20 Topics Your Venue Can Post About on Social Media When You Can’t Think of Anything Else
It’s been a busy year for the hospitality industry, dealing with the COVID-19 impact and other related concerns like the hiring shortage and supply chain issues. And on top of that, you still have to do the daily tasks that keep a venue running like marketing.
Marketing is sometimes the last thing you want to devote time to on your to do list, but it is still vitally important to help draw customers and prospects to your venue. On those days where you open your venue’s Facebook page or Instagram account and. your first thought is, “I have no idea what to post,” try one of these 20 ideas to keep your social media marketing going.
1. What’s on the menu today
This is one of the easiest posts you can do — remind your followers about what you serve, even if it’s been on the menu forever. Your classic menu items are still around because people love them. This photo shared by Jamison’s in Hampstead, N.H., will help drive returning visitors.
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2. Discounts on hotel booking
Your hotel most likely offers different discounts for the seasons, holidays, and other occasions. Make sure to post about them on social media early and often to spread the word. The Briar Barn Inn’s photo of the inn’s sign and the fall backdrop of Rowley, Mass., is the perfect image to illustrate their fall promotion.
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3. Repost a customer
If you’re tagged on Instagram, Facebook, or other platforms, this is great news. It means that your customers are talking about you and they’re creating free content for your venue. Repost your customers’ posts but make sure to send them a direct message first, asking if it’s OK. And don’t forget to tag them in the post. Cherry Cricket in Denver reposted a customer’s image of their smothered green chili cheese fries, which acts as a delicious endorsement of their venue.
4. Private event setup
Your venue is the perfect location for your clients’ events so show it off! Photos of your space decorated and prepped for different events can motivate new clients to book with you. Bryant Park Grill in New York City has an amazing space for wedding ceremonies and receptions, as you can see from this photo album they posted.
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5. Menu specials
Your restaurant always has a special happening for the day, the week, the month, or the season. Let your customers know what menu items are in the spotlight. Blend Baton Rouge created a charcuterie and wine pairing special and creatively showed it off with a collage of the special on their chalkboard and a photo of a pairing.
6. Date night ideas
Couples are always looking for something to do for date night. Create a date night menu or discount to make their date night plans easier. The Brunswick Hotel’s Noble Kitchen and Bar in Brunswick, Maine, promoted their date night special, which includes a 3-course prix-fixe menu for $60 per couple.
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7. Meet the team
Everyone on your staff has an interesting background and contributes their own special set of skills and personality to your team. Sharing a brief profile and photo can help your customers get to know the people behind the venue. Beach House Pompano in Pompano Beach, Fla., accomplishes that with this photo of their employee and a descriptive caption.
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8. Holiday event bookings
The holiday season is almost underway and there are plenty of families, friends, and corporate planners eager to start making their celebration plans. Post a photo of your space, food, past celebrations, or anything that can help visually show what you offer for the season. Cassia in Los Angeles shared an image of their outdoor space set up for a party and a call to action with a link in the caption to make booking easier.
9. Sports specials
Whether it’s college teams or professional teams, there are groups of people who want to gather outside of their homes and watch the games. Your venue can be a regular spot for this. Use social media posts to encourage customers to come in and watch the game. Or, take a cue from Bokamper’s Sports Bar & Grill in Fort Lauderdale and create a happy hour around game nights.
10. Changes to the menu
Adding something new to the menu or reviving an old favorite? Talk about it on social media. Le Diplomate in Washington, D.C., posted a photo of their farmer’s cheese with sherry-poached figs when they brought it back on the menu.
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11. Restaurant week
Just about every city and town has a restaurant week at least once a year when local eateries offer specials or multi-course prix fixe menus as a way to encourage residents to dine locally. If you’re participating, share a photo about what you’re offering for this special menu. Foundry Kitchen & Tavern in Sandy Hook, Conn., not only posted a photo of their vegan barbecue dinner for two, but they also tagged two local restaurants and encouraged customers to dine at their restaurants.
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12. Catering
Catering has been trending this year for customers holding events at home or other locations as a safe way to serve meals. Don’t keep your catering program a secret! Daniella’s Cafe & Market in Danvers, Mass., shared this image of a custom charcuterie board to let their audience know that not only do they have catering, but clients can customize their orders.
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13. Happy hour
If your restaurant or hotel has happy hour drink or food specials, talk about it in your marketing. You never know when a reminder will prompt a few customers to stop by on their way home from work. Luke Restaurant in New Orleans is so committed to happy hour that they’ve painted a sign about it on their window.
14. Merchandise
Does your venue sell T-shirts, hats, or drinkware with your logo? How about sauces or spices or other ingredients? Some venues are lucky enough to have a celebrity chef or staff member, and sometimes those notable employees write cookbooks. Sahadi’s in Brooklyn has been promoting the cookbook, “Flavors of the Sun: The Sahadi’s Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients,” by co-owner and culinary director Christine Sahadi Whelan.
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15. Seasonal menus
There are certain cravings that you and your customers experience during the seasons, like tropical cocktails in the summer, or pumpkin in the fall. Your customers are eager to find out when their seasonal favorites are back. Carlyle Grill in Ann Arbor, Mich., knows that when the temperatures cool off, diners are looking for comfort food so they posted this image of their famous French onion soup.
16. Dog-friendly spaces
For dog-owners, having neighborhood spots where your furry friends can join you is a must. If your venue has outdoor space that’s dog-friendly, send out a reminder to your customers, especially as the weather warms up. The Penrose in New York City has a dog-friendly patio with bowls of water served on the house.
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17. Holiday booking incentives
One way to make sure your holiday booking calendar fills up is to offer incentives to clients that will make their planning — and budget — a little easier to manage. The Brownwood Hotel and Spa in The Villages, Fla., shared a post that lists incentives such as complimentary dance floors and meeting planner accommodations, to anyone booking their holiday events early.
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18. Overcoming an obstacle
We all know that event mishaps are going to occur sooner or later. But you can use them as a way to show your clients that your venue will overcome any obstacle thrown your way to pull off a successful event. Killians Events in Waterloo, N.Y., shared how they were able to make an event happen despite a power outage.
19. Openings in availability
The COVID-19 lockdown caused a lot of delays and rescheduling of events, and the ripple effect has resulted in cities and venues that completely booked for months. Use this to your advantage on social media. If you have a cancellation or rescheduling, tell your followers about your availability opening up so they can book right away and you can fill that open date. When the Riverview Room had an availability for a March wedding, they were quick to point it out on social media.
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20. Cocktails
When you are really stumped about what to post, cocktails never fail. Cocktail lovers will always stop scrolling to admire a photo of a beautiful drink. Meaux Space in New York City captures the mood of Halloween and spooky season with this image of their black martini.
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Next steps for better social media marketing
Use these tips and ideas for inspiration when creating social media posts, but don’t forget to evaluate how effective they are in bringing you engagement, website traffic, and event leads. Start by using Tripleseat’s lead form link and TripleseatDirect link in your social media posts when talking about private dining, events, catering, tastings, meal kits, and other products and services customers can access through those sites.
Then, use Tripleseat’s reporting tools to discover which social networks are sending you the most activity and put more effort into the networks and post types that work. Not yet a Tripleseat customer? Find out how Tripleseat can help streamline private events at your venue.
