Is it still worth using Facebook to promote your hospitality business?

We look at who uses Facebook now and what it can do for your business

What is Facebook?

The social media giant continues to be the most popular social media platform in the UK with over 44 million active users. You can use it to connect with customers through sharing updates and events, posting photos and videos, and advertising.

How Facebook can benefit your business

Widen your customer base by ‘liking’ local businesses and where relevant tag them in your posts. Facebook’s event listings are brilliant as even if someone doesn’t follow you, they can see you through the local events section. So, make sure live music and sports events are on there.
According to Sprout Social’s 2022 Social Index, Facebook is the most popular customer service social channel. Get a team member who is a service star to respond to people on your page. Reply to comments and direct messages as quickly as possible. Showing you’re present and friendly will create a good feeling about your venue.
Get your venue noticed by more people by boosting posts or creating paid adverts. Putting money into boosts means more people can see what you’re talking about and you can choose who you want to target – by age, location, gender and interests. You don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds. Start with £20-£50 and see how it goes.

Who uses Facebook?

GEN Y (MILLENNIAL) Age 28-42
GEN X Age 43-62
BABY BOOMER Age 63-82
24.5% of users are aged 25-34
Users aged 65+ are a growing group
The number of users aged 18-24 is declining

The three key demographics using Facebook

What’s Facebook all about?

Reels

As on Instagram, Reels are popular on Facebook too. If you haven’t used them yet, give it a go. You film them within the app and they can be up to 90 seconds long. Add fun effects and music to make them stand out.

Use Reels to show off new food or drinks, offer promotions for slower nights or highlight your team doing fun challenges to show their personality.

Live video

As the name suggests, this Facebook feature is all about going live! It’s a fun way to create buzz around your venue and show exclusive, behind the scenes views or promote a particular dish or drink. Make sure you’re prepared for it – plan what you’re going to say and get your best video-taker and your most chatty, charismatic team member to take charge.

Chef adding the finishing touches to a dish

Paid adverts

Try adverts to expand your audience. They’re easy to set up and needn’t cost much. Use your best photos and keep the text snappy. You can choose a goal – push people to book, send customers to your site, get more page likes and more.

If you’re holding an event soon, set up the listing then create an advert to promote it in your area. Start small with £20 and monitor it.

“60% of consumers use Facebook to get customer service, so ensure you check it often”

- 2022 Sprout Social Index

How to do Facebook well

Upload your menu One of the top things customers will want to see is your menu, so upload it in a post and pin as a featured post so it appears at the top of your page.

Encourage reviews Get your team to ask customers to leave a review if they’ve had a good experience. Five stars means a lot when looking for somewhere to visit.

Set up bookings Add a ‘book now’ button to your profile to make it easy for customers and boost bookings.

Check-ins Customers are doing marketing for you when they ‘check in’ at your venue. Get more customers to do this by offering incentives for check-ins – 50% off your first drink perhaps?