Marketing your business without Facebook? That’s like making a Manhattan without whiskey. Today, Facebook bar marketing is a must: 4 out of every 5 American adults use Facebook – and 76 percent login daily. The secret is mixing up the perfect Facebook bar marketing cocktail with the latest tools, trends, and these 20 pro secrets.
DO Use Facebook Events
1) Set Up an Event
One of the best-kept secrets of Facebook bar marketing is the “Events” functionality. Here’s why it rocks…
When you set up an event on your bar’s Facebook page, guests can select “I’m Going” or “Interested.” Facebook considers that an RSVP, then does this for FREE:
Suggests your event to friends of those who RSVPed – exposing your bar to more people
Sends an automatic reminder about your event to all RSVPs
Allows you to post messages to all RSVPs – use this to send your own event reminders, and to post photos or videos after the event
Don’t have events lined up? Supercharge your Facebook bar marketing with these 11 easy bar theme night ideas to draw crowds – even midweek.
2) Promote Your Event
To ensure your event is seen by customers, pay for Facebook bar marketing. Facebook lets you define who sees your event, so you’re not wasting money. Even spending just $50 would likely yield great results.
EXAMPLE: Let’s say you’re hosting a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament. With the latest gaming system, it’s super easy to run a poker tournament at your bar. You’d target your poker event to ages 25-55 within 5 miles of your bar who like pages related to poker.
DON’T Just Post on Your Own Page
Want to be seen by thousands of potential guests? For free? Try this super easy Facebook bar marketing trick now…
3) Use The “3 Minutes, 3 Things” Trick
Spend 3 minutes a day interacting on OTHER Facebook pages, doing 3 things: reacting, commenting, or sharing.
The secret is to do these 3 things as your bar – not as you, the individual. That way, when your bar comments on a photo or hits “like” on a post, thousands of people could see YOUR bar’s logo, name, and message!
Now, let’s put this Facebook bar marketing trick into action…
4) Unlock the “Secret Newsfeed”
When you log into Facebook, you’ll see your personal newsfeed.
But most bars don’t know this Facebook bar marketing secret: you can create a newsfeed for your bar, too. This makes it easier to do the “3 Minutes, 3 Things” by putting all page updates in one place.
DO it! Visit your bar’s Facebook page –> Click “See Pages Feed”
5) Start by Liking Other Businesses
To add businesses to your bar’s newsfeed, search for the business name in Facebook, open the page, and click “Like as Your Page.”
Not sure which pages to like? Answer this question: Which businesses and brands does my ideal customer like?
EXAMPLE: If you run a sports bar, here are Facebook pages to like as your bar:
- All local sports teams
- Any local craft breweries or micro-distilleries if you carry their product
- Nearby businesses (so you can promote your happy hour)
- Sports radio shows and other local radio, TV, and news media Facebook pages
- Any neighborhood or community organizations
6) Strategically Comment
Don’t abuse this Facebook bar marketing trick by spamming other pages with “Come to our bar…it’s great!” You want to ADD to the conversation.
EXAMPLE: You’re following a brewery that posts a pic of their new double IPA. Comment with: “Wow! Looks awesome, our customers LOVE your pale ale. Can’t wait to put your double IPA on tap.”
Now, fans of that brewery see you carry their beers. Plus, the brewery will appreciate your compliment. You could also share their post to your page. Showing love for other businesses is important because of our next Facebook bar marketing pro tip…
7) Use Facebook Messenger: Ask Other Pages to Promote You
Ask for shares like a Facebook bar marketing pro! First, install the Facebook messenger app. Then, message the pages you’ve followed and ask them to share your post. Only do this when your event or promotion is shareworthy.
Need ideas for shareworthy content? THIS Facebook bar marketing tip has you covered…
DON’T Wing It. Create a Content Calendar
It’s simple to schedule Facebook posts in advance. Instead of hitting “post now” click the “schedule” button to pick the date and time your content will post. Use this list of Facebook bar marketing content ideas to get started:
8) Use the Facebook Slideshow Feature
Video posts are 135% more likely to be seen on Facebook than photo posts. Need a quick way to create a video? Use Facebook’s built-in slideshow maker. You can select a title, music, captions, and up to 10 photos to create an eye-catching video in minutes. Here are a few slideshow Facebook bar marketing ideas:
- Meet Our Bartenders
- Top 7 Drinks
- New Menu Highlights
- Trivia Night Wrap Up
9) Go Live! Night
Like Facebook events, Facebook’s “Live Video” function includes powerful free promotion…from Facebook itself. To go live, hit the post button from your smartphone, then select “Go Live.” You’ll begin recording video that is streamed live to your Facebook page. Here’s the best part of live video Facebook bar marketing: When you go live, Facebook alerts all of your followers that you’re live…for free.
Designate a busy night as Go Live! Night and let your patrons know you’ll shoot live video for a few minutes. Guests will love the chance to star in your video and you’ll benefit from free, high-visibility Facebook bar marketing.
If your live video turns out great, you’ve got an instant Facebook bar marketing win! So, add it to your page’s video library. If it’s REALLY good, “pin” the video to be the first video anyone sees at your page. Not loving the video? You can delete it. It’s like it never happened.
10) Post a Clever Quote
Great Facebook bar marketing shouldn’t seem like advertising. Try posting a witty beer or cocktail-related quote as an image.
To turn your quote into a graphic, use one of these 15 easy graphic quote generator apps.
Know the 20% Rule! Keep any text on your image to 20% using Facebook’s own image checker. The “20%” rule is required if promoting or “boosting” your image. Some Facebook bar marketing experts believe it even impacts if your image appears at all in newsfeeds.
11) Use #Hashtags for Days of the Week
Tap into trending hashtags with your Facebook bar marketing. Here are a few popular hashtags and ideas:
#MotivationMonday: Post one of your beer quote graphics
#TacoTuesday: Offer 2-for-1 margaritas and a trio of tacos
#WineWednesday or #WhiskeyWednesday: This is an easy one! Take a beauty shot of a different wine or whiskey each Wednesday and offer a great special
#ThirstyThursday or #ThrowbackThursday: Offer throwback pricing on pitchers of beer…pick a different year each week using this historic listing of all beer prices!
12) Name This Drink
Record a short 30-second video on your smartphone of your most charismatic bartender whipping up a mystery cocktail. Then ask your Facebook community to name that drink! To maximize your Facebook bar marketing, go live when recording the video.
13) Celebrate National Drink Days
Here’s an easy Facebook bar marketing idea: post a graphic or a promotion based on national gin and tonic day (October 19th), or sangria day (December 20th)…or any of the dozens of days of the year dedicated to specific types of booze! Use a hashtag to align your Facebook bar marketing on a national level…some experts believe Facebook shows posts to more people if it uses a nationally trending hashtag.
DON’T Skimp on Paid Facebook Bar Marketing
14) Boost a High-Performing Post
Facebook bar marketing can get complicated fast if you try to use all of the advertising options available! Start simple. Find your recent, top-performing post and then “boost” it to reach new customers for an amount that YOU select. To see which posts have been shared, liked, or commented on the most, click “publishing tools” at the top of your page.
15) Use Free Analytics
You can also use “publishing tools” to look for patterns in your content. Look at the following factors to guide your future Facebook bar marketing:
- Do posts at certain times of day get better engagement?
- What about day of the week?
- When you post videos do they perform better than photos?
- What types of photos get more attention? Is it because of people shown, bright colors, little text?
DO Customize and Optimize Your Page
Don’t skip this essential Facebook bar marketing step! You’ll help more customers find your bar on Facebook – and on search engines like Google. There are dozens of ways to customize your page, but here are the top 4 most powerful Facebook bar marketing settings to adjust now:
16) Pick the “Restaurant and Cafe” Template
Simplify your Facebook bar marketing by choosing the “Restaurant and Café” template. It puts your menu, offers, location, events, and reviews front and center. Already set up your Facebook page? No worries. You can instantly – and endlessly – switch templates.
DO It! Click: Settings –> Edit Page –> Templates
17) Keep Tabs on Your Tabs
You can even customize your page’s tabs for powerful Facebook bar marketing. No events coming up? Hide the events tab. Need to hire a bartender? Turn on the “jobs” tab. Want to collect email addresses? Sweet! Deploy the “sign up” tab.
DO It! Click: Settings –> Edit Page –> Templates –> Tabs
18) Create Your Preferred Page Audience
Help Facebook help you! Tell them what kind of audience you want to reach with your Facebook bar marketing. You can define age, gender, interests, location, even income ranges.
DO It! Click: Settings –> Preferred Page Audience
19) Claim Your Vanity URL
One 25 people have liked your page, you can change its URL. This is crucial for Facebook bar marketing and SEO (search engine optimization). So instead of a random series of numbers, you’ll have: www.facebook.com/yourbarsnamehere.
DO It! Click: About –> Edit Username
20) Verify Your Page
Facebook wants to show users legit pages – not sketchy ones. Verify your page by having Facebook call to confirm it’s really your bar…and Facebook even says “you’ll be seen by more people.”
DO It! Click Settings –> Edit Page –> Page Verification
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