HOW TO CREATE A PERFECTLY BLENDED SOCIAL MEDIA COCKTAIL

Every good cocktail needs the right mix of ingredients – as does successful social media marketing. Simon Farrar from Max Marketing covers what you need to know.

It’s bartending 101. To make a cocktail you need two parts spirits, one part sweet and one part sour. It’s a simple recipe and it works.

As strange as this might sound, it’s a recipe that also works for social media marketing and I’ll show you how to apply it to your social media efforts.

In the case of social media marketing, your two parts “spirits” is you and your customer.

So, before you do anything else, you must be 100% clear about: (a) what you really offer and (b) who your customers are.

As a hospitality business, what you really offer isn’t beer, wine or cocktails. It’s the promise of fun, entertainment and a great night out.

To present this in the most appealing way possible, you need to know all you can about your customers. Not just their age or gender, but what they believe, fear and desire most. Gathering this information is a vital first step, here are some of the ways you can do this. First, talk to your customers and note what’s on their minds. Or create customer surveys using tools such as Survey Monkey. If you have a Facebook Business page, check your Insights. You can also review forums in sites like Reddit, monitor Google Trends, and note what people are reading on common news sites.

Having done this, it’s time to set your social media goals. What do you want people to do when they visit your Facebook or other page? Give you a good review? Join your email list? Visit your venue? Be sure to set goals that help you meet your overall marketing objectives.

Next, you want to choose or re-assess which platforms you use. The good news is you don’t have to use them all (doing this is often unrealistic and counterproductive). To help you choose here’s a quick breakdown of five of the most common platforms.

• Google Business Profiles: Strictly speaking not social media, but you can respond to customer comments,

it’s free and ideal for any local business. However, to rank high you must be prepared to regularly post content.

• Facebook: A great option for building a community of followers, and one every hospitality business should consider, especially if your customers are 35+.

• Instagram: Instagram could be a good option for you if your customers tend to be under 30. Or if you make exotic looking cocktails, beautifully presented food, or host colourful events that make for good, attentiongrabbing photos.

• LinkedIn: Not an obvious choice for hospitality businesses, but it may be an option if you want to target businesses or corporates. Or if you want to generate PR opportunities by connecting with journalists or bloggers.

• TikTok: Estimated to have 1.4 million NZ users, 30% of whom are only on TikTok. If your customers tend to be younger and you are prepared to make creative video content, this could be a platform to test, mostly because your competitors probably aren’t using it yet.

Once you’ve picked the platforms that look right for you, it’s time to focus on to the “sweet” part of your social media cocktail, engaging with your audience.

The thing to remember about social media is this: it’s meant to be a conversation, not a monologue. This is the biggest difference between social and other forms of media.

Yes, sometimes you need to only talk about your business, but whenever you can, create content that encourages people to interact with you – and make sure you interact with them.

A good tactic is to simply ask questions. What’s their favourite cocktail? What would they like you to offer that you currently don’t? What was their most memorable New Year’s Eve? When they do respond, reply to keep the ball rolling!

In addition to this, you could post staff member profiles, behind the scenes stories, photos of your venue, photos of the food and drink you serve, and details of offers and events.

If you really get stuck for ideas, you can even let others do the “thinking” for you. For example, you can consider re-posting content created by your customers. Or review competitors’ posts and note the ones people respond to (just don’t copy them outright).

Whatever you post, just remember social media is meant to be a conversation.

We are all a little addicted to drama. Without it, your social media feed could become boring and being boring is a social media marketing sin. Which is why you should add this “sour” ingredient to your social media mix.

For example, when posting about an event, tap into your customers’ FOMO (fear of missing out) or post your opinion about an issue dear to your customers’ hearts. Don’t be afraid to even add a sprinkle of controversy.

Of course, you want to do this in a measured way, but get it right and this “sour” ingredient will help increase readership of and engagement with your posts.

On the flip side, this drama may also be directed at you. The more you post and the higher level of engagement you generate, the more likely it will be that you may have to deal with a complaint, bad review or grunting troll at some stage.

If you are lucky, your loyal customers will jump to your defence, something which often happens. Otherwise, if it’s a genuine complaint, respond sincerely and ask the person to speak directly with you. In the case of a troll, either ignore them… or use it as an excuse to make your customers a special, limited time offer!

Of course, your best approach is to have guidelines ready for community management, including a complaint handling process, guidelines for posting, and topics you won’t touch or talk about. Plus, it is worth brushing up on the law surrounding the promotion of alcohol, and the Privacy Act.

While there is a balance to be had, and it may not be something you are entirely comfortable with, adding a touch of drama in the right way is an important part of social media, or any, marketing. When it comes to maximising engagement and response, it’s an ingredient you don’t want to leave out.

And that’s it for how to blend the perfect social media marketing “cocktail”.

• Take two parts “spirits”: what you really offer and a deep understanding of your customers.

• Add one part “sweet”: actively engage with your followers and customers.

• And finish with one part “sour”: shake and stir them a little to create some controversy, but don’t go overboard with this.

Get these things in the right balance – and have the discipline to post every other day – and you are well on your way towards having a successful social media strategy.

Max Marketing provides marketing strategy, planning and implementation throughout New Zealand. For eligible businesses that qualify, Government support may be available for some of these services. For more information visit www.maxmarketing.co.nz or call 0800 GET MAX. ■