So nice to see all the plans on social media I am starting to see about re-opening all your fabulous venues. The hard-work behind all the social distancing & hygiene measures you’ll be undertaking, as well as some great initiatives to bring in extra revenues for you all. If you haven’t started sharing this then now is the time to be thinking about it. Don’t forget to take followers on that journey with you.
Grab a cuppa or something stronger & see what I’ve managed to find to inspire you this week. ‘Happy Reading’!
I’m really excited to let you all know that I am a guest next week on ‘ The Hospitality Revival Summit’. Are you preparing to reopen your hospitality business?
Next week’s ‘Hospitality Revival Summit’ brings together industry experts from across the UK to share their insights on how to revive your business after lock-down. Daily ‘bite-sized’ sessions covering customer experience, sales, PR, social media (from me) and more…. Check it out & BOOK. Hope to see you there.
‘USEFUL ARTICLES’
Here ‘s the round up of all the bits & pieces I have seen this last week that I thought might be of help to you…..
Also thinking about action plans for re-opening are E-Hotelier: ‘The first 100 days action plans for the new normal’ is well worth a read.
Similarly, the recording of their webinar they hosted last week called ‘Confronting The Covid-19 Challenge’ is now available to watch if you missed it. With aspects such as ‘What will the next 3 months look like?’, ‘How should a business be using this time?’, key priorities & short & long term marketing strategies. They also have this downloadable report called ‘Hospitality in the post Covid-19 World’ available to download. A plethora or resources from E-Hotelier!
Mark McCulloch & a number of experts have got together to offer you ‘The 100 Day Playbook’ which they say is £160k worth of free advice on how to relaunch your pub, bar, restaurant or coffee shop. Just click here to download the guide.
If you’re in hospitality you can now get the ‘Mental well-being’ app – ‘Woebot’ free of charge for 3 months. I thought this was definitely worth a share & for you, your colleagues & employees too.
A campaign has been launched to make public spaces available to hospitality has been launched. I thought this was a great idea & thought you might like to find out more & get involved. You can do HERE
Finally, this webinar might be worth a watch from ‘Access Hospitality’ called ‘How technology can help manage social distancing measures within the customer journey in hospitality’ it’s this coming Tuesday 2nd June
‘PBP POST PICKS’
Here are my favourite hospitality ‘PBP Post Picks’ I found this week to give you inspo! (CLICK THE IMAGES TO BE TAKEN TO THE POSTS THEMSELVES ONLINE):
During this time I really recommend being creative with your social media & trying something different. ‘Bramble Bakehouse’ in Guiseley have been doing this by creating ‘Baking Workshop’s’ for folk to do at home. This one is for a Birthday Lockdown Cake….
Somewhere else being super creative is ‘Healing Manor’ in Lincolnshire. They have their Chef & suppliers discussing ingredients & food on IGTV, as this post promotes.
Their Chef also has his own Instagram account which links to the venue, great idea if you have a charismatic chef!
‘Rockliffe Hall’ have come up with so many ideas for all their departments to get involved on social media. Their spa have been doing tips but also putting together their own meditations & using video of the local, natural surroundings. Such a fab idea! CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO:
‘Humblebee Farm’ & ‘Coniston Hotel’ have both been taking inspiration from their surroundings & what they have in front of them that they can use for content.
Humblebee are lucky as they have all their animals they can share, especially when the babies are born!
Then there’s ducks & ducklings at The Coniston, Skipton (What’s not to love?!):
Showing us what they are up to whilst closed are ‘Cote Ghyll Caravan & Camping Park’. Behind the scenes always does very well, people are interested to see how venues work:
Taking us on their journey once again is ‘Bramble Bakehouse’ in Guiseley. They are informing us about some of the measures they are putting in place to make the venue safe for customers to return, & the exciting news that they might be re-opening soon & diversifying into take-aways.
(Personally, I would have included an image also of them actually putting some of the plans into place or of the team, but this still did very well as they have lots of local support):
Also diversifying, and somewhere else that has huge support, is ‘Rafters Restaurant’ in Sheffield. Not only do they mention their plans but they are clever enough to include their followers by asking them for their suggestions, thus gaining their buy in & trust, very clever:
They then share their ‘Dine at Home’ menu which looks amazing & incidentally sold out very quickly!:
Yet another fab idea for diversifying from ‘Grumpy’s’ in Farsley. This time with a bottle shop & I love their honesty & the personality behind this post:
Thinking ahead for when they re-open are’ Everybodys’ in Guiseley who are offering 30% off for a month for all blue light card holders to say thank you (I also happen to be helping them out with their social media at the moment!):
Offering something unique is ‘Bramhope Village Pizza’ who are now offering gluten-free pizza options which have proved very popular. I am coeliac too & this is very welcome news for me! They also have a very loyal local following & are extremely busy:
Finally, I couldn’t let this post from ‘Matt Healy x The Foundry’ pass as it just shows what a good quality food image can do on social media. How yummy does this Beef Wellington look? I am drooling as I am typing this!:
‘CONTENT IDEAS’
I’m sure you’ve been inspired loads already with those ‘PBP Post Picks’, but just in case you need more, head on over for the last few weeks ideas on my previous blog posts HERE.
Here are some you could try based on the above & more:
- What are you doing to prepare for re-opening? Whatever it is, share it with your followers!
- What can you offer to a niche market? Gluten- Free & Vegans for example talk a lot on social media when they find somewhere that can accommodate them & especially if it tastes good!
- Include your followers in any decisions you are making. Ask their opinions. This will gain their buy in & make it more likely that they will visit you when you re-open.
- Don’t forget to include good quality, mouth-wateringly good, food images – Remember ‘A picture paints a thousand words’ & ‘We eat with our eyes’ & all that!
- What have you got going on around you? Either out in nature such as animals, countryside etc & also in the local community.
Have you got a charismatic Chef? Ask them to create their own Instagram account & create some videos on IGTV. Share onto You Tube & Facebook or do an Insta or Facebook Live!
- National Days you could jump on this week include: National Fish & Chips Day. If you offer fish & chips maybe you could do something around this? Giveaway take-away fish & chips for 2 for example or do a video or recipe showing how to make them.Remember above all else keep being heartfelt, honest, candid & yourselves. With lots of people pics & those that generate emotions.
We can do this peeps & come out fighting the other side! We’re so nearly there!
Stay Safe. #keephospitalityalive and #keepsocialalive
