EAT, DRINK, TWEET, SLEEP, REPEAT: SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RESTAURANTS, BARS & HOTELS

Here at Shoo, we love nothing more than working with businesses to create an effective social media strategy that is beneficial to their offering. Hotels, bars and restaurants are particularly well placed to shout from the social media rooftop but are they using it to their full advantage?

Although good old-fashioned word of mouth still helps to promote and influence such businesses, consumer habits are changing. The difference between a good social media presence and a great social media presence can make all the difference when deciding where to eat, drink and/or stay, so if your hotel, bar or restaurant needs to up its social media game, read on…

Put your business on the map
Scroll through your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter feed and chances are you will come across several people who have ‘tagged’ themselves as being somewhere or ‘checked in’ at a certain location. Let this place be you and through a simple view, like, retweet or comment, your business could be viewed by an impressive online audience.

Spread the love
If, for instance, your business has its own Facebook page, then this allows your customers to leave reviews and feedback. Be confident in what you do and don’t be afraid of a potential bad review (you can’t please everyone and it’s the way you handle it which is important). If potential customers can see all the good things that people are saying about you, then chances are they’ll give you a try.

Interact with your target market
You are followed on Twitter, liked on Facebook and tagged in Instagram, because these people have a genuine interest in your business. You can take advantage of this and make your approach more personal by engaging with your audience and replying to their comments. A personal touch can make all the difference, especially to a large, ‘faceless’ business.

Provide an incentive
Who doesn’t love a freebie? Using your social media platforms to provide an incentive such as a competition is a great way of building brand awareness, creating a buzz, growing your online presence and enticing new customers. It’s also an effective way of promoting any offers you have or any last minute deals you want to make your target market aware of.

Use the data at your fingertips
Through social media, you essentially build up a database of potential and existing customers. They don’t need to fill out a form or leave their details with you – you have direct access to them through their social media account. Who are they? How old are they? Where do they live? Analyse this data and get a better understanding of your market.

Be visible
If your customers can clearly see the links to your various social media platforms (a sign on the wall will do!), then chances are they will use them, especially if there’s free Wi-Fi! From tagging you in their Facebook status or simply following you on Twitter, it’s one more step toward increasing your brand awareness online.

These are just some of the reasons why social media is important to businesses such as hotels, bars and restaurants. Hopefully you can see that by using a variety of social media platforms, it can help you to build a further awareness of your brand and in turn, get more paying customers through your door.

If you’d like to discuss in more detail how to portray your business in the best light online, then we’re happy to help. We understand that behind every successful business is a team of busy people focusing on their areas of expertise, so if you don’t have the time to manage your social media platforms effectively, we can do all the hard work for you. Simply email [email protected] or call us directly on 01943 430245.

Website blog link: http://shoosocialmedia.co.uk/eat-drink-tweet-sleep-repeat-social-media-for-restaurants-bars-hotels/