Social media can be an excellent platform for venues to connect with their customers and a great avenue to increase website traffic, leading to increased bookings whilst also providing relevant and up to date information.
However, many venues set up social media profiles with incredibly high hopes for immediate, significant growth and lose heart in the endeavour when growth and engagement don’t go as fast as they may have been expecting, leading to efforts falling by the wayside fairly promptly.
Often, the initial bursts of excitement for social media subsequently turn into sporadic, occasional posting and many times gather proverbial “dust” until further notice.
If any of the above sounds familiar, we’re here to help by sharing some key tips and tricks you can implement into your social media strategy to ensure you’re making the most out of your social channels, regardless of platform or region.
Plan posts and post frequently
The key to consistent engagement and steady social growth lies with frequent planning and posting.
Planning what you’re going to be posting is important so you know the content you’re posting long BEFORE the day you’re meant to be posting transpires.
If, for example, you’ve decided to post eight times a week, creating a schedule of content will prove to be highly beneficial, eliminating the pressure of having to try and think of something on the spot.
Frequent posting also motivates social media users to engage with and comment on your content a lot more, as seeing information updated makes it more worthwhile for users to interact with and respond
Showcase your venue
You know how incredible your venue is, why not let the rest of the world know too? Instagram and Facebook are perfect for showing off your venue through powerful imagery.
For example, Instagram offers a story feature and Facebook has multiple imagery upload functions that are presented in scrolling galleries allowing users to engage more with your visuals as they scroll through the content.
You’ve heard the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words” well, studies have shown the human brain processes images on average up to 60,000 times faster than words alone. So, using powerful imagery on social media will certainly help grab attention.
Hashtags
We’re sure you’ve seen an Instagram or Facebook post with a healthy helping of hashtags in the latter part of them, they’re there for good reason.
Hashtags function as a way of labelling content and grant social media posters a wider audience by using them accordingly.
When this is done correctly, it provides posters with the ability to appear within a user’s feed if they’re looking at something that may be similarly related under the same “label” (hashtag).
Hashtags also have the potential to gain nationwide coverage as certain hashtags trend, so they’re certainly worth looking into and using – just make sure you’re using hashtags that are relevant to your post!
Cross-promotion
Social media can be an excellent opportunity for cross-promotion with partners. From acquiring permission to take and post photos of weddings to your social channels, to promoting an event within your venue and showcasing third party suppliers like florists and caterers.
The possibilities are endless and come with the advantages of accessing an audience you wouldn’t have had prior access to as you tag them into posts and they promote you through their channels too.
Virtual Tours
Providing a virtual tour of your venue can be an excellent way to give potential bookers a lay of the land that complies with their requirements and provides ease of access without the need to commute for a time consuming physical viewing.
Virtual tours can also instantly impress and provide a unique experience that can be the tipping point a potential customer needs to make a booking.
Sign Up to an Enhanced Search4Venues listing
A Search4Venues Enhanced listing is particularly beneficial for venues who don’t have dedicated staff who can undertake the responsibility of social media promotion, or if their marketing budget is stretched or limited.
Venues who subscribe to an enhanced listing benefit from exclusive social media promotion of at least four times a year, across 4 social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook).
Enhanced listings also provide your venue with the opportunity to tap into a growing, worldwide audience of corporate and independent bookers who follow Search4Venues social platforms to find venues and look for inspiration, as well as look for advice and tips.
With an enhanced listing, your venue also benefits from Search4Venues promotional videos showcasing the best features your venue has to offer. Studies have shown video can be 20% more engaging than imagery alone and in 2019 Search4Venues videos received 67% more engagement than standard imagery and text posts alone.
So, with an increased audience awareness AND increased engagement, a Search4Venues enhanced listing may just be what your venue needs.
