With the intentions of partying like it’s 1999, the Hamilton bar scene is leaning heavily on social media to pop-off their next hit event, in addition to gaining some insight into what the local competition might be spinning up.
Social media and the bar scene go together like PB&J. The two seem made for each other and why not? The bar / club scene is an ever evolving industry with unique events happening daily, and trends being set overnight, only to be replaced by something fresher the following week. It’s no surprise social media networks are such an integral part of promoting and driving ROI for an industry where one moment you’re the hottest thing since sliced bread, and the next, well, you’re not!
Koi & Sizzle are two sister restaurant / nightclubs in the popular Hess Village district in Hamilton ON. Koi has an Asian influenced menu during the day, while Sizzle used to offer food on the main / first floor, but are now running a hookah lounge instead. Where they may differ, at night it’s all business as both venue’s transform into full-on nightclubs complete with bottle service, private booths, and resident DJ’s.
The two clubs do their primary marketing on social media, namely Facebook. Club nights or events, are advertised on Facebook, and the network is used to drive interest on the upcoming events. Contests such as those that ask you to tag yourself and your friends through the comment section of an events post to win a VIP experience are common, and a way to drive engagement.
Entry into the contest is gained by tagging yourself and friends in each posts comments section. Winners are then randomly selected to attend a private VIP Experience at the club prior to a Friday or Saturday evening opening. The VIP Experience gets you past the line, free cover, and a private booth. In addition, members are also added to an exclusive guest list that grants them access to a private page on Facebook only accessible to VIP members.
From the clubs standpoint each VIP member is added to an online clientele list managed through Facebook giving them an enormous amount of exposure into the demographic frequenting their venue. They can easily discern the average age of each “clubgoer“, and leverage that info to influence things such as music played, and drink menu, to name a few, and this is all done through Facebook.
Spads DJ – Resident DJ Sizzle / Koi
Lessons for Others
Sizzle / Koi are using social media in a unique and effective way to garner metrics for data that’s dictating how the two clubs operate. They’re able to engage their audience through the worlds leading social network, and then propagate their clientele list using that data. By leveraging Facebook, they’re then granted access to an unofficial life story of their most loyal patrons along with, among other things, their likes and dislikes. This is just one of the ways, Facebook ad’s and boosted posts aside, that Sizzle / Koi are running their business organically through social. Gone are the days of handing out printed flyers for events that usually ended up on the sidewalk, now events are released on Facebook, and that’s just the beginning.
Organization:
Sizzle & Koi
Industry:
Bars & Nightclubs
Name of Organization Contact:
DJ Spads, Resident DJ
Authored by: Romeo Crugnale
If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.
References
Sizzle & Koi. Retrieved February 28, 2016, http://www.sizzlekoi.ca/
Gross, J (2015, February 10). Top Shelf Digital Marketing. Retrieved February 28, 2016 from Nightclub & Bar, http://www.nightclub.com/growing-sales/marketing-strategies/top-shelf-digital-marketing
Christine, M (2015, January 18). Measuring The Impact Of Social Media On Your Business. Retrieved February 28, 2016 from Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2016/02/25/the-simple-mindset-change-thatll-break-you-out-of-your-career-rut/#5cb246a046e5
Kristi, H (2015, June 16). All of the Social Media Metrics That Matter. Retrieved February 28, 2016 from Sprout Social, http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-metrics-that-matter/