UFC is the largest and most recognized MMA brand in the world. Joe Hand Promotions is the only authorized provider in the United States, so call them to place your order at 800-557-4263! They provide FREE marketing materials to their customers to help promote UFC events, such as posters, swag, etc. Here are some additional things you can do to promote UFC at your bar:
- Raffle off UFC swag items provided by Joe Hand Promotions
- Raffle off gift cards to your bar
- Rename your samplers/appetizers
- Houdini Sampler
- The Beast Sampler
- The Huntington Beach Bad Boy Sampler
- The Warrior Sampler
- Rename your drinks
- UFC Shooters
- GSP Ultimate Shot
- UFC Iceman
- UFC Big Dog
Read our other articles for more ideas!
Posted in Advertisement Tips Event Promotion by .
Jan 12
16
Event Promotion Fundamentals
Venues sometimes forget the fundamentals when it comes to promoting their events. Make sure you have the basics covered before you expand your reach to more creative ideas!
- Signage
- Promote the event with physical signs at least a week in advance of the event. Include street signage, door signs, table displays, etc.
- Flyers
- Pass out flyers, postcards, and/or business sized cards to customers, staff, family and friends. If you schedule events well in advance, include upcoming event dates and information in the flyer.
- Internet
- Use the business website and social media pages to announce, invite and promote the event. Make sure the event is clearly visible towards the top of the website home page. Visitors should not have to scroll down to see that you have an event coming up.
- Word of Mouth
- Train your servers and hosts to always promote upcoming special events verbally to customers and friends. Offering special coupons or discounts during the event provides even more opportunity for invitations.
- Lapel buttons inviting customers to ask your servers about an upcoming event is a simple way to keep the dialogue going.
If you have these fundamentals in place, it’s time to move on to more creative promotion strategies. Visit our other articles for more ideas!
Jan 12
1
SEO for Bars
Search Engine Optimization is the new hot topic for restaurant websites. Making sure your restaurant shows up in organic (unpaid) search engine results is one the most important things you can do to encourage visibility, visits and sales through the web. Understanding the key elements that impact SEO is critical to making your site appear in the top search engine results so here is a brief SEO entrée to begin developing a recipe for success!
Content (An SEO maxim is that ‘content is king.’ These introductory steps will help layer the cake for a maximum results)
Keywords
- Figure out the best keywords for your particular restaurant. Brainstorm and test two to four word phrases that you believe people would use to find a restaurant like yours on the web.
- Then, use the Google Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) to discover how often those keywords are being used in searches.
- Use this information to adjust the content on your home page so that the content on your site matches the type of words people are searching.
Fresh Content
- Search engines like fresh content. Update your key web pages with new menu items, events, coupons and other information that will entice visitors, and search bots, to return to your website.
Menus
- Design menus as text-based pages on your site so they are easily indexed by search engines. Menus in PDF may be easier to create, but your site will increase its SEO scores by having menu pages that can be bookmarked and saved as a favorite.
Inbound Links (Google says that the single most important factor for increasing search engine rankings is the number and quality of inbound links to your website. Developing a strategy to maximize those links is critical.)
Local listings
- Local directories such as Google Places, Yahoo Local, Manta, and Local.com automatically index restaurants through yellow page listings. Finding and claiming your business on these directories will allow you to ensure they are linking to your website. If your restaurant is new, you can add your business to these directories for free.
Social Media
- In addition to developing ongoing relationships with your customers Social media sites offer increased opportunities for inbound links to your website thereby increasing its SEO presence.
Website Construction
Minimal Metatags
- Although Google doesn’t use metatags as a primary means of indexing web pages any longer, it does continue to use well worded ‘description’ metatags which appear directly below the web address in search results.
- Keyword metatags should also be customized for each page and should include a maximum of 5-10 keywords or phrases to prevent the appearance of ‘spamming’ a search engine.
Natural page name URL’s
- If at all possible, choose a content management system that uses real names for page name URL’s. For example, a web page address of http://www.edcinteractive.com/why.html will allow search engines to better understand and rank the content of the page. A web address that uses random characters adds no value to a search engine, e.g. www.yourbusiness.com/default.pk?&x=40&y=26
Header tags
- Header tags on a website automatically format the font on a web page to a specific size and font style. Search engines use header tags to determine what is important on a web page. Use header tags on the text at the top of a web page to describe the purpose or content of the page.
Search Engine Advertising
- Developing an internet advertising campaign is a fail safe way to gain instant exposure in search listings. You will be able to see what the pay-per-click (PPC) cost will be to rank highly on various keywords directly related to your business.
Most people love free advertising if its positive. Whether it is a news article, tv spot or a positive shout out on the radio. In this and any other economy, positive free advertising is good. It’s out there so how can you get some?
I’m going to start with the basics…a website. You may be saying, “I have a website…had one for years!” When is the last time you looked at it? Your website provides you with 24/7 advertisement yet many people look at it maybe once a month…MAYBE. If that is you…stop and go look at your website now!
Back already? How long did you spend on your site? Now pretend you are a customer…how long would you have spent on your site? Is there somewhere on your website where a customer can sign up for specials that are only sent to your online followers? Can a customer order online from your website? Did you know that online food orders for only about 600 restaurants was over $25 million in 2011. Keep in mind that 2011 is not quite over yet and there are many more than 600 restaurants in the U.S. How any of those $25 million online orders did your place get?
We are going to answer some of these questions above in details and provide step by step on how to garner local traffic to your website and location in droves. But for today let’s start with your website, because if that doesn’t work, everything else is going to be a flop.
For now make sure you have this covered…
- A website that you feel is easy to use and where you can easily find a phone number in 2 seconds
- A website that tells the main things on your menu
- A website that has been updated in the past two months
If you have 1,2 and 3 covered you will be ready for our free online marketing series. If you aren’t sure about your website, fill out our contact form and we’ll provide a free analysis with feedback for you.
Don’t have a website? Get free website here that you can update yourself…click here to get started
Posted in Advertisement Tips by .