3 tips to market your hospitality business
It’s essential to think about the hospitality landscape and how it’s evolving. There are more venues opening than ever, which means you need to think beyond running $1 oysters during happy hour or two-for-one spritzes. You want your venue to go the distance—here are 3 tips to kickstart your marketing strategy.
Get your venue listed
There are many platforms guests rely on when choosing where to have their next meal. And while you can’t control if your venue makes city lists or roundups from traditional media, it’s well worth reaching out. If you’re working with a PR agency, put together a list of publications you’d like to be featured in and have an account manager pitch to editorial teams with information about your venue as well as an invitation to come in. While comped meals come at a cost, dining experiences can be capped and
it often pays off if your venue is publicised on a national platform with a large audience. You can also list your venue on Facebook, TripAdvisor, and Foursquare to expand your reach and target a wider demographic who may not use Instagram or TikTok.
Create unique and high-caliber content
Food content is big business on social media and it’s time to take a multifaceted approach to posting. While grid posts and 24-hour stories are the bread and butter of Instagram, video content is the winner when it comes to reach and engagement. If your content is lacking, it’s not going to resonate and the analytics will show that, so it’s best to reach out to content creators and videographers to see how you can work together. Paid social should also be invested in on a regular basis to ensure your content is reaching the right audience and bringing new customers in.
Develop a brand identity
Ideally, this is done before a concept launches, but it’s never too late to iron out the basics of your brand. Branding covers everything from your venue’s name to the typeface on menus, colour scheme, tone of voice, content style, packaging, merchandise, and even atmosphere. Nu Dake in Seoul, South Korea, is an excellent case study. Every part of the patisserie’s former shopfront was considered by the design team, with pastries displayed on a table bookended by a giant croissant statue and another located near the register. Croissants were everywhere—from the feet of a plush sofa, to the backs of chairs and the wall outside. Staff wore uniforms with—you guessed it—croissant motifs complete with a pair of croissant Crocs. It could be easy to veer into kitsch territory here, but the execution of the space conveyed the brand so well. Most customers who came to the store posted about their experience on social media, which meant there was constant messaging broadcasted to a global audience. The point is that Nu Dake offered customers more than just pastries—it provided a unique experience beyond food and beverage anchored by the DNA of the brand.
This story was originally published on hospitalitymagazine.com.au
