We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: if you’re serious about giving your hospitality venture the best chance you can, investing in marketing, particularly social media, is an absolute must. In this month’s blog we look at the benefits of outsourcing this vital task, how it can be done and insights from one of the best content studios in the business, Buffet. 

Here at Cafe Bookkeepers, your Australia-wide hospitality business tax and accounting specialists, we see it clearly in the numbers – businesses that spend money on marketing tend to do better than ones that don’t. Without getting into the nitty gritty, about half our clients spend  zero on marketing and social media, and frankly, it’s reflected in the bottom line.

“Any task you can outsource to experts will save you time, freeing you up to do what you're the expert in – running your own business,” says Buffet co-director, Sophie McComas-Williams. “If you choose to not invest either time or money in social media or marketing for your venue, it can be very hard and frustrating to spread the word of your business, and so delegating this essential task to an agency such as Buffet not only means it will get done, but it will be best-in-market, working seamlessly to not only save you time and therefor money, but actively generate income via word getting out.”

So, what should you invest in? Ideally, a social media strategy should come first, it’s key. How can your business stand out? What should it sound like? What should it look like? A strategy will clarify these questions and pop you on the straight and narrow fast. From your strategy may flow any other number of evolutions: social media management, guidance on paid socials, regular photoshoots, local SEO checkups, even paid search and influencer marketing. Think outside the box here. While you should invest in a studio like Buffet for your strategy first, who on the team has experience in the area? Is there a staff member who can manage socials? Ask around and build these tasks into your staff’s job descriptions and time.

“The first step is quantifying the time you are spending trying to nail this area of your business that perhaps isn't at the top of your skillset. Once you add this time up, you'll find it's still costing you something, even if that's just your valuable time. It's possible to find cheap photographers and content creators, yes, however, we’re firm believers in getting what you pay for. If you're going to invest in one thing, make it beautiful photography. We eat with our eyes. Once you have that nailed, the rest can fall into place more easily. It's incredibly hard to get anywhere without images that reflect the standard of your food and venue as a whole,” says McComas-Williams. 

But wait, after all that will it even pay off, you ask? Yes! It most definitely will, but before you get too excited, what’s your goal? More orders, sales, followers, reach? While it can sometimes be difficult to see real-life, tangible results, foot and or web traffic  and sales don’t lie. Promoting a special takeaway offering? Put $40 behind it and see the orders roll in, or at the very least, reach and followers. Perhaps an Instagram boost didn’t garner the bookings you thought it may have, but the reach on the post was 10k? That’s a win! Ten thousand people saw your post and have now become aware of your brand.  

“It can be difficult to measure bums on seats to the success of an Instagram post, however, we know that it can be extremely rewarding to see that the marketing you are distributing about your venue truly matches how you believe your business should be seen. This, to us, is the first step to success. The next thing to measure is engagement. How many people are liking, commenting, saving and sharing your content? If this starts to spike, an increase in bookings or traffic should follow,” McComas-Williams says. 

In a nutshell, we believe even a very small percentage of your turnover is enough to move the needle – we highly encourage our clients and the wider industry to allocate some social media budget, even if it’s $50 a week for some ads. We understand all businesses are different and may even have various skills and interests in-house. Our recommendation? Chat to a content studio such as Buffet and with your internal team, you mightn’t be aware of the intel mine you’re sitting on!

Need someone to tell you how to fit it all into your budget? Get in touch for more info on our hospitality-industry-specific tax and accounting services.