Why it's important for your online presence to reflect your venue?

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Choice

Hospitality is an extremely competitive industry and this, means there are hundreds of choices for where people can eat. A strong online presence can mean that when customers are searching the internet for somewhere great to eat, yours will be one of the first to pop up and far more likely to be chosen. It is important that this online presence is strong and at the forefront of the search engine for your target audience to avoid your venue getting lost in a sea of restaurants/pubs/inns also with an online presence.

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Communicate Your Brand

When creating a strong online presence you must ensure that you communicate your brand and exactly what it has to offer. For example, if it has a great atmosphere, you should brag about that! Another way of communicating what your venue has to offer is to create a section of your website or social media dedicated to telling customers what they can expect from your venue on their first visit.

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Connect

Above all else, you want to use your online presence as a tool to connect with customers efficiently. You should research what your target audience is looking for and meet these standards! Knowing this and displaying it online will direct foot traffic to your venue and its social media. Knowing where your contact points are with your customers is pivotal to your venue’s online success. There should be an online presence on all of these contact points whereby customers can connect with you, whether this is through a website, social media, email, or all of the above. Whatever it takes to make them sing!

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Timeline

Customers love to hear how far your venue has come, from beginning to end. Share and tell a story online, maybe a history or ethos. This will help connect further with your customers and display strong determination and progress. 

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Unique Selling Point

Why is your venue different from all the others? What makes your venue unique? Why should customers visit your venue and not another one? It is important to communicate what your venue has to offer that cannot so easily be gained anywhere else in the market. This is your unique selling point, which should be made aware to your customers online as a way of branding your venue further.

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How to Seduce Customers to Visit Your Venue

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It is important that you try wherever you can with your online presence to show why people should want to visit your venue.

This can be done by:

• Deliver strong visuals in the form of photography and video edits.
• These media forms can be of food, service, and accommodation if relevant.
• Impressive food and drink menus that are up to date.
• Create a mood - whether that be cosey, lively, traditional, modern, or funky.
• Express yourself and your character.

This is a great determiner for many customers as to whether your venue fits the occasion for which they are visiting.

Sharing who opened your venue and the staff will show that you are as staff friendly as you are with your customers. This is another great way to connect with customers and communicate who you are as a brand. Think about your tone of voice and how you are going to express this.

Make sure all the prerequisites are easily accessible:

• Location
• Opening times
• Food serving times
• Food and drink menus
• Table reservations

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Gastro Pubs

If your venue is a gastro pub, the mentioned strong visuals are essential. You should show dozens of stunning visuals of the food and dining experiences you have to offer. Another great way of reaching customers online is by staying in touch with the trends, whether this is with the food you serve or how you market your brand. This will help customers gather a clear understanding of how great your venue is and how they are promised an amazing experience choosing you.

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Inn Pubs

Your venue falls under the category of an inn, meaning that you offer accommodation as well as a dining experience. Online, there is a great opportunity for you to share that you offer two great experiences in one. You should give strong visuals of food and the dining experience, the same way you would a gastro pub. However, it is important that you also take this opportunity to share strong visuals of the rooms and facilities you have. Being an inn also means that you should share with customers why the area where you are situated is worth visiting. Have a section dedicated to sharing the history and great tourist points of the surrounding area, providing images of them, this could be of beaches or local walk trails, etc.

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