Social Media insights from personal experience in a successful hospitality chain. Analyzing a Firkin restaurant; Why Firkin Not?

A couple of years back when I was undergraduate student looking for a summer job, I was walking around Bloor West Village in Toronto when I found the Swan and Firkin. At the time I didn’t have much experience in the hospitality industry so I was reluctant to apply. I knew the firkin was a large pubs chain and I wasn’t sure if they would hire inexperience people. I decided to enter and have a drink while scouting the place. First thing I noticed was the sign outside “Post a picture on Facebook of your experience at the Firkin and get a chance to win a Moosehead Bicycle”. Why not, I said to myself if anything I might get a bike and entered. The bar was the stereotype of a British pub. The seating consisted mostly of booths of a dark red suede, a long bar took most of the east wall and it was totally stocked of scotches and bourbons. The menu had the classic fish & chips and Sheppard’s pie of course and they had over 12 beers on tap. So far so good!

I found it strange that the place was really busy on a Wednesday evening. I grabbed a seat at the bar and started talking to the bartender about available positions. I submitted my resume and after a drink I left to continue my job hunt. Once I left I decided to check out the restaurants adjacent to the Swan and Firkin. It was surprising to see that none of them were busy, there were costumers. However, the shear volume did not compare to the one at the Swan. A week or so afterwards I started working at the Swan as a busboy, one of the coolest job I have had. In a city like Toronto you cannot walk a block without seeing a bar or a restaurant crowded with sports fans cheering their favorite team, business men enjoying a pint after a hard day’s work or just your average Joe making new friends. In such a congested market, what differentiates a business from another? And how social media directly affects the popularity of local businesses? Based on my experiences, this article will analyze the Swan success as an individual member of a franchise and the ability of the Firkin group to use digital media as a marketing platform.

Getting to know a Firkin Pub

For those of you that still haven’t been to a firkin, you should definitely check it out. First of all, with over 12 locations in Toronto they are all over the city. Not a bar and not a restaurant, The Firkin are British style pubs with great selections of domestic and imported beers, liquors and liqueurs. [1] Most of their locations feature great patios, different beer selections and excellent staff. The Swan features all the goodies of the Firkin pubs as well as two main bars, a rooftop patio, a sidewalk patio and frequently hosts DJ parties on the main floor. Based out of Markham Ontario the Firkin group was founded in 1987 with the ideal of providing young adults with affordable food and drinks in a pleasant social environment while bringing a little bit of Britain into Canada. [2]

In 2014 the entire Firkin group of restaurants experienced a top down reinvention in terms of interior design. Shifting the previous design in favor of a modern edgy look, proving the groups commitment to costumer satisfaction. The reinvention of the Swan helped attract a new type of clientele shifting the costumer demography from a younger crowd to a more mature one.

All in all, the Firkin has livened up to its original ideal. It’s a great meeting place for people looking to have fun, make new friend and unwind. It continues to provide excellent costumer service, making sure the quality of its products and services frequently increases in order to maximize costumer satisfaction. However, it is their excellent marketing strategy that guaranties the continuous success of the Firkin group. During my time at the Firkin, I saw how the used of social media as the main marketing platform for the Swan directly affected the business performance. Let us now take a look at the Firkin digital presence, analyze what they are doing and come up with a few tips for improvement.

Make sure to check out this link if you want more specific info on the menu or locations:

http://www.firkinpubs.com/contact

The is also a little cute video of the swan staff and their shenanigans. Make sure to check it out! I am in it. See if you can spot me.

www.vimeo.com/dustinlapointe/swan2

Let your voice be heard! Spread the word

Looking back at life before the internet, when Pub chains such as the Firkin group depended mostly on local advertisement for marketing. It is easy to see the importance of a digital presence. Note that social media as a marketing platform offers great advantages when it comes to simplicity and cost. Most common social media platform such as Facebook and Instagram are free to use and very user friendly making it a vital method for local and global advertisement. In terms of social presence, the Swan has about 8500 followers on Facebook and a modest 200 followers on Instagram. [1] Though, since the Swan is considered a local business depended on regular costumers, the numbers are relatively high. For example, out of the 200 followers on Instagram over half are regular costumers that I would see once or twice a week during my shifts. That would be 100 repeated costumers per week that are informed of the daily specials, promotions and prices offered at the pub by means of social media. Facebook followers account mostly for one-time costumer or friends of friends that would like to keep informed about events or just check out pictures of fun times had. Why is it important to have a digital presence for the Swan?

1. It allows an easy link between staff and costumer making it easy to promote events, promotions and prices

2. Exciting news such as Playoff games and changes in the menu are posted on social media as means of attracting returning costumers

3. It allows an easy platform for reviews and costumer concerns

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter? I Don’t Firkin know!

With so many options available to the general public, it is important for a business to focus on the marketing method most effective in term of their business goals. From the previous section you can observe the staggering difference in the number of followers for the Swan between Instagram and Facebook. In comparison with other Pub chains such as Jack Astor’s with over 150,000 followers on Facebook and 1300 followers on Instagram the difference is astounding. However, noting that The swan only accounts for a small demographic market on the west side of Toronto, their digital presence is still pretty strong. In order to better analyze the digital performance of the Swan let us look at the following performance indicators on average referring to their most popular post

· The most popular picture of Instagram had 120 likes compare to 1600 likes on Facebook. Thus, from a numbers point of view, Facebook is considered to be the best medium. However, going through the list and based on my experience at the pub. From the likes in Instagram more that 80% of the people are regular costumer in comparison to <1% from the Facebook users

· The number of followers sees a difference of around 8000 followers between Facebook and Instagram. Yet again the Instagram followers are loyal costumers

From the numbers alone, one could conclude that Facebook is a better platform for promoting the business, still does it really affect the business profit directly? The swan proved that Instagram was a better way for advertising promotions and getting clientele by inciting costumer to post pictures of their experiences at the Pub in return for prices. I remember a specific example of a Guinness speaker promotion two summers ago. A person was to take a picture with a pint of Guinness and the Swan sign, the first two post to reach 50 likes that night would win a set of speaker. Promotions such as this one incite current costumer to attend the event while attracting new costumers by means of social media. This will encourage more costumers to actively like and share at the same time promoting the Pub in an effortless way within the local community.

I tried really hard to find a picture of the Guinness promotion to use as an example but sadly I couldn’t. I did however find a picture that was used to promote Steam whistle jugs on both Facebook and Instagram

Giving prizes and freebees for the first set of likes and shares on social media has proved invaluable for the Pub. I remember times while I was working behind the bar completely bored using Facebook and Instagram to take pictures of drinks and food in an attend to get my friend to come keep me company. Let’s say it worked 8 out 10 times ;)

Let us look at a graph that shows the growth of Instagram from 2010 to 2012. Shocking ah!

This trend just continues to increase to a point that 1 in every 2 smart phone user is expected to use a method of social media.

Keep up to date with the 6ix

For a pub group such as the Firkin it is important to promote their newest deals and events yet it is also critical to keep up to date with local events. It doesn’t take a person involved in the industry to know that the Raptors performance this season affected business profit directly. A digital presence relating local events and the firkin gives followers a reason to follow instead of getting bored and unsubscribe. Using digital platforms to show support for the local teams while emphasizing that the experience of watching the game will be amplified if experienced at the Pub attracts costumers that would otherwise would have stayed at home to watch the game.

How about special dates such as Christmas of Halloween. The Swan used this dates to show Bloor West Village that you do not need to be a kid to have fun! I found a great picture in my library that I remember giving to my manager to use as advertisement for the Halloween DJ jam of 2014.

The picture got over 100 likes in a couple of days and was used to show that they know how to have fun. So, what to take away from this? The Swan used social media as a basis to show that special dates are fun on their on but at the same time are a lot more fun when spent at the swan

Connect your staff with your Firkin costumers.

For costumers involved in promotions and events an email address was required at the Swan. This way, the Pub has a direct method of communication with its costumers for promoting new deals and events. We have all been victims of the spam emails from every single place that we have shopped or visited, but from time to time you might find something attractive in the emails that might direct you to the social media websites. On Instagram and Facebook, the entire swan staff are mostly active, if you have an active staff posting pictures of good times had I guarantied it will attract people to the Pub.

The Swan is an awesome please to lay back and relax. Great daily deals and pub food keeps attracting regular costumer no matter the weather. Trust me, I have seen people come into the pub during a Blizzard to just have a beer and hangout with us. Make sure to drop by if you are in the area!

References

1. Firkin Pubs. (2016). Retrieved from Firkin Pubs — The Swan : http://www.firkinpubs.com/contact

2. Saraiva, M. P. (June, 01 2013). Bloomberg. Retrieved from Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure: http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=8182407

3. The dramatic Growth of Instagram. (2013). Retrieved from Instagram Growth: www.kullin.net

4. The Swan. (2016). Retrieved from Firkin Pubs: http://www.firkinpubs.com/theswanandfirkin/