1. Use FREE Untappd-branded promotional materials on-site! We can have some Untappd swag sent out to you (coasters, stickers, some table tents) that you can give away to customers or use on-site. We can send you more of these for free any time you need them. Click here for a great article about how to use your swag to market yourself.
2. Help people find and follow you on Untappd! We have a whole database of Untappd-branded graphics you can use on your social media to promote your verified venue status, including our "Find Us on Untappd" cards...you can get them here. Pin one of these to your social media so it's the first thing people see when they land on your page! A really cool thing that Bell's has done, as they're one of our customers, is create a video they've posted to Facebook that shows their customers how to follow them on Untappd: Bell's Eccentric Cafe.
3. Make sure your menu is being updated every few days! Untappd users are more likely to come in if they know your beer list is up to date. If it's over a week old, they'll assume it is not. Even if the list hasn't changed, I'd recommend hopping into the menu builder and making a small edit to show that the menu was updated. Also, have you checked the Nearby Stats under Analytics to see what the most popular beers and most popular subscribed beers are? Try putting one or two of the top five from each list on your menu, if you haven't already! Find more suggestions on how to improve your menus here.
4. Respond to your check-ins! Go into your Venue Check-ins "Recent Activity" and toast/comment on all check-ins, even if they're old; this will pop up on the customer's phone and alert them. It's a great way to get extra exposure and encourage people to come back.
5. Use your social media! Share a link to your verified venue page on Untappd on all of your social media sites. Share individual beers via the menu builder to your Twitter account, which creates an auto-generated post that links people to your venue page (Social Media Best Practices tips can be found here).
6. Take advantage of badge mania! You may or may not know this, but a lot of Untappd users are pretty serious about their badges! Untappd has a Verified Adventure badge that encourages users to explore our Verified Venues! (You might have earned this badge while using Untappd yourself!) There are 100 levels to this badge, which means a user has to check-in 500 times at verified venues to get all 100 levels. Even if you don't have a local badge, let your customers on social media know they can still earn a Verified Adventure badge at your venue, or, if you'd like to explore getting a Local Badge personalized for your venue and find out how having a badge can help you blow up on Untappd, please let us know!
7. Offer incentives! Advertise in house or on social media something like a discount code or coupon for showing that they follow you on Untappd or have checked in.
8. Use your Announcements area! The Announcements area in your UTFB account is a great way to reach people that may not have Untappd downloaded. You can share specials, events, and important information with your customers. You can utilize this tool in a variety of ways:
Now: This is for one-time announcements. “We’re closed for the holiday” or “Just received a special delivery of __________ (insert super amazing beer)!”
Once: These are scheduled announcements: “Alpine Tap Takeover Friday 1/6 - 2 limited release kegs will be tapped!!"
Weekly: These are recurring announcements: Firkin Friday, ½ price drafts, or Happy Hour Specials.
9. Create events! These can be for food and drink specials, not just formal events or celebrations. It's helpful to be able to tell people in your area that you have events going on; if someone has nothing going on Saturday night, they can hop into this section and plan out their evening accordingly. Plus, they have the option to add it to their calendar so they'll get a reminder about it. Event notifications will not only push to your subscribers, they will display in the Nearby Events list where any Untappd users in your area who may not know about you yet can see them!
10. Tell people about it! Nothing beats talking up your venue to customers who are there on site. I personally first found out about Untappd while out at a bar with friends; the bar owner struck up a conversation with me about beer and asked if I'd heard of Untappd. I hadn't at that time, and he helped me install it and showed me how to follow him and use it. Now, not everyone is going to go to that extreme (or has the time to!), but a quick mention that you can be followed and that people can check beers in can't hurt!