With over 1800 pubs on our website at any one time, it’s important to ensure that you are doing all that you can to maximise your pub’s potential.
Whilst we transcribe to a standard layout – the content is down to you. We want your pub adverts to really shine, stand out in the crowd, be eye-catching and paint a picture to any prospective tenant that captures their interest.
Below are our Marketing Department’s top 5 tips for driving your advert to the top of people’s pick lists!
1. A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS
We are huge advocates of professional imagery to capture your pub’s full potential, but we know that this is not always possible or budget friendly. But Images matter! So, if you can’t stretch budget-wise or timewise to enable a professional photographer to take your images then you must take the necessary steps to ensure your images are adhering to these three fundamental rules.
- Well Lit – Make sure that you have ample light, you are not taking an image directly into light (as this will cast shadows) and that you have where you can open doors and curtains to afford some natural light into the building. When outdoors, try and keep the sun behind you. If you have a flash, use it carefully - nothing worse than a bleached-out image!
- Well Dressed – let’s declutter our spaces, dress our tables and tidy our spaces before taking an image. Nothing worse than a pretty beer garden littered with cigarette butts, a hanging basket overflowing with dead flowers, or a bin fit to burst! Remember, much like if you were selling your own home – this image is depicting the potential – if there is too much clutter that potential could well get hidden! Clutter, unfortunately, can also come in the form of people. Try and take your images when you have a quiet period, avoid getting the bus stop outside in the picture with queues of people awaiting the number 39! Avoid cars too – we have had direct complaints when an image is included that has a visible number plate!
- In Focus – You may be in a rush, getting the pub listed may be super important and time sensitive but please keep still when taking an image. Movement can cause blurring and lack of focus which will not work as a display image. Get into the habit of checking each image once it’s been taken. > Take it, check it!
There is so much more we could say on this subject – and in fact, have already. Click here to read an article all about photography and the importance of it in marketing your property.
2. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
All the intel that we have on pub searches shows that Location is king when it comes to a candidate searching for their ideal pub. It’s therefore so important that within the content this is expanded on. If an image paints the picture – then the location description sets the scene. Use this area to expand not only on the position of the pub and its address but also on what the surrounding area has to offer. Close to a National Park? Mention it! Close to amazing transport links? Mention it! Set in an area with plenty of chimney pots (Custom) Mention it! The importance of describing the surrounding location, the demographic, and even the local amenities can’t be stressed enough. Remember – this in most cases is going to be the applicant’s home as well as their business so be descriptive, expand further and discuss location as potential not just a flat fact.
3. IS THIS UP TO DATE?
Forearmed is forewarned, right?
It’s so important to offer accurate up-to-date information in a set of marketing particulars. There is nothing worse to have images from years ago that no longer resemble the pub’s look or layout. The last thing you want to do is misrepresent your pub in its promotional details. If you do – not only, is it potentially false advertising – it’s also going to wind up with an annoyed candidate. Whilst it may be easy to pick up an old set of marketing details and get a pub relisted to save time – in the long run, it will cost you. This rule doesn’t just apply to the décor either. The location, the competition, the whole demographic may have completely changed since the pub was last listed. Do your homework, visit the site again. Perhaps there is a new estate being built, perhaps there is a new factory or office building – all these facts could be important to a future tenant and making sure the information you provide is timely and accurate is key to managing expectations.
4. The DEVIL IS IN THE (FINANCIAL) DETAIL (the only occasion where less is more is not accurate!)
Let’s talk about Money. We all know it’s needed; we all know it’s important and we all know it’s the subject we all like talking about least – it’s the make-or-break factor, in that fact – this one must be dealt with head-on. The single biggest complaint that we receive from applicants is that the financial requirements advertised do not meet the financial requirements needed. Which in short means it’s been a big old waste of time.
Make it clear what the financial requirements are for this pub – don’t try and hide it, fluff it, disguise it or pretend it’s not a factor. In doing so, you are setting yourself up for inevitable failure.
Much like when writing your descriptions, your financial breakdown should offer as much transparency and details as possible. Dressing it up any other way is a false economy.
Do you have profit potential figures? Do you have any information on the split or sales? – What could you offer in this breakdown that shows your transparency but also an opportunity? The financial section doesn’t have to be a pit of despair or the weakest link – it could be the platform to drive the most potential – either way, it needs to be reflective, clear, and concise.
5. USE EMOTIVE WORDS
We may not have an army of copywriters at our disposal, but a few well-placed emotive words can do wonders to liven up even the dullest of sentences. Descriptive writing requires you to use your keypad as a canvas. Whilst this is a business transaction, it’s also an emotive one. People are looking for a lifestyle, a career, a future. Help them visualise the potential in your pub by really being versatile in the language you use. Words such as Abundant, Luxurious, Picturesque, Enviable, Desirable and Affluent help to shape a set of marketing details and sell a dream. Because that is exactly what you are doing – showing someone what they could have – frame that potential in descriptive language and add a shine to your advert.
We hope these tips have been of benefit!
