Social mediaCocktail bar marketing ideas that fill the quiet nightsMidweek and early-evening cocktail bar marketing ideas, from menus and bartenders to events, plus the UK drinks promotion rules you have to follow.Venuesmith for bars
Social media for bars, planned and posted for you
Tell Venuesmith what's on at the bar (a new cocktail list, a guest bartender, a DJ on Friday, the Champions League nights) and it plans weeks of Instagram and Facebook posts around it. Each post is written in your voice, put on your branding and booked in for a good time of day. You go through the plan, tweak anything you like and approve it in one go.
Instagram and Facebook. Nothing goes out until you approve it.
One sentence plans the next six weeks
Type what's coming up the way you'd say it to your team. Venuesmith turns it into a plan of posts you can read through and edit before anything is made.
“Tuesday cocktail club, a guest bartender on Thursday, Friday DJ nights and the Champions League games”
Built for how a bar actually runs
Drinks with the right prices
Add your drinks list once and posts quote the serves and prices you actually charge.
Events for the quiet nights
Tastings, guest shifts, DJs and live music come from your events list, so the midweek nights get their own posts and not just the weekend.
Match nights sorted
Subscribe the bar to the competitions you show and plans use the real fixtures. Each match post is checked again just before it goes out and held if the kick-off has moved.
Your voice on every post
Set your tone and the words you never want to see. Some bars add words like bottomless or unlimited, so no post ever reads like an irresponsible drinks deal. Drafts that use a banned word get rewritten.
What the posts look like
Two examples for a made-up bar. Yours use your own photos, layouts, logo and colours.
JRjuniperroombarManchester
Tuesdays from 5Cocktail club.Three new serves every weekJuniper Room
juniperroombar Cocktail club starts Tuesday from 5. Three new serves every week, made by whoever's behind the bar that night, with the menu chalked up by the door. Walk-ins welcome.
JRjuniperroombarManchester
Friday from 9DJ till late.Free entry all nightJuniper Room
juniperroombar Friday from 9, a DJ till late and free entry all night. The cocktail list runs till close and the kitchen does small plates till 10.
How it works
- 01Connect your accountsLink your venue's Instagram and Facebook, then add your logo, colours, menu and events.
- 02Set your brand rulesYour tone, emoji and hashtag style, caption length and the words you'd never use.
- 03Describe what's coming upOne sentence plans up to six weeks of posts. Line plans up back to back to cover months.
- 04Approve the planChange any caption, photo or time, then approve the lot. Posts go out on schedule.
Pricing
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Cancel any time.
Starter
£49 / month
- 1 location
- 60 posts a month
- 2 team members
- Instagram and Facebook publishing
Pro
£149 / month
- 5 locations
- 300 posts a month
- 10 team members
- Instagram and Facebook publishing
Agency
£499 / month
- 50 locations
- 3,000 posts a month
- 50 team members
- Instagram and Facebook publishing
Questions bar owners ask
Can we stop it using certain words?
Yes. Add them to your banned words and a separate check rewrites any draft that uses them. You might ban words like bottomless or unlimited, along with anything that just isn't how you talk. Drinks promotions still have to follow the licensing rules where you are, so check your offers before you approve them.
Does it work for sports bars?
Yes. Subscribe the bar to the competitions you show, such as the Premier League, the Champions League or the Six Nations, and plans use those fixtures. Each match post is checked against the latest fixture data just before it publishes and held if the date or kick-off has changed.
Does it post to Facebook as well as Instagram?
Yes. Venuesmith publishes to Instagram and Facebook today, with each post formatted for the platform it goes to. Stories, email, WhatsApp and SMS are on the roadmap, so they aren't available yet.
Will anything go out without me seeing it?
No. Every post waits in your queue until you approve it. You can approve a whole plan in one go, or open any post and change the caption, the photo or the time first.
Guides for bars
Social mediaCocktail bar marketing ideas that fill the quiet nightsMidweek and early-evening cocktail bar marketing ideas, from menus and bartenders to events, plus the UK drinks promotion rules you have to follow.
Live sportMatchday posts for sports bars: what to post before, during and afterWhat a sports bar should post on matchday, hour by hour: a timeline from morning to full time, example captions and how to avoid looking official.
Seasonal and eventsHow to promote pub events: quiz nights, live music and moreHow to announce, build up and fill quiz nights, live music, comedy, open mics and tastings with Facebook events, posters and email, and which licences apply.