• By DogBuddy Team
• 14 September 201814 September 2018
• With 1 comment

Promoting Your Pub During The Dog-friendly Pub Awards

Looking for a helping hand using social media to bring in those votes during the Dog-friendly Pub Awards? You’ve come to the right place. Social media can be an incredibly useful tool for raking in those votes – during the 2017 Dog-friendly Pub Awards, nearly 50% of all votes came from social media, and of those social media votes, 96% of those came from Facebook.

But Facebook isn’t the only place where dog lovers and dog-friendly landlords came together over the Awards. Thousands of votes in 2017 came from links sent in emails or online newsletters, and from Twitter too. This year, your dog-friendly pub could rack up those votes to become one of twelve regional winners in the running for the title of the nation’s most dog-friendly pub… but first, you’ve got to make sure your social media is all set!

Promoting your pub effectively during the Dog-friendly Pub Awards isn’t as daunting as it may seem. To help you get started, we’ve put together some easy-to-follow tips on how to spread the word about your pub’s dog-friendly merits to voters, so you can get the word out about your boozer in no time! Whether your pub’s main point of contact is Facebook, Twitter, an official website, or even a mailing list, the DogBuddy team have got you covered!

Need some votes? Facebook is your friend:

1. First, make a Facebook page

The huge percentage of Dog-friendly Pub Awards votes coming from Facebook speaks for itself – if you put your pub on one social network, make that Facebook. It’s easy enough to create a page (and an account, too, if you don’t already have one), so what are you waiting for? Just head over to facebook.com and create an account with the form on the homepage.

From there, it’s easy enough to create a page for your pub – simply click on this link and set up your pub’s page as a business by filling in all the details needed. You’ll then be all set to connect with hundreds of people in your community!

2. Post regularly about voting for your pub

Nothing says covering all your bases by posting regularly about your pub’s participation in the awards, to make sure you get the attention of as much of your pub’s page followers as possible! Of course, not posting too regularly is also important – on average, posting three times a week at most about voting for your pub and/or the Dog-friendly Pub Awards is a good guideline to go by. Don’t forget to add a link to the voting webpage into your posts, so your audience knows where to go from the start.

3. Make every post eye-catching

The average Facebook feed is often overcrowded… so, to stand out from the crowd when posting, adding images or even videos to your posts often prove a big help. Why not show off your pub’s dog-friendly factors by posting pictures or videos of some pub pooches in action? Or use our Dog-friendly Pub Awards digital pub pack images to add some official flair to your posts? However you choose to post, just be sure to make your posts as vibrant as possible.

4. Update your page’s contact details

For those extra picky voters who want to check out your dog-friendly pub before they cast their precious votes, make sure to update your website and address on your Facebook page so more people can find you easily and pay you a visit, whether virtually or in person!

5. Engage with your community

You wouldn’t ignore a customer at your bar, so why not respond to Facebook comments and messages all the same? Facebook’s systems reward pages that respond to messages quickly and like or reply to the comments that people leave them – posts from these active pages often appear faster and more often to users. To make your pub’s page the first thing your audience sees when they log on, be sure to respond to any comments and messages you get as quickly as you can, even if it’s just to say a small thank you!

Twitter tips and tricks for attracting votes:

1. Once again, posting regularly is key

Much like on Facebook, it helps to post regular updates on Twitter about voting for your pub in the Dog-friendly Pub Awards. Putting out short reminders to vote for your pub at regular intervals ensures that your tweets will reach as much of your audience as possible, so news of your dog-friendliness spreads far and wide.

2. Use our Twitter hashtag #DogBuddyPubs

Make sure your tweets are seen by dog lovers keeping track of the awards – promote your pooch-friendly pub with our hashtag #DogBuddyPubs to show you’re participating in the awards. Use an image or two in your post to stand out from the rest, and you’re all set to get those votes!

Win even more votes by updating your website:

1. Put your dog-friendliness on the front page

70% of UK dog owners research dog-friendly pubs online before paying them a visit, and your website could be the key to getting new customers (and more potential voters) to your door. So, advertising your dog-friendliness on your homepage is clearly a must! Why not use one of our Dog-friendly Pub Awards digital pub pack badges to let future customers know that you welcome both two- and four-legged customers with open arms?

2. Create a DogBuddy Pubs listing

Whether or not your pub has an official website, why not create a DogBuddy Pubs listing too? You’d be part of an ever-growing community of dog-friendly pub landlords, and be able to promote your pub to dog owners on the lookout for a haunt they can share with their pooches! Click here to add your pub to the DogBuddy Pubs site, or click here if you already have a listing that needs updating.

Spread word of your dog-friendliness with your mailing list:

1. Get your subscribers voting

If your pub has a mailing list, make sure to tell your subscribers to vote for you in the awards. Use our Dog-friendly Pub Awards [link] email banners [link] to add that extra bit of flair to your promotional emails, and don’t forget to link your subscribers to the voting site too!

2. Send out updates about the awards regularly

The DFPA voting period runs for about two months – that’s plenty of time to drive as many people to vote for you as possible. With over thousands of votes in the 2017 DFPAs coming from emails, you don’t want to waste the potential votes your mailing list could get you!

To go the extra mile and get those votes, why not give visitors to your pub an extra push to vote for you too? 31% of voters enthusiastically flocked straight to the DogBuddy Pubs website to cast their votes – which, in turn, was driven by dog-friendly pubs being vocal about their participation in the Awards. Ordering a Dog-friendly Pub Awards physical pub pack will get you posters, strut cards, table talkers, and even a window sticker – perfect for getting your regulars to vote for you as they enjoy a pint by the bar with their pooch!