Why Your Bar Needs A Content Calendar
First of all, what does “content” mean? It’s a broad term that gets thrown around by “experts” such that it seems a Holy Grail needed to bring your bar marketing new levels of success. Content is just a catch-all term for the ever increasing variety of messages your customers consume on a daily basis. For example:
- Blog articles
- Facebook posts
- Tweets
- Instagram pics
- Email broadcasts
The list goes on and is not limited to the electronic world. If you’re running magazine ads, TV spots and aerial sky writing campaigns it’s all under the same umbrella of “content.” Why does it matter? Because the folks coming to your bar want to see that you’re “there”. Regulars are one thing but a new customer looking at a bar’s Instagram feed is naturally more attracted the site with regular, engaging posts versus one with nothing in the last 6 month. You need to be curating content to keep your bar fresh in the online space.
Ok, you’ve got all these options for getting your content in front of potential customers so which ones should you use and how do you possibly get your hands around it? There are statistics for every social media platform and marketing channel about why it’s the best and why you should put your time and money behind it. But really, you need to focus on the options that fit your unique audience at a bar.
A nonprofit fundraising campaign is unlikely to ask for money via aerial sky writing and an underground fight club’s schedule won’t show up as a magazine ad. For a typical drinking establishment, the big 3 social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are a good place to start. You also need to keep your website SEO on point so a regular blog article is a good idea. And finally, if you have a database of customer emails (you should) remember to periodically share content here.
Now that you’ve got your list of content channels laid out, the next step is having a plan to use each one effectively without losing your marbles in the process. Simple is good so a content calendar with each content channel plotted out will keep you on track. First, think about a frequency of posting that works for your available resources. For example:
- Blog article – 1 per week
- Facebook post – 3 per week
- Twitter post – 1 per day
- Instagram post – 1 per week
- Email broadcast – 1 per month
- Remember to focus on quality over quantity. If you can get more content out more frequently, super, but don’t sacrifice the quality of each post in the process.
From here, pick your favorite calendar option – Google, Outlook, etc. Drop the above posting schedule into place and watch the magic happen…or, not quite. Now that you’ve got your bars content calendar laid out, you’ve got to get the content itself ready.
Trying to hammer all this out 5 minutes before your calendar says its due is not encouraged. Keep it manageable, say 1-2 weeks’ worth of material ready to go at all times so you can just click “post” on the date you’ve got it due. Start with your blog posts since they’re typically the most in depth. If you need ideas on generating content, check out this site. You can also rehash old material but remember to keep it original or risk getting dinged by Google’s secret recipe for search engines. Hopefully this helps keep the content for your bar fresh and ready to go.
