How to...use Facebook, engaging content and other social channels

A lack of interest in social media beyond Facebook – do licensees understand the value of Instagram and Twitter?  

Facebook is a great tool to engage with your existing customers and reach out to new ones (mobile users spend one in five minutes on Facebook), but research has shown that if you aren’t sponsoring posts it can be hard to ensure people see and digest your content.

While Twitter doesn’t have as many users as Facebook, it is hugely popular among the 18-34 age group so if you’re not making use of Twitter you could be missing out on key existing and potential consumers.

Everything you post is visible to your followers, regardless of spend, and content can easily be discovered by users who aren’t following you through popular hashtags such as sporting events and current trends. Don’t forget about relevant local hashtags which can help you interact with the community around you.

Instagram is also growing at an exciting rate, and in the US it has even overtaken Twitter’s user base. It’s especially popular for sharing food and drink shots so if your offering is very strong, use your Instagram account to attract interest from foodies and beer enthusiasts and encourage them to pay you a visit.

Dealing with previous licensee’s Facebook/social accounts

Your social accounts form a key part of your communication and engagement with consumers, so social media security should be taken very seriously to avoid your followers’ trust and loyalty being compromised.

Most importantly, always ensure you know and review those who have admin rights and passwords to all your social accounts. Involve more than one person so that accounts can be well run and admin access can be gained at all times, but not so many that it’s difficult to manage content and maintain consistency. Remove access or change passwords immediately when staff members leave, and make sure that your passwords aren’t easy to guess.

If the previous licensee has left and you are unable to contact them via Facebook, you can speak to Facebook about shutting the page down and starting up a new one if you can confirm you’re now in charge. This can be a lengthy process so be persistent – it’s imperative that your page is an accurate reflection of your business.

What makes engaging content for social media?

In order to gain and maintain the interest of your followers on social media accounts the content has to be up to scratch. Quality certainly trumps quantity here – better to post a few well thought out updates than irritate followers with a barrage of irrelevant or repetitive content.

The best content for social media is engaging, relevant and timely. Images and videos can improve a post’s performance and reach noticeably so always try to include multimedia content where possible.

When creating content, bear in mind that according to Facebook’s research, good content should have:

• Reward – Is there a value or significance to the consumer?
• Personality – Does it accurately reflect the personality of your bar/brand/premise?
• Branding – Have you made your mark without force-fitting?
• Focal point – Does it have a clear purpose or call to action?