpyouget more resultsfromyoursocial mediaefforts.
FindYour Niche
If a tree advertisesinaforestandno one isthere to hearhim, will anyone show uptohispromotional
happyhour? Highlyunlikely. Knowingwhere yourcustomersengagesociallyonline will helpyouto
come up witha planto reach them. Do youknow whichsocial mediasitesyourcustomersandpotential
customers use the most?Knowingthatinformationwill helpyoucome upwiththe bestplan.You don’t
wantto waste time on Facebookif yourcustomersuse Instagram. Tofindyour customers’niche,
researchwhatis populararoundyourarea, andtest differentstrategies.Doapromotionwiththe same
special ondifferentplatforms,andsee whichone getsyouthe bestresponse.
Measuringmetricssuchas openratesand clickrates can alsoassistbars incultivatingengagementby
indicatingwhichpostsandmessagesresonatedmostwiththe audience.Whenyou know whatyour
customersrespondto best,youcan tailorfuture communicationsaccordinglytoincrease yourrate of
engagement.
Branch Out
Platformslike FacebookandTwitterare immediatecommunicationchannelsthatallow youtoshare
informationandare greatways to engage youraudience. However,the daysof promotingyour
businessonlythroughFacebookandTwitteraloneare over.Inorderto standout, youneedto know
what’strendingandtake advantage of it.Bars shouldbe workingwithInstagram(photos),Vine (short
videos) andSnapchat(deals). Alsophoto-sharingsiteslike FlickrandPhotobucketare oftenoverlooked
whenitcan do wondersforyourvisibilityandintermsof searchengine optimization.Many people
oftengoogle nightlifevenuesandsearchthroughthe 'images'section.
Ultimately,itdoesn'tmatterwhetherusersregramyourInstagramphotos,re-pinitemsonyour
Pinterestboard,retweetsomethingfromyourTwitteraccountor share one of yourFacebookposts; the
importantthingisthat they're engagingwithyourcontentsomewhereandare gettingyourmessage out
there.

2. Coordinate Your Efforts
Whatevercontentis createdshouldhave adirecttie to the brand of your businessanditsvalues.Atthe
endof the day it'sa directrepresentationof the venue. Make sure tohave the same message acrossall
your social mediapages.Keepthe same designsandinformation, soyoudon’tconfuse customers.
These actionsacrosssocial mediashouldall linkbacktoyour website andhelp drive more engagement
and traffic.
Getting Happy Hour Right
Most bars tendto be judgedbyhow creative theirHappyHourspecialsare,sothisissomething
importantto consideralongwithyoursocial mediamarketingplan. Torun a successful HappyHour
promotionandaccomplishyourgoals,youneedtohave a strategicmarketingplaninplace aroundyour
promotion,sobe sure to ask the following:
 What local customersegmentdoyouwantto target foryour Happy Hour?
 Is yourHappy Hour happeningintimesthatmake sense forthistargetcustomer?
 How doyou increase profitabilitybyhavingstrategicHappyHouroffersandtimes?
 How doyou effectivelymarketyourHappyHourto your targetcustomer?
 Are you competingwithanyotherHappyHour offersfromotherlocal barsor restaurants?
Maintain Engagement:
Social mediaisa great wayto getfeedbackaboutyourbar, and the more you putyourself outthere,the
more people will wanttointeractwithyou. Whenyougetpositive feedbackoncertaineventsordrinks,
youcan use itas a guide towhat youshouldhave availablemore ofteninyourbar. If you getnegative
feedback,don’treactina harsh way.Use itto fix whatyour customersaren’treallyenjoyingandthey’ll
oftenappreciate the factthat you were soresponsive. Here are a few more tipsto helpwith building
interestonline:
 Humanize yourbar bypostingphotosandbiosof youremployees. Thisworksespeciallywell
whenshowcasingpatrons’ favoritebartenders.
 Spreadthe word aboutany awardsyouwon,reviewsyougotor articlesinwhichyouwere
featured.
 Sendoutexclusive email promotionsorpostsecretcodesonyoursocial platformsthat
customerscan presentatthe door for reducedadmission orat the bar for free drinks.
 Monitorthe comments andotherfeedbackyoureceive onsocial media, andthen enterinto
conversationswiththe people whosharedtheirthoughts.
 Share intriguingorfunnycontentthatmay nothave much to do withyourbrand but will be of
interestwiththe peoplewhofollow you.
 Track everything,thatwayyoucan calculate the ROI.Keeptrack of all the responsesyouget so
youcan compare and improve forthe nextpromotion.
These strategieswill attracta targetedandlocalizedcustomersegmentintoyourbar and increase your
influence,reputation,andrelationshipwithinthe community. Creatingastrongsocial mediapresence

3. for a nightlifevenueisn’taseasyasflippingaswitch,butbydedicatingtime,resources,andthe same
level of attentionasotherareasof the business,the returnoninvestmentcouldbe immense.