Week 7 already (week 6 of isolation) & another ‘Keep Hospitality Alive’ blog for you. I’m determined to bring you useful information that will spur you on!
This week included in my useful articles are a couple that touch on re-opening. This is something I have mentioned in previous emails but think they continue to be hugely relevant & include actions you can be doing now to be the first out of those running blocks!
For a limited time, I’m still offering my FREE ‘PBP Pow Wow’s where you get to pick my brains on content ideas for your social media. I offer these every Wednesday, so drop me a line or CLICK HERE to book
So grab a cuppa or something stronger & ‘Happy Reading’!
‘USEFUL ARTICLES’
I’m still beavering away & gathering as many bits & pieces for you as I can that I’ve come across from experts in our field on social, marketing & more this last week:
Remember, if you come across any articles, groups, emails etc around hospitality you think might benefit others, please do let me know so I can include.
Have you started thinking about the changes you’ll need to make to re-open? It might seem like a long way off but this article from ‘The Financial Times’ talks about some of the things you can consider now operationally:
‘Restaurants, hotels and gyms face up to a future of social distancing.
One thing for sure is that it will definitely be different to what we know as the norm for a while!
Also thinking about planning when you re-open, I came across this super helpful checklist from ‘Access Hospitality’ which talks about the activities you can be doing now whilst closed, things to consider 3-4 weeks prior to opening & also in the first week you’re operational:
‘Getting operational after lock-down: A guide for hospitality operators.’
I love the fact that bar & restaurant owners in Leeds have joined forces. The entrepreneurs behind Manahatta, Bundobust & Mojo are among the leaders supporting the Hospitality Union’s #NationalTimeOut initiative, which is calling for a nine-month pause in rent payments for the hospitality sector. You can read the article in ‘The Yorkshire Post’ here:
‘Support needed to stop hospitality industry collapsing like a ‘house of cards’
Or you can cut to the chase & get signing their petition below, which should, fingers crossed, benefit you all:
I wanted to give a shout out to some of the resources that are out there locally to me ,in terms of getting your name out there online.
If you’re a Leeds based business & are still trading make sure you make ‘Leeds Indie Food’ aware who have a list of independents still open or ‘The Leeds List’ who are listing Leeds businesses & what they are offering i.e. vouchers, deliveries etc: ‘Every Independent Cafe, Restaurant & Pub in Leeds That’s Now Doing Takeaways’. Also ‘Visit Leeds’: ‘What Leeds hospitality businesses are doing’
Lots of initiatives out there too from ‘Welcome To Yorkshire’ that are worth taking a look at, such as their ‘Book it. Bank it. Enjoy.it.’ scheme. If you’re a member you can add a link to your online voucher page. FIND OUT MORE HERE
‘PBP POST PICKS’
Still lots of creative content out there on hospitality social, plus a few more venues I’ve found & love what they do! Here are my ‘PBP Post Picks’ I found this week (CLICK THE IMAGES TO BE TAKEN TO THE POSTS THEMSELVES ONLINE):
The Little Teahouse in Ilkley have been on one of my Pow Wow’s & I am so proud to see them put into practice some of what we have discussed. Including this great ‘Afternoon Tea in a Box’ that they also created a give-away for.
Martinez Wine Bar in Ilkley, who have been doing all the fab isolation wine videos, brought us this competition this week. I think they hit the nail on the head in terms of the products out there that are popular at the moment, with a great prize & loads of engagement benefit for them:
More from The Little Teahouse, I know how much it took for Claire to do this video she was way out of her comfort zone but she still did it, well done! It’s so nice as it is showing the brand behind the business & is so honest CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO:
Finally, they got some of their other team members involved & showed what they have been doing during lock-down. Super relevant, as it happens to be baking too!
Heaney & Mill in Headingley, Leeds once again have been firing out the great ideas. Last week when we had the sunny weather they took advantage of this & pulled together a BBQ Club & package that could be delivered. Talk about thinking differently, they have been nailing it & doing everything they can to keep their business going:
The stunning Grantley Hall is new to my picks this week. Looking over their posts in the last couple of weeks they’ve also had some fab ideas. They started a #GrantleyMoments & asked people to send in their pictures of them at Grantley Hall. Great to encourage engagement & gives them an immediate source of content!
They also got their Wedding & Events Co-ordinator to do some top tips for brides & grooms on a video which is a great idea CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO:
Rockliffe Hall, once again, did some great videos including this ‘Clap for Carers’ one where they got all the team involved even from home & pulled it together to share as one CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO:
I loved this one! Like Grantley Hall they asked followers to share their memories & this particular one showed a bride & groom on their wedding day at the venue & also when they came back with their family in tow!
Grumpy’s in Farsley, Leeds are still nailing it, this time with a brill community initiative & collaboration with other local businesses. They were asking people to nominate those that deserved a sticker & then designing them & giving them out or placing them in locations around the area for all to see. Another celebration of those doing so much in these tough times.
Finally, this week one of my clients Shan’s near Bristol. I managed to twist the arm of Phil, who is the warm up act & compere, to do a Facebook Live on a Friday night & it went down a storm! The engagement was massive & genuinely seemed to put a smile on lots of peoples faces. We used the ‘You can’t come to us so we’ll come to you’ idea. Let’s just say I think it will be a regular, weekly event now during lock-down! CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO
‘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.
The pressure is on to keep coming up with fresh ideas!!
Here are some you could try:
It’s been said before but what could you do live on Facebook or Instagram? Do you have a regular DJ? Live music? Cocktail masterclasses? Cook-a-longs? Quizzes? etc. They get such great engagement as they notify your followers & also just generate a sense of fun & generally cheer everyone up!
What could you do with your local community? Could you get together with another business where you complement each other & offer a thank you, a prize for a competition or a new product or service?
If you’re a wedding venue then ask your followers to post pics of them on their wedding day at your venue & then a pic of where they are now in the world & maybe if they have family, with their family also.
National Days you can jump on this week include: Saturday 2nd May – National Fitness Day – Pull together a video of some of your team doing exercises, dressed up in their exercise gear! Tuesday 5th May – National Teacher Appreciation Day – Could you ask people/kids to nominate a teacher to win a prize? or maybe something around home-schooling?
Friday 8th May is 75th V.E. Day Anniversary & the first of the May Bank Holidays. What could you do around this? Share recipes from 1940’s? Ask team to have mini tea parties, put up bunting at your venue, film your team singing ‘We’ll Meet Again’ on the doorstep which is scheduled after the Queens speech at 9pm?
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!
Stay Safe. #keephospitalityalive and #keepsocialalive
