Nightlife Text Marketing

5 Ways Text Message Marketing Boosts Your Karaoke Bar Business

Karaoke bars compete with nightclubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and comedy clubs for being the place to spend a fun evening. One way to attract customers to your bar is through text message marketing. Whether you have a dedicated karaoke bar or just special nights reserved for the event, your business can see a positive boost with the addition of texting. If you are hesitating to add this versatile marketing channel to your strategy, the following benefits of SMS marketing might be the thing to get you to act.

Increase the Success of Your Promotional Campaigns

Adding the information about your text message marketing program to your advertisement and promotional materials increases the success of your campaign. People carry their cell phones with them everywhere, rarely having them outside of an arm's reach. This makes it very easy for them to see an ad, whether on TV, in a magazine, on a bus, on a billboard, or anywhere else, and take action in that same moment. They only have to grab their phone and text for more information. That is why texting is one of the best calls to action to use.

A High Engagement Rate

Text message marketing has eight times the engagement rate than email. One of the main reasons it has such a high engagement rate is due to the relationship people still have with texts. The perception remains more personal than email, so people are much more likely to check the messages right away. Plus, people are more selective in determining which campaigns to opt in to. This means that they will be more active and engaged because they already have a personal interest and investment in your company.

Perfect For Last Minute Deals

Because people still respond quickly to text message marketing, it is the perfect avenue for last minute deals. Over 98 percent of texts are opened, and a significant majority is read within just a few minutes. You can take advantage of this on a slow night. Once you feel that your club might need a boost that night, you can send out a text to your subscribers offering them something special, such as a discount on entry fees, food, beverages or something else. People will read the message and can respond right away, especially if they know that the offer is only good for that night.

Increase Foot Traffic

As a karaoke bar, it is important to find new customers every night. One way to do this is to have promotional flyers outside your venue to take advantage of the foot traffic passing by your bar. On these flyers, offer a discount that people can get that night if they text in. This will further motivate passersby to choose your venue for their night out over your competition.

Reach a Wider Audience

Around 90 percent of Americans own an SMS-enabled cell phone. This provides you with a very large audience of people with diverse demographics, background, and behavior patterns. Although you have to reserve your texts for those who actually opt in to your program, almost anyone is a potential subscriber. Not everyone has immediate access to email, social media, and other typical subscription programs. Therefore, you already are working with a larger pool of potential customers, and with the right promotion, you can capitalize on that to increase your opt ins and gain from the additional benefits of the program.

These are just a few of the lucrative benefits of utilizing a text message marketing program. With the right strategy in place, you can increase your karaoke bar's business. With text marketing's relatively low cost, you also gain the benefits without having to use too much of your marketing budget.

Ready to promote your karaoke bar's next event and increase business? Try ClubTexting for free.

 

 

5 Messages to Send Your Comedy Club Patrons for a Successful SMS Marketing Campaign

Many businesses have adopted texting as a way to engage with customers to boost their business. Comedy clubs can benefit from the numerous advantages of SMS marketing, including a high open rate and engagement rate. If you are looking for ways to include this type of marketing in your comedy club, then you want to be sure you create the best content. The following messages are just a few ideas you can use to jump start a dynamite text marketing campaign.

Free Drink With Purchase

Deals and discounts are always a popular option no matter what business you are in. For comedy clubs, getting people in the door to buy food and drinks can help to increase your business. Sending a message that offers a free drink with purchase provides your guests an incentive to come to your club. This can be the purchase of a meal, entry tickets, or a BOGO free drink special. Once your guests have one drink, they are more likely to order and pay for another drink, helping increase your revenue.

VIP Seating

Some comedy clubs have assigned seating, but most offer seating on a first come, first serve basis. For your SMS marketing subscribers, you can create a special seating area near the front of the stage. Upon showing the text message, your loyal subscribers have a chance to get VIP seating, even if they come later in the evening. This works well as a way to reward your most loyal customers. With your text marketing platform, you have the ability to group your subscribers based on their demographics and behavior patterns. One group can include your loyal customers to whom you send additional incentives and rewards beyond just VIP seating.

Discount Entry

Another highly popular offer to send through SMS marketing is a discount on the entry fee. Once you get people into your comedy club, you have other avenues of sales, including food and drinks. Most clubs make the bulk of their profits from drinks rather than entry tickets. This makes this type of coupon one of the best to send out. It minimizes the loss to your club due to the discount, and it is highly attractive to customers.

Event Reminders

SMS marketing is the perfect forum for sending out event reminders to your guests and potential guests. Around 98 percent of text messages are read. Most of the time that is within just a few minutes. This means that you can send reminders out the day of the show and feel confident that your subscribers saw the message. This helps increase attendance, since people will have less time to forget about the show. Event reminders also work well as customer service initiatives to remind those who pre-ordered tickets to their event so that they do not miss out.

Exclusive Pre-Sale Opportunities

Another message to send your comedy club patrons is a link to exclusive pre-sale opportunities to get tickets to shows. This works especially well for shows that are sure to sell out quickly. Your subscribers, especially your loyal members, can get a chance to get their tickets before you sell out so that they do not miss out. Although you can always offer pre-sale tickets through your text marketing campaign, you will see it work better when you use it for the big names heading to your club.

These are just a few examples of some messages you can send to your comedy club patrons to capitalize on the benefits of SMS marketing to increase your club's profits. When developing messages of your own, consider what your customers would most want from you. It is important that you concentrate on sending messages of value to your customers, and that those messages remain exclusive to the medium.

Ready to see how texting can help your comedy club increase its business? Try ClubTexting for free.

 

 

Attract Millennials to Your Nightclub with Text Message Marketing

Over the years, there has been a decline in Millennial patrons attending nightclubs. According to Insider magazine, the reasons for the decline range from increased technology for meeting people, overpriced drinks, and expensive cover charges. However, going out and spending time with friends over cocktails will always be a popular form of entertainment for partiers of any age. As an owner or marketer, you just have to use more creative methods to attract Millennials to your nightclub. One of the most effective ways to pack your dance floor again is through text message marketing.

Know Your Customers

You have to know your customers in order to effectively market to them. Millennials were born between the years of 1982 and 2004, and they make up approximately a quarter of the entire population. Because many Millennials have grown up with technology and smartphones, it can be difficult to reach them through traditional marketing methods such as magazine ads, radio spots, or direct mail. If you want to get the attention of Millennials (and get them to your nightclub) you need to take a more direct approach. Text message marketing lets you do this.

Provide Instant Interaction

Millennials aren't as willing to spend time looking at ads they aren't interested in. And, while it's important to include exclusive specials and discount offers in your text message marketing, it's good practice to create deals that this powerful customer segment can take advantage of immediately and redeem easily. Texting a Valentine's Day special the weekend before the holiday is infinitely more effective than posting flyers a month in advance.

Allow Shareable Experiences

Make sure to also create shareable experiences to engage Millennials. Include rewards or perks for sharing the text online or interacting with your club on social media. Offer drink specials to those who share your texts with their friends or refer them to your list. When marketing to Millennials, the more people that can get involved, the better.

Include Fun Pictures and Images

Adding images or even just emojis to your text message marketing can go a long way in getting the attention of Millennials. Including photo opportunities is also a good strategy to increase engagement with this audience. After all, they are often referred to as the "selfie generation". Whether you request that your customers tag you on Instagram or use images in your texts, your text message marketing campaign must be not only fun but also fun to look at.

Exclusive and Personal Attention

Millennials often find more value in experiences and relationships than "things." Your text messages should make the recipient feel as though they have an exclusive connection to your nightclub. Avoid sending boring messages that scream, "We just want your money" and make your customer feel as though the offer or event has been designed exclusively for them. Also, make sure you avoid bombarding phones with too many messages. Millennials are particularly aware of spam and have no problem blocking you or asking to be unsubscribed from further notifications.

An effective text message marketing campaign can get Millennials through your nightclub door. Want more business? Try ClubTexting for free today!

 

 

Attract People to Your Nightclub with Text Marketing

Nightclubs and private functions were made for each other. However, in order for you to count your party a success, you need party goers to add your club to their itineraries early. There is no shortage of options when it comes to venues, so getting people to line up at your club might require more creative methods than you've used in the past. Gone are the days of passing out flyers and hoping people show up. Here are some ways you can start the New Year out right and attract people to your nightclub with text marketing.


Start 2016 with the best New Year's party in town.

Texts Establish a Personal Relationship

One of the greatest benefits of text marketing is the ability to establish a more personal relationship with your guests. Rather than taking the chance they'll see a flyer somewhere, you can notify your SMS program subscribers about your event directly. Even if you send the same message to everyone, receiving the text on a smartphone feels much more personal than hearing an ad on the radio. Plus, it gives your guests the feeling of having an exclusive "in" to your club.

Word of Mouth at its Best

Considering nearly 100 percent of all texts are opened and read, you have a much better chance of gaining the attention of partiers through text marketing than by any other type of invitation. Make sure when you send out your text, you encourage the recipients to share the invite with loved ones. In order to reach more people even faster, you can provide an incentive, such as a promotional offer or bonus to those who pass the message along. There isn't any faster or easier way to spread the news about your event than by encouraging the receiver to forward your message or tell a friend about your club.

Include Special Promotions and Perks

There are a number of special promotions and perks you can include in your text marketing to make sure people are lined up to get into your club this year. Consider offering discounted VIP service and special drink offers. Further, try promotions such as asking the recipient to show the text at the door before 11PM for free admission. If guests are at the club by 11:00, there's a good chance they'll stay and celebrate until long after midnight.


Text marketing can make your club the #1 spot in 2016

Provide Instant Drink Specials and Bonuses

In this world where instant gratification can go a long way, consider providing instant drink specials and bonuses in your text marketing that guests can benefit from right away. If they know they can qualify for a free drink simply by texting the keyword or forwarding the offer to their friends, they can help spread the news of your party and may be more likely to show up at your club for future events.

Are you ready to get the party started at your nightclub? Try ClubTexting for free today!

How Nightclub Owners Can Get the Party Started with SMS Messaging


SMS messages can help you attract more guests for special events at your nightclub.

The dance floor is packed, the DJ is spinning a compilation of music that has the crowd feeling energized and excited, everybody is having a great time, and the drinks are flowing. It's every nightclub owners' idea of a perfect evening. If you are searching for ways to get the party started at your club, there are a number of approaches you can take. As mobile has become more popular, forward-thinking club owners have been using SMS messaging to reach more patrons. Here are some of the ways you can use SMS messaging to increase foot traffic to your nightclub for special events.

Build Your Mobile Subscriber List

One of the biggest challenges for business owners who are exploring how to use mobile marketing to connect with customers is creating a mobile subscriber list. Building a large list typically takes some time, but there are a few things you can do make the process easier. Consider launching a cross-channel marketing effort. Create a long code campaign with a mobile communications provider, and place compelling calls to action encouraging people to text to subscribe to your mobile list on your print and online promotions. Employing a cross-channel strategy is a good way to increase sign-ups for your SMS messaging campaigns.

Offer Something Unique and Exciting

It goes without saying that every person loves feeling valued and special. The same goes for your customers. If you want to get their attention with SMS messaging, offering them something appealing is a good way to do it. Consider creating a VIP offer campaign to pique your mobile subscribers' interest. There are several ways you could structure your campaign, from sharing a VIP coupon for a free drink, offering exclusive reserved seating, or waiving the cover charge for the first hundred customers who reply to your message. Create an offer that your potential patrons simply won't be able to refuse!

Send Reminders to Your Mobile Contacts

If you decide to use SMS messaging for your event promotions, informing your mobile subscribers about upcoming events a couple weeks prior is a good rule of thumb. This gives them plenty of lead time and allows them to connect with friends and make plans to attend. But don't just send them one SMS message and leave it at that. Consider reminding your mobile subscribers about your event as the day draws closer. This will help keep it fresh in their minds so they don't forget that it's happening. A little reminder goes a long way when it comes to boosting event attendance.


Remind your mobile subscribers about upcoming events with well-timed SMS messages.

If you are interested in giving your marketing efforts a boost to attract more customers to your nightclub, SMS messaging is a great way to do it. Club owners can use cross-channel marketing strategies to build their mobile subscriber lists, and then create SMS messaging campaigns which help build momentum in the weeks and days leading up to events. Are you ready to get started with text message marketing for your nightclub? Try Club Texting for free today!

4 Reasons Your Event Needs Mass Text Messaging


Effective mass text message marketing can help you maximize event attendance.

Mass text messaging should be in every event planner's toolkit. It doesn't matter if you are planning large conferences in the corporate world or a nightclub owner interesting in attracting more patrons to an upcoming special event. If event planning is part of your job description, reaching out to your audience via mobile can have many benefits for your business. Here are four reasons your event needs mass text messaging.

Simplifying Registration

Mass text messaging can be used to simplify the registration process for your upcoming event. Consider setting up a system where your mobile subscribers can preregister via their smartphones. This is beneficial for two reasons. First, it is more convenient for your audience, which means they may be more likely to register. It also simplifies things for your business because you can easily track who has signed up to participate in your event.

Build Interest Leading Up to Your Event

Do you have an impressive array of speakers on the docket for an upcoming event? Or maybe you've invited a popular musician to perform for the evening? Mass text messaging can be used to build interest and get people talking in the days and weeks leading up to your event. If you know your mobile subscribers will be excited about a particular speaker or performer, why not spread the word? It could help you maximize attendance because potential attendees will be excited about the schedule or set list.

Reminder Tool

How many times have you looked forward to something and then completely forgotten it was happening? Chances are you would have appreciated a reminder so you didn't feel disappointed after the fact. Mass text messaging is the perfect way to reminder your audience that your event is happening. Consider sending out a reminder message a day or two ahead of the scheduled date. This will help you keep your event fresh in the minds of your mobile subscribers, increasing the chances that they'll attend.

Gathering Feedback after the Fact

You can also use mass text messaging after your event to collect valuable feedback from your audience. Consider creating a quick poll or survey afterwards to see what your guests thought about the event. The information you collect will come in handy if you plan events frequently, as you can use it to see what worked and what didn't work so well previously. Mobile surveys and polls are quick and easy, so chances are you will get more responses than if you chose to ask for your audience's feedback via traditional channels like email or the mail.


Use mass text messaging to get your customers' attention before your next event.

Mass text messaging is a useful tool for every event planner. Whether you are involved in planning corporate networking events or you are simply interested in attracting more patrons to comedy night at your club, mobile can be used to streamline the registration process, generate interest, remind your audience, and collect feedback about your event. If you are interested in exploring how mass text messaging can benefit your business, try Club Texting for free today!

4 Ways to Fill Your Nightclub's Dancefloor in 2015


Make your club the hottest spot in town this year. Photo credits: whiskeytango.

It's a new year, and it's time to take things up a notch to attract new patrons to your nightclub. Whether you've recently opened your establishment or are simply interested in making some changes to your business to connect with new customers, there are a number of things you can do to fill your nightclub's dance floor in 2015. Here are four approaches you can take to make your business the hottest party spot in town.

Find out What Your Customers Want

The best way to make your business more customer-friendly is to connect with your target audience. Ask your customers what they'd like to see from your business this year. You can conduct an informal or formal market research campaign to collect their feedback. Consider asking about your food and drink menus, music, and general nightclub atmosphere. Use the input you gather from your audience to make improvements to your business in the new year.

Get the Word out on Social Media

If you are interested in attracting a younger audience to your nightclub this year, consider getting started with social media marketing. Social networking is the new word-of-mouth marketing. Spend some time learning more about which social media sites are most popular among your audience, and create a profile. Add links to your social media profiles to your print marketing materials and your menus. This will help you establish a following of existing customers. Use this channel to share special promotions with your customers and engage them in conversation.

Introduce Themed Nights

One way to set your nightclub apart from others nearby is to introduce themed nights. For example, you may want to have a designated ladies night each week where female club goers receive a special discount, or a singles night where those who are unattached can come and mingle. Themed nights can add an element of fun to your establishment, and that element of fun is what's going to help fill up your dance floor this year.

Use Text Marketing to Reach New Customers

Another effective way to connect with a younger audience is through text message marketing. Younger consumers communicate via text message more frequently than traditional phone calls. As consumers have become more connected to their mobile devices, they've become more open minded about connecting with businesses through their smartphones. Consider working with a mobile developer to create a text marketing campaign for your business. If you want to make the most of your first campaign, entice customers to opt-in to receive communications from your business with a special promotion. Develop an offer that potential customers simply cannot refuse, and your business will be booming before you know it.


Pack your dance floor this year by revamping your marketing. Photo credits: kalooz.

If you're interested in getting new customers through the door this year, there are several approaches you can take to accomplish your goals. Consider talking to your customers, embracing social media, introducing themed nights, and exploring text message marketing to reach your audience. Get started with your first text marketing campaign and try Club Texting for free today. New patrons will be filling up your dance floor in no time!

3 Ways Bars Can Use Text Marketing


Text marketing is a great way to get the party started at your bar.

You've got an incredible music lineup and an impressive array of beers on tap at your bar, now all you need are more customers! Whether you're a bar owner that's recently established their first business or you're simply interested in driving more foot traffic to your business, text marketing is a great way to connect with a young audience.

The proof is in the numbers. According to recent data, 91% of mobile users in the 18-34 age demographic use their devices to send and receive text messages. Open rates for text messages hover around 99%. By comparison, average email open rates are around 33%. The bottom line is that texting is an effective way your customers. Here are three ways your business can use text marketing to increase your patronage.

Share information about special events

Does your bar have any upcoming events on the calendar? Maybe you have a monthly ladies' night or you've got a special performer on the schedule in the near future. Text marketing is a great way to get the word out to potential customers about these exclusive events. Work with a communications provider to create a campaign to help increase your foot traffic on special nights.

Incentivize your marketing

One of the challenges that many businesses face with their mobile marketing efforts is getting customers to opt-in to receive communications from their establishment. If you are interested in increasing your mobile subscriptions, you may want to consider offering an incentive for those who choose to opt-in. For example, if you're trying to increase patronage during slower lunch time hours, sharing an offer for a free appetizer or discounted meal might help drive more traffic to your business. Alternatively, if you're trying to get more customers through the door at night, you may want to text them an offer for a free drink. Providing a little incentive can help increase your campaign opt-in rates, and give your text marketing efforts a boost.

Pay attention to timing

Close to 90% of text messages are opened within three minutes of receipt. If you are planning to use text marketing for your business, spend some time thinking about timing. Consider how timing relates to your campaign goals. For example, if you are hoping to attract customers for happy hour, you'll want to schedule your campaign accordingly. Most people are leaving work at 5PM, so you may want to entice the commuter crowd with a well-timed offer just before they head out the door at 4:45PM. Timing is a critical component of any effective text marketing effort. Effective scheduling can help you attract the right crowd at the right time.


Timing is everything when it comes to text marketing campaigns.

Text message marketing is a great way to connect with younger consumers and drive traffic to your business. Bars can use texting to share information about special events, entice potential customers with unique offers, and increase their patronage. The key is to create a well-timed campaign that will reach your target customers at the perfect moment. If you're interested in exploring text message marketing for your business, try ClubTexting for free today.

Author Bio: Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.

3 Surefire Ways to Get a Nightclub Customer's Attention

Do you want to bring in more business? If you're in the nightclub business, you know how important it is to differentiate yourself so that you can bring in more customers and continue to have success. Luckily, there are a number of way in which you can use today's technology to advertise your club so that you get the results that you want. Take a look at the following information for some great ways to get the attention of potential customers.

Use Mass Texting Services to Offer Limited Time Deals

If you're not currently using a mass texting service to market your club, now is the time to do start doing so. This is a great and easy way to reach out to potential and current club visitors. With the use of this service, you can advertise all of your deals.

While some clubs focus on marketing a special event or drink special, another great way to stand out is by offering a reduced admission fee if individuals show up by a certain time. This is a great way to fill up the club and ensure that a special event is visited.

All you need to do is set up a text campaign that will alert individuals of a discounted rate if they enter your club by a certain time. It's a good idea to send this out the day before the event date as well as a couple of hours before the specific time. This can allow you to get last minute guests in the door, who may not have otherwise visited your establishment.


Using mass text messaging services can help you get more people in the door.

Offer Continued Discounts for Repeat Guests

It's a good idea to reward repeat guests for visiting your club. This can help show that you appreciate their business and can keep them coming through your doors.

You can also use a mass texting plan for this marketing practice. You will want to tailor your messages and make sure that you're thanking customers for their patronage. Consider offering a discount to individuals who text a code once they've entered the club. This can allow them to save a certain percentage or dollar amount off of their next visit.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media is another great way to get the attention of potential customers. You can use images, videos, and personal reviews to help spark interest in your club and the events that you have.

With so many people using social media on a regular basis, it's important that your club makes its brand noticeable online so that you can get the best results. If you're not currently on social media, look into creating an Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook so that you can interact with your current and potential customers.


Tweeting about your brand can help you reach more potential customers.

As you can see, you can get the attention of nightclub customers in many ways. If you're looking for ways to better market your business, consider implementing some of the above steps so that you can continue to have success and stand out from the competition.

Natasha Etzel is a writer who writes on a variety of topics, including online marketing and business topics.

How Mass Text Messaging Can Sell Out Your Concert Venue

The concert is over, and everyone had a great time, but sadly that's no guarantee the concert goers will definitely turn out for your next event, especially if you don't remind them, regularly.

And you're certainly not alone. Being forgotten about is a problem all business owners face. Customers have a lot going on in their lives, and your business is rarely top of their minds. So...

Let's Remind Your Customers That You Exist


Standing room only at your next event!

Depending how much information your concert goers give you when they order their ticket, you have a number of options to follow up on them:

Email, of course.

Downsides of this approach include your message getting lost in a cluttered inbox, or even worse if your message automatically gets sent to the spam folder.

Bulk email can be an inexpensive way to communicate with your customers, but response rates keep on dropping, so it's important not to depend on it.

How about phoning your customers?

Unless your customer base is particularly small, phoning each of your customers one by one isn't an option. And there are ways to scale this process, with either an automated message sent to your customers, or using a call center. But be aware many people really do not appreciate unexpected calls, so unless you proceed with caution this approach may backfire.

Direct mail

Costly, with low response rates, but another option to consider if you have the budget, and want to reach your customers through multiple channels.

Text Message

According to the Conversational Advertising report by Mobile Squared, 90% of SMS messages are read within the first three minutes. That delivery and open rate is streets ahead of both direct mail, and email, so it's vital you make mass text messaging part of your marketing mix.

We're All Talking Less and Texting More


You can use a phone to talk?

As more and more of the population upgrade to smartphones, people are using their phone less to talk. Texting, rather than speaking, has become far more popular these days, and this is particularly true for teens. So sending a text really does almost guarantee to get someone's attention.

So this is one of the most cost effective ways to get a message in front of your customers incredibly quickly. But just because you can get someone's attention, doesn't make every message equal. If the texts you send out are uninteresting, irrelevant, or overbearing, they're very likely to:

 

    • Be ignored entirely.

 

    • Be read, but get no response.

 

    • Annoy your customers, so they either ask to unsubscribe, or choose to never do business with you again.

 

High Response SMS Marketing (a Very Crash Course)

The following tried and true direct response rules can help to maximize the response you get from your SMS marketing campaigns:

Message to Market Match

Is your message relevant, interesting and beneficial for the receiver? The more relevant to their interests and compelling for them, the better your response will be. If they came to a jazz concert, and you're inviting them back for Lady Gaga, you might not receive the response you're looking for.

"Make me an offer (I can't refuse)"

Everyone loves a special offer, and making it time-sensitive is shown to boost response again and again. Give your customers a very strong reason to buy now. Perhaps a reduced price, a two-for-one offer, special bonuses for the first 100 customers.

The more reasons you give your customer to respond quickly, the more likely they are to do just that.

Do they know who you are?

If it's been a while since you've been in touch, you might need to remind them who you are, your relationship with them, and why they're going to be so happy you got in touch (this loops back to making a special offer).

And even if you don't have an offer you can make your customers right now, keeping in regular touch with them can increase response rates when you do want them to respond positively.

What you're doing effectively is training your customers to get used to hearing from you, and even better if you can train them to respond to your messages, whether that's purchasing from you, or just clicking a link to read your latest newsletter.

Time of day

Since text messages are read so quickly, you ideally want to send messages when they're most likely to be responded too. It does depend on your audience, but a pretty safe assumption is that evenings and weekends are when your customers have the most time to read, and respond to, your message.

So it's vital you make SMS marketing part of your marketing mix, and perhaps your very first marketing choice for any new campaign, since the delivery and read rates are almost unprecedented. A well written and targeted text has been shown to get attention quickly and drive a fast response.

This article was written by Louis Allport, an experienced marketer who enjoys sharing his experience with other businesses. He lives in the UK and has been marketing and publishing online for over 15 years.

The Quick Guide to Nightclub Marketing

Depositphotos_14345149_xs

Nightclub marketing encompasses all the things you as a nightclub owner or manager do to bring in customers, and most of it comes down to building your club's unique brand. When the name of your nightclub conveys a certain experience, and people have an expectation of the experience of your club before they arrive, your club has a brand. Here is a quick guide to nightclub marketing techniques that have been tried and proven for brand building.

Promotions and Events

Successful promotions attract new clientele segment or boost existing clientele, and they're great for adding excitement to slow weeknights. Discounts and themes are two major pillars of successful nightclub promotions. Whether it's Goth night, disco night, or a 2 for 1 special, promotions and events are staples of successful nightclub marketing.

Contests

You don't have to spend a lot of money to host a trivia contest or a costume contest. Dance and karaoke contests are also popular ideas that don't cost much to host. With a well-attended contest, the cost of a nice prize will be more than made up for by increased sales and further promotion of your club's brand.

Press Releases

When your nightclub hosts an event benefiting a local charity, always issue a press release afterward. If you don't know how to write one, you can hire someone to do it for you without spending a lot of money. Getting a press release picked up by local media can boost your nightclub marketing strategy considerably.

Creative Visual Advertisement

Posters and stickers containing QR codes or interactive links can be effective nightclub marketing materials. A QR code customers can scan for a free drink offer or to waive the cover charge can bring in more people, as can a poster placed in an unexpected spot, like the window of a local business or on the side of a vending machine, for example.

Branded Merchandise Sales

As your nightclub's brand starts to solidify, consider selling branded merchandise, either from behind the bar or in a "gift shop" zone in your establishment. Not only do you profit from sales of the merchandise itself, the merchandise's wearers and users advertise for you whenever they wear their t-shirt or pour their friends shots in your branded shot glasses.

Customer Relationship Management

Some clubs implement customer relationship management (CRM) programs to better cater to their regular or VIP customers. CRM software is available to help you learn more about and track your best customers so you can offer them the best possible experience when they visit your nightclub. It's a great way to increase loyalty and gather information that helps you better target your nightclub marketing campaigns.

Social Media

If you're not already regularly using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+, you should be. A social media strategy doesn't cost much to implement and maintain, and can have great reach. Offer a free drink to customers who check in at your nightclub with their phones, and their social media friends will see where they are and perhaps decide to join them.

Text Marketing

Text marketing is an exciting and effective form of nightclub marketing. People have their phones with them at all times, and text messages are opened much more quickly than emails - usually within two or three minutes. A promotion code or notice of a contest sent out by SMS can reach large numbers quickly, at a very low cost. If your nightclub isn't using text message marketing, you're missing out on a great nightclub marketing technique.

Gonna Be In NYC? New Years Eve Parties in New York

New Years Eve Parties in New YorkClub Texting is based in New York. As such, we know a thing or two about New Years Eve parties. If you're a native, or you'll be visiting, we've got some info for you, along with some links to valuable resources. In New York, New Years Eve is one of the biggest and most exciting party nights of the year. It gives you an excuse to get dressed up, spend time with friends, and party like a rock star.

New Years NYC is an experience like no other, whether it is spent in Times Square or at one of NYC’s hottest clubs. The ball drop in Times Square is an event that cannot be replicated and belongs solely to New York, drawing crowds of over 700,000 people. Two clubs having New Years NYC parties near Times Square are China Club and Aspen Social, both located close to the madness where you can ring in the New Year out of the cold.

A lot of people would rather avoid the madness altogether, good thing New York is a big city. New Years Eve in NYC has an endless list of places to celebrate. Clubs are the perfect New Years option embodying all things New Years, glitz, glamour, music, dancing, and of course the countdown to midnight. Some of NYC’s best places to ring in the New Year include; M2 Ultra Lounge, BLVD, and Kiss & Fly.

Whatever you do, everyone at Club Texting wishes you a happy and a healthy new year!

 

Nightclub Promotion 101 - Text Messaging For Your Club

As a nightclub owner or promoter you're always looking for new, cost-effective ways of getting people through the door. At Club Texting, we help hundreds of nightclubs, bars, and lounges connect with their patrons through text messaging:

Nightclub promotions can be a difficult task--you spend money in various places, and it is often difficult to see if your investments are paying dividends. Club Texting's mobile marketing program for nightclubs holds down your costs, while taking the uncertainty out of the nightlife promotions process. When you send out text messages promoting parties at your nightclub, patrons come through the door, with their phones in hand. Unlike with email, which stays on the computer, you can have your customers pull out their phones to show you the message they are responding to--and in turn you can offer them VIP access, drink specials, reduced admission, or whatever else you dream up!

So what can you do with text messaging for your nightclub? As patrons wait in line at the door, have them text your keyword to 25827 (212121 in Canada) to join your VIP mobile guest list, showing the auto-reply message for reduced admission. Send a mass text the same day as a special event, telling people to show the text message for free admission before 11pm. Soon, you will never print flyers again!

Learn more: Mobile marketing is the future of nightclub promotion.

Club Texting Customer Spotlight: Sandbar

Sandbar NJ
Sandbar USA Text Messaging Case Study

Objectives:
Sandbar is a two acre entertainment complex on the water overlooking Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. A New Jersey landmark for over 20 years, Sandbar annually leads beer & liquor sales for the entire state of New Jersey—operating only 6 months out of the year.

Sandbar’s Marketing Director, Vid Bahadur, saw the value of wireless communication when used for direct marketing. He also saw huge growth potential for the future: powerful marketing tools such as multimedia messages, including streaming commercial clips. Sandbar decided that the time was right to start turning their customers into subscribers, recognizing the potential to then leverage that existing subscriber base for future projects. 

When Sandbar decided to setup a direct, personalized system to deliver marketing messages to a targeted group of opt-in subscribers, they partnered with Club Texting. 

Solution:
In order to segment their customer base by demographic, Sandbar chose four keywords: SPLASH (Fridays) and SALSA (Saturdays) for their general mailing lists; SANDBAR and BOTTLES for their VIP reservation mailing lists.

Although Sandbar had an existing phone database of over 10,000 numbers, they wanted to grow a 100% opt-in texting list from scratch. They kicked off their campaign at the start of the 2007 season with three mailers: direct mail, hand delivered fliers, and email messages. The initial push offered all subscribers free admission, adding that this was the only way to gain free admission to the club. Within one month, they amassed 1,500 numbers. 

Sandbar USA Text Messaging

Over the next few months, Sandbar expanded their texting promotions to include in-venue signage, radio, online, and all print materials. Sandbar’s text campaigns often take advantage of circumstances. If they had surplus supplies, ongoing promotions, or spare capacity, they used a text messaging campaign to address or exploit the particular situation. The results have shown that these campaigns were both effective, and efficient, as they took advantage of available resources. 

  • Other campaigns included:
  • In-venue ticket giveaways: Announced a sponsored Yankees ticket giveaway during club nights, selecting one lucky winner the following Monday.
  • VIP bottle service for a lucky winner on slower nights
  • Last-minute text at 11pm to increase traffic on a rainy Friday night. Offered free shuttle service from parking lots to venue with text coupon: sent to 1,500 subscribers, 200 people showed up (13% Response Rate).
  • In-venue offers: handed out on business cards to push a specific product at a discounted price for text subscribers 

Outcome:
Within the first month of using the service, Sandbar collected over 1,500 numbers in total. At the present time, after three months of use, their text message campaigns now reach over 4,500 subscribers. On average, subscribers receive 1-2 messages per week.

Sandbar makes a point to give back to their customers, offering something in almost every one of their text blasts. 

For the first time in its history, Sandbar has been able to run successful marketing campaigns without printed materials or online support. Instead they are able to rely exclusively upon the Club Texting system.

Promoting Your Club Texting List To Your Customers

You've always been ahead of the marketing curve--you run email campaigns, you have a web presence, and you've even staked an outpost on social networking sites like MySpace--which means you're always looking for new and innovative ways to reach new customers and solidify relationships with current customers. Looking around, you see that your competitors have implemented mobile marketing programs, but you don't know how to move forward. Well, relax, today we're going to explain to you just how easy it is to develop a powerful mobile marketing program using Club Texting's SMS service.

Club Texting provides text messaging (SMS) services to the nightlife industry--what this means is that anyone, anywhere, can send a simple message from their cell-phone to an easy to remember short-code (CLUBS - 25827) and join (opt-in to) your mobile marketing list. What exactly is a mobile marketing list? This is a roster of phone numbers, belonging to a highly targeted set of customers--customers who you are able to reach anytime, anywhere--your message literally in the palm of their hand.

That sounds great. But now the question on your mind is: How do I build up a list? Well, as a pioneer in the mobile marketing industry, Club Texting has a long list of customers who have implemented dozens of different successful strategies. The key is to incentive--if you offer something to your customers, they'll give you access and loyalty you could have only dreamed about a few years ago. Today we're going to highlight some of the most effective ones to date.

6_tao_freeadmissionTAO Nightclub Las Vegas - VIP Invites & Complimentary Admission

When one of the hottest (and most difficult to get into) nightclubs in Las Vegas offers VIP Invites and Complimentary Admission, people pay attention. Tao integrated their texting campaign into their print and online marketing efforts, offering the customers the incentive of access. Needless to say, they've built up quite a list.

 

3_coyote_giveaway Coyote Ugly Miami - Giveaways, Drink specials, And Other VIP Offers

 

Coyote Ugly Miami entices and rewards loyal customers with giveaways, drink specials, and the occasional VIP offering. Because the Club Texting software is so quick and simple to use, these offers can remain static, or they can change from week to week, day to day, or even throughout the evening.

 

 

4_planb_viptablePlan B - Chance to win a 10 person VIP table during DJ AM show

 

 

When a celebrity guest or DJ comes to your venue, you want to exploit the event for all it's worth. Plan B, a Detroit nightclub, did exactly that when DJ AM came to play a set. In the month leading up to the show, new text members received the added bonus of the chance to win a 10 person VIP table at the DJ AM show.

 

1_forum_vip The Forum - VIP Entry

 

The Forum, a Charlotte nightclub, builds customer loyalty by allowing the people on its mobile marketing list to skip the long lines out front on popular nights.

 

2_alley_grandopening Alley Cat - Building Hype For A Grand Opening

 

The Alley Cat, a bar in Charlotte, built up customer anticipation for the Grand Opening of their venue by integrating their mobile marketing efforts with their initial pre-launch print campaigns. Customers were enticed to join the bar's mobile marketing by the offer of invitations to the Grand Opening Party.

Those campaigns are just a sample of what our clients have done in the past.

 

 

Many of our other clients have had a lot of success with more non-traditional programs:

  • On-site signups: tell eager customers waiting in line to get into the club to sign up on-the-spot in order to receive reduced admission by showing their confirmation text.   
  • DJ shoutouts: "If you guys want to get on the VIP list for free admission, drinks, and other cool offers--Send a text message with the word XYZ to the number CLUBS now! That number again is 25827, spells out CLUBS on your keypad.
  • MySpace pages: www.myspace.com/taolasvegas, www.myspace.com/azukardowntown  
  • In-venue signage: Behind the bar, coasters, scrolling on plasma screens, bathroom doors, staff shirts, stickers, hand stamps.
  • Radio ads: Especially good for announcing contests: "This week Lucca Restaurant is giving away five 42-inch Pioneer plasma TVs! Enter to win today by texting the word LUCCA to the number CLUBS, that's  L-U-C-C-A to the number 25827!"  

These are just a handful of the ways you can entice people to join your list. The methods you can employ are practically limitless--the only boundary is your imagination. Having been in this industry since the beginning--working with everyone from promoters, to small owner-operators, to known international brands, including casinos, record labels, and professional sports teams--we can always offer you advice and suggestions.

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