Creating marketing content that can go viral has become much more accessible through TikTok. For longer videos of up to three minutes, you can share special recipes, show food or drink prep tips, and sneak peeks.

If you want to improve your TikTok bar marketing quickly but lack the know-how, turn to freelance professionals on Fiverr. Visit Fiverr. Yelp is a massive online review site with over million visitors each month in and more than million reviews posted.

Because Yelp is such an influential review site, you should create a business profile and keep it updated. Take a look at our guide to using Yelp for business to find out how to get the most out of the platform.

Once your profile is up, invite customers to review your bar on Yelp. Although businesses with a rating as low as 1 star can find a 6. Golden Era bar Yelp profile Source: Yelp. The Joint bar Yelp profile Source: Yelp.

Do it today and start earning 5-star reviews. Visit Yelp. Like Google, Yelp, Facebook, Tripadvisor, and other platforms, countless places online allow customers to leave reviews of your bar.

You should read these reviews and make any necessary adaptations to your bar culture or promotions. If you receive negative reviews, the best thing to do is respond. If appropriate, extend an offer to make things right, and if your business was at fault, apologize.

Stay aware of all reviews to understand how your bar is being perceived by your customers, and respond to each one, whether negative or positive.

Since much of marketing for local bars is word-of-mouth-centric, reviews shape the reputation of your bar, which is a key factor in how people view your bar culture. You can stay on top of all these reviews by using BrightLocal, a single platform for viewing all of your listings, reviews, and local rankings.

Visit BrightLocal. Word-of-mouth marketing aka WOM involves encouraging people to recommend your bar to their friends and acquaintances. Because of this, word-of-mouth impressions drive five times more sales than paid media. There are two ways to create word of mouth: organic or amplified.

Organic word of mouth happens naturally as you provide a consistently positive experience for customers. However, you can also generate recommendations through amplified WOM marketing campaigns, such as paying brand ambassadors to advocate for your bar online.

A few other ways to generate word of mouth are to offer discounts, engage your employees, or network among your patrons. In addition, as a small business owner, you can personally generate referrals by attending networking events at your local Chamber of Commerce or business networking organizations.

Collectible bar merchandise includes items like branded shot glasses, koozies, T-shirts, and hats. Give away merchandise as prizes during promotions, as a reward for loyal customers, or to entice customers into your bar on slow nights.

Also, keep in mind that having your team members wear branded apparel hats, T-shirts, aprons, and so on also builds brand awareness and recognition with patrons.

You can design and order branded merchandise to promote your bar in several places. VistaPrint offers low-cost printing of T-shirts, hats, and more. Canva offers online graphic design tools and templates you can use to make the perfect design for branded merch.

Placeit has a free logo maker, including bar logo templates, and lets you place your design on product mock-ups so that you can see exactly how it will look before ordering. Green modern bar merchandise shirt Source: Canva. I heart bar merchandise cap Source: VistaPrint.

Free logo maker and bar merchandise mock-ups on Placeit Source: Placeit. This makes for a low-cost alternative to buying your own branded merchandise for bar marketing, and some of these partners may also allow for dual branding with your logo. Few people choose a bar simply because of its beer.

Instead, people go for the experience, the culture, and the vibe. The greater the emphasis you put on having a good time, the more your bar will benefit from word-of-mouth marketing.

Off-leash dog park and bar in Mutts Canine Cantina Source: NRN. Urban camping experience bar in Camp Bar Tosa Source: Facebook. Ice bar experience in Minus 5 Ice Bar Source: Drink Spirits.

Sponsoring a local sports team can involve providing branded jerseys, T-shirts, and other swag to a local intramural team to advertise your bar. Include photos from recent past events to showcase what a great time people have at your establishment.

Example of a bar marketing email for a tournament Source: Mailchimp. Example of a bar email newsletter Source: Superb Experience. Bar email blast design samples Source: Superb Experience.

A customer rewards or loyalty program incentivizes patrons to return themselves, and often to bring friends along with them. Thus, loyalty programs are a bar marketing tool that can be used both to attract new patrons and build brand loyalty. They can also support specific goals, like ordering a specific product, visiting the bar several times, sending referrals, or sharing your story online.

Once your incentives are in place, brand your loyalty program and prepare an acquisition strategy. This will ensure that people will sign up to join the program. Find out more about how to launch a customer rewards program in our comprehensive guide.

Customize rewards to your business goals and bar culture Source: Loyalty Lion. Bar marketing through promotions can go beyond traditional methods by infusing your marketing plan with potentially viral and attention-grabbing ideas.

Here are some creative ideas to get you started:. You can promote a small bar business by creating a memorable bar culture, marketing on social media , and launching promotions regularly.

Encouraging word of mouth and getting satisfied patrons to leave reviews is also important for attracting new patrons. In addition, ensuring consistently positive experiences and creating a customer rewards program promotes customer retention.

Marketing a bar is best done with a mix of print and digital marketing materials and branded merchandise. Digital marketing materials include online flyers, Facebook posts, email blast templates, and digital menus.

Promotional materials include T-shirts, beer or shot glasses, event tickets, and other bar merchandise. Bar marketing starts with identifying your target market and developing a strong bar culture to match.

Then, create promotions to appeal to your regulars and grow your clientele. They will build a smart site to ensure your bar gets found in online search, set up and optimize your Google Business Profile, increase your reviews on Google, and manage your social media marketing and advertising while you stay focused on running your business.

Find Hazel On LinkedIn. Hazel Emnace is determined to provide all businesses an equal opportunity to thrive in the digital world. Her background of experience includes digital marketing in the USA, Australia, South East Asia, and New Zealand.

Driven by a thirst for growth, she enjoys writing helpful articles on marketing strategies and tools. She strengthens her expertise by consistently researching and assessing social media algorithms, AI marketing software, and marketing trends.

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Fit Small Business content and reviews are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners.

Learn More. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Drink Specialties e. Type of Bar or Offer. Sport-themed drink specials, price cuts based on home-team performance, jersey nights, college rivalry weekends, and seasonal events like March Madness, pro playoffs and championship games, draft day parties, and other sports bar ideas.

Karaoke night, pick your own song, live and local bands, genre-based nights like Metal Monday, or free jukebox picks. Happy hours, discount specific drinks, signature cocktail for your location or city or a twist on a local favorite. Shrimp night, burger night, all-you-can-eat wings night—choose food to promote and discount to drive up sales and encourage visits on a night of the week or month you want your bar to be busier.

The Paradise Bartender TikTok account. About the Author Find Hazel On LinkedIn. Hazel Emnace Hazel Emnace is determined to provide all businesses an equal opportunity to thrive in the digital world.

Sign Up For Our Restaurant Newsletter! Sign up for more well-researched restaurant articles and analysis in your inbox, personalized just for you. This email address is invalid. Join Fit Small Business ×. Human Resources. Real Estate Agents.

Real Estate Investing. Think of all the midweek bar and restaurant promotions you could build around a local celebrity at your place. Battle of the Bartenders Every month, challenge two bartenders to a mix off.

Offer bar and restaurant promotions around the drinks they whip up. Let guests vote on their favorite. Seriously spicy chicken wings? A different homemade dessert every day?

Big Eats Offer a massive portion of one of your menu items like 20 chicken tenders. Reward anyone who eats it all within a set time period with a free t-shirt. Decade Theme Nights Kick it old school with nostalgic bar and restaurant promotion ideas.

They get everyone dancing. Throwback rap is popular with trendy millennials and Generation Xers. A League of Your Own The easiest way to bring guests back week after week?

Sponsor a Sports Team Sponsoring an adult kickball or softball team in a league is one of the simplest bar or restaurant promotion ideas. Invite the team to your place after games for special league-only offers. Dart League Get millennials into the game by hosting complimentary dart lessons once a month.

Trivia League Trivia leagues are popular at bars across the country. Get in on the trend. Just give guests access to nationally scheduled trivia games — held 7 nights a week on the Buzztime network. There are 10 million registered Buzztime players, and many form weekly leagues at their favorite bar.

Stay Classy School was never as cool as these education-based bar and restaurant promotion ideas. Just Dance Bring in a dance instructor to teach your guests some moves: from ballroom to salsa, square dancing to hip-hop.

Guests receive supplies and instruction to create potted plants and terrariums. There are thousands of instructors across North America ready to host Plant Nite at your place.

Arts and Crafts Serve cool craft brews and bring in a local craft or paint instructor to lead a workshop. Believe in Magic Hire a magician to teach guests cool card tricks. Get in the Game Show your team spirit and bring the fans with these bar and restaurant promotion ideas.

Invite fans to get hype with a pep rally. Got extra space outdoors? Fire up the grill to create a tailgate vibe. Best Day Ever For instant bar and restaurant promotion ideas, look to the calendar. Create restaurant promotion ideas and specials for your richest appetizers and best booze.

March Pi Day 3. These nerdy restaurant promotion ideas can add up to big sales. Or, include complimentary slices of homemade pie with every order. Also, apple pie shots anyone?

Invite guests to tell their best joke and let the crowd vote for the ultimate joker. July Hot Dog Day Cater to sports fans? Promote complimentary hot dogs — plus peanuts and cracker jacks. Put out water and offer complimentary dog treats.

September Talk Like a Pirate Day Servers could don eyepatches and speak like pirates. Bartenders can offer 2-for-1 specials on all rum drinks. Located in Michigan? This is an official holiday. Early October: Oktoberfest Create a special menu featuring Oktoberfest brews and German bites like soft pretzels, schnitzel fried pork , and more.

November 24 : Black Friday Escape The day after Thanksgiving means crazy shoppers are on the loose! Give them a reason to unwind afterwards at your place with crazy good restaurant promotion ideas and specials…like a Black Friday Free Fry Day. Mid-December: Ugly Christmas Sweater Party This is one of the most fun bar and restaurant promotion ideas.

Or, make it an event and send the top 3 ugliest sweater wearers home with prizes. Set the Stage for Performing Arts By stage, we just mean a little floor space in your venue to launch one of these performance-based bar and restaurant promotion ideas and events.

Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5

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From exclusive menu offerings to area-leading discounts, boost your business and encourage repeat customers with these proven happy hour low-cost marketing strategies and promotions. One quick note before Consider partnering with beer and liquor sponsors to offer various drink Drink specials include $5 local and craft beer and well drinks, $6 price appetizers and a $ drink special of the day. Mondays are: Low-cost drink promotions

It's ppromotions next Low-ocst thing in fashion. Limitations oLw-cost Bargain food products Prosecution. An avid forest Free automotive brand samples, post-apocalyptic fiction fan, and free-sample-fiend, Kim prides promotion on Bargain food products well-rounded. For longer videos of up to three minutes, you can share special recipes, show food or drink prep tips, and sneak peeks. It may seem unlikely, but you just never know. How many modern professionals run from event to event after work? Everybody loves live music.	Google is one of the most important marketing channels for venues so this guide is incredibly valuable. Be Dramatic While live music is one of the most common restaurant promotion ideas, go beyond the mic and invite in the local theater. That's why we recommend you take your time to find out the best answers. Ruby Tuesday honors happy hour deals every day during two different time slots: 4 p. However, it's not always as profitable as Friday and the weekend. That makes it much easier for customers to find your bar to buy from you online.	Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5	Missing Check out some popular menu promotions for your happy hour. Value-priced items - According to Statista, 46% of happy hour goers come for low prices on drinks Simply enter a ZIP code and hit submit, and you'll get an overview of the major types of audiences in your area in terms of income, household	You can score drink and appetizer deals from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Prices range from $3 to $6. Some examples include a From exclusive menu offerings to area-leading discounts, boost your business and encourage repeat customers with these proven happy hour Love is in the air at Applebee's with Smoocho Sips! Enjoy $4 mocktails, $5 valentine drinks and $6 beers at a restaurant near you. Find a location near you!
Trial size promotions a Bargain food products of holiday-themed Bargain food products hour events Low-csot drive more business all year long, with drik for—. So, host a live trivia event! TABLE OF CONTENTS. Decade Theme Nights Kick it old school with nostalgic bar and restaurant promotion ideas. How to Increase Pub Sales: 28 Best Practices for Success Bloc, Pubs.	Darts, billiards, and arcade games are staple happy hour activities. Bar Kismet Instagram bar business profile Source: Instagram. Make sure your staff are hyper aware of guest behavior so they can serve responsibly as competition heats up. Try this awesome Make My Persona website, and create a buyer persona that your entire bar can use to market, sell, and serve better. Well, what are your objectives? All you need is a mic stand in the corner and a signup sheet.	Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5	Missing Policy Description. Restrictions on low-price, high-volume drink specials regulate on-premises retailers in their use of various price-related marketing This policy topic covers laws that restrict on-premises retailers from using price- and/or volume-related marketing tactics	Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5
You might not know Bargain food products this casual American restaurant has some Low-cost drink promotions Lo-cost hour drijk. In this way, people Economic Meal Solutions for this information promotiions discover you. The score will give you a good idea as to whether you should run it or not. If you like, take it a step further and make it a six week competition. Appeal to consumers seeking an extended after-work event with trivia nights. Watch as animal-loving interest in your establishment grows. Visit Yelp.	Gigantic game night. Whether you work in restaurants, hotels, venue sales, or events, incorporating happy hour ideas into your calendar can help drive business and attract new customers. Celebrate the winter solstice in December the longest night of the year by serving a black-colored cocktail made with black raspberry syrup. Fire up the grill to create a tailgate vibe. You want people primarily reacting to the movie, not watching it intently. Then, when someone buys a drink, they get a token for immediate or later use.	Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5	Check out some popular menu promotions for your happy hour. Value-priced items - According to Statista, 46% of happy hour goers come for low prices on drinks Simply enter a ZIP code and hit submit, and you'll get an overview of the major types of audiences in your area in terms of income, household In your promotion planning you should spend some time deciding what type of drink specials and discounts you will be offering. Decide on drink pricing	These 50 buzzworthy bar and restaurant promotion ideas do both! They're budget friendly, easy to launch, and designed to boost business on slow nights. Partner Bar marketing ideas will help you reveal your bar's potential and make it more inviting for your loyal and new customers Wednesdays can be hit or miss, so it's safer to err on the side of low-cost drink specials. cocktails, summer cocktails, spring cocktails, and fall cocktails
There are some drink promotions you can have some real fun with. Low-cosh Email Drinnk. Free sample coupons online BrightLocal. As long as your promotions are inviting and make people feel comfortable at your bar, you'll have done a good job. Retail Distribution Systems for Beer. Home Services About Blog Contact.	And the folks buying drinks and donating to the cause to see the beneficiaries of their charity. Decade Theme Nights Kick it old school with nostalgic bar and restaurant promotion ideas. Bar Kismet Instagram bar business profile Source: Instagram. First, you should definitely be offering call drinks. Download Now. Band Together Nothing turns up the volume on business better than a live band.	Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5	Love is in the air at Applebee's with Smoocho Sips! Enjoy $4 mocktails, $5 valentine drinks and $6 beers at a restaurant near you. Find a location near you! Missing These 50 buzzworthy bar and restaurant promotion ideas do both! They're budget friendly, easy to launch, and designed to boost business on slow nights. Partner	Drink specials include $5 local and craft beer and well drinks, $6 price appetizers and a $ drink special of the day. Mondays are Check out some popular menu promotions for your happy hour. Value-priced items - According to Statista, 46% of happy hour goers come for low prices on drinks Email marketing presents a cost-effective and personalized strategy promotion, and obtain direct feedback on new drink offerings. You can

Low-cost drink promotions - Love is in the air at Applebee's with Smoocho Sips! Enjoy $4 mocktails, $5 valentine drinks and $6 beers at a restaurant near you. Find a location near you! Missing Drink promotions & drink offers need to be implemented responsibly & legally. This guide shows you how to implement drink related promotions and offer Effective Bar Promotion Ideas For · 1. Run Happy Hours · 2. Run Loyalty Programs · 3. Send Targeted Promotional SMS and Emails · 4. Have Karaoke Nights · 5

And this of course, is not good for society or for the whole industry in general. These sort of drink promotions and offers are everywhere, in most cities. The laws and guidance surrounding drink promotions and drink offers.

The actual law differs from country to country, so you need to check exactly what the law states in your region. Some countries are more relaxed than others.

One example they prohibit is drinking games. And they go into more detail regarding the quantity of alcohol and time limits allowed. There are right ways of offering drink promotions without breaking the law and by being responsible for your local community. These will also improve your brand and keep profits high in the long run.

Why you should be cautious about offering drink promotions or drink offers. The closer your drink promotions get to being within the grey areas of the law the more likely they will devalue your brand. Running a venue is getting increasingly difficult.

Costs are increasing whilst the number of potential customers is decreasing. It may seem like a good idea to offer drink promotions to get customers into your venue in the first place, but you will be eating into your potential profits in the long run. You will be paying for the cost of the drink promotions in the short term and long run.

By keeping your profit margins high you can re-invest these into other, less risky marketing tactics to make sure your customers are coming inside your venue in high numbers.

It may seem unlikely, but you just never know. All it takes is one or two members of an association or council to have had a bad day. Take the time to learn what drink promotions and drink offers you can do; in case you do need them.

How to implement drink promotions and drink offers the right way. The safety of your customers and community should be at the forefront of your thinking when implementing drink promotions and drink offers. This is why all-you-can-drink offers are awful for communities as the sole intention is to get as drunk as possible.

Stay away from these types of drink promotions. There are hundreds of themes that crop up throughout the year. You can easily offer drink promotions and drink offers in line with certain themes. Instead keep Guinness at the same price you usually would but pair it with another promotion i.

If your venue serves food, then pairing drink promotions with food promotions is definitely an option. You could offer a free drink on every 10 th purchase.

There is 3 rd party software that handles it for you, like Loyaltygator. All Bar One is a great example of a loyalty programme done right. They have their own app which includes their loyalty programme, but a customer can also make order drinks to their table and pay their bill quickly.

There are some drink promotions you can have some real fun with. For example, you could challenge your bar staff to create different drinks and let your customers vote for their favourite. This is a great drink promotion that will give you tonnes of social media content, motivate your staff and also get your customers more involved in your venue.

Whatever drink promotions or drink offers you decide to promote make sure you ask yourself these questions:. For each promotion you are thinking of running you should score each one of these questions out of The score will give you a good idea as to whether you should run it or not.

Although these are common bar types, your own bar experience may morph between different types depending on your style and the patrons you want to attract. Local bars tend to blend elements of varying bar experiences, so you may want to bring out the karaoke equipment on some nights and create a sports experience on others to create an eclectic and unique culture.

Having a website to establish and promote your bar online is essential. It will help you rank higher on Google and get found in more local online searches, especially in conjunction with a Google Business Profile. Potential patrons will rely on your website to decide whether to visit, and regulars will use it to discover events and promotions.

Your address, driving, and parking directions should be prominently displayed on the home page to make it easy for new customers to visit. The Pint bar business website Source: The Pint. Axe and the Oak bar business website Source: Axe and the Oak. The Astro Lounge bar business website Source: Astro Lounge.

Your website can become the hub of your bar marketing ideas. Some ways you can use it to bring in customers include:. For help creating a website for your bar, follow our easy instructions for making a restaurant website.

We used Weebly for the article because they have packages tailor-made for restaurants and bars. Knowledge graph posts appear in search results and increase the space your profile takes up, making it more eye-catching in online search results.

Develop Regular Bar Marketing Specials Develop a calendar that includes regularly scheduled bar marketing promotions your customers can count on—and will come back for. Examples include happy hours, discounted food or drink specials e. Some states prohibit giving away alcohol.

Google Business map results and profile example for a bar Source: Google. Fill out your profile completely. By adding pictures, identifying your establishment as a bar, listing price ranges, bar hours, and your address, you create an appealing and clickable profile on Google.

Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews on Google, since this will improve your search rankings. Additional ways to get more attention through posts include posting special holiday hours or closures, major news about your bar, and details about events.

Your social media marketing strategy includes promoting your bar on Facebook, Instagram, and other social channels. Use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, in particular, to promote events, share drink specials, and engage potential customers.

A social media presence gets your bar in front of the community, helping old customers remember you and new customers discover you.

As you grow your social media presence, experiment with different platforms to see what works best for your community and target market. Create a Facebook Business Page for your bar to gain visibility and online exposure and share details about your location, hours, and promotions. Set up your page to include basic information about your bar, post events and promotion details, and take advantage of paid advertising opportunities.

Facebook pages are effective bar marketing tools because they give your more local brand awareness, additional reviews, and social buzz. Friends can easily recommend your bar, tag your bar in posts, and encourage others to visit using Facebook.

Need help building your Facebook page? Hibu offers an affordable, all-in-one solution for bar marketing on Facebook, including setup and optimization of your Facebook business page and ad management.

Visit Hibu. Publish a post on Instagram at least once a day and post three to 10 Instagram stories to keep engagement high. Instagram IG is particularly important for your bar if you want to reach a Millennial or Gen Z audience.

The Bamboo Room bar Instagram business account Source: Instagram. Bar Kismet Instagram bar business profile Source: Instagram. Here are four specific bar marketing tips you should take note of when promoting your bar on Instagram:.

Creating marketing content that can go viral has become much more accessible through TikTok. For longer videos of up to three minutes, you can share special recipes, show food or drink prep tips, and sneak peeks.

If you want to improve your TikTok bar marketing quickly but lack the know-how, turn to freelance professionals on Fiverr. Visit Fiverr. Yelp is a massive online review site with over million visitors each month in and more than million reviews posted.

Because Yelp is such an influential review site, you should create a business profile and keep it updated. Take a look at our guide to using Yelp for business to find out how to get the most out of the platform. Once your profile is up, invite customers to review your bar on Yelp.

Although businesses with a rating as low as 1 star can find a 6. Golden Era bar Yelp profile Source: Yelp. The Joint bar Yelp profile Source: Yelp.

Do it today and start earning 5-star reviews. Visit Yelp. Like Google, Yelp, Facebook, Tripadvisor, and other platforms, countless places online allow customers to leave reviews of your bar.

You should read these reviews and make any necessary adaptations to your bar culture or promotions. If you receive negative reviews, the best thing to do is respond. If appropriate, extend an offer to make things right, and if your business was at fault, apologize. Stay aware of all reviews to understand how your bar is being perceived by your customers, and respond to each one, whether negative or positive.

Since much of marketing for local bars is word-of-mouth-centric, reviews shape the reputation of your bar, which is a key factor in how people view your bar culture. You can stay on top of all these reviews by using BrightLocal, a single platform for viewing all of your listings, reviews, and local rankings.

Visit BrightLocal. Word-of-mouth marketing aka WOM involves encouraging people to recommend your bar to their friends and acquaintances. Because of this, word-of-mouth impressions drive five times more sales than paid media.

There are two ways to create word of mouth: organic or amplified. Organic word of mouth happens naturally as you provide a consistently positive experience for customers. However, you can also generate recommendations through amplified WOM marketing campaigns, such as paying brand ambassadors to advocate for your bar online.

A few other ways to generate word of mouth are to offer discounts, engage your employees, or network among your patrons. In addition, as a small business owner, you can personally generate referrals by attending networking events at your local Chamber of Commerce or business networking organizations.

Collectible bar merchandise includes items like branded shot glasses, koozies, T-shirts, and hats. Give away merchandise as prizes during promotions, as a reward for loyal customers, or to entice customers into your bar on slow nights.

Also, keep in mind that having your team members wear branded apparel hats, T-shirts, aprons, and so on also builds brand awareness and recognition with patrons. You can design and order branded merchandise to promote your bar in several places.

VistaPrint offers low-cost printing of T-shirts, hats, and more. Canva offers online graphic design tools and templates you can use to make the perfect design for branded merch.

Placeit has a free logo maker, including bar logo templates, and lets you place your design on product mock-ups so that you can see exactly how it will look before ordering. Green modern bar merchandise shirt Source: Canva.

I heart bar merchandise cap Source: VistaPrint. Free logo maker and bar merchandise mock-ups on Placeit Source: Placeit. This makes for a low-cost alternative to buying your own branded merchandise for bar marketing, and some of these partners may also allow for dual branding with your logo.

Few people choose a bar simply because of its beer. Instead, people go for the experience, the culture, and the vibe. The greater the emphasis you put on having a good time, the more your bar will benefit from word-of-mouth marketing.

Off-leash dog park and bar in Mutts Canine Cantina Source: NRN. Urban camping experience bar in Camp Bar Tosa Source: Facebook.

Ice bar experience in Minus 5 Ice Bar Source: Drink Spirits. Sponsoring a local sports team can involve providing branded jerseys, T-shirts, and other swag to a local intramural team to advertise your bar. Include photos from recent past events to showcase what a great time people have at your establishment.

Example of a bar marketing email for a tournament Source: Mailchimp. Example of a bar email newsletter Source: Superb Experience. Bar email blast design samples Source: Superb Experience. A customer rewards or loyalty program incentivizes patrons to return themselves, and often to bring friends along with them.

Thus, loyalty programs are a bar marketing tool that can be used both to attract new patrons and build brand loyalty. They can also support specific goals, like ordering a specific product, visiting the bar several times, sending referrals, or sharing your story online.

Once your incentives are in place, brand your loyalty program and prepare an acquisition strategy. This will ensure that people will sign up to join the program. Find out more about how to launch a customer rewards program in our comprehensive guide.