Why should pubs in Sydney embrace online digital media?
To stay relevant pubs in Sydney have had to adapt as digital media proliferated peoples lives. Increased traffic, declining public transport system, stricter and more complicated regulation, drink driving laws, poorly targeted alcohol education programs, restrictions on live music and increased reliance on gambling as a source of revenue. Now more and more people are socialising at home infront of their computers. What is alarming is how quickly social habits have changed in Sydney.
The most compelling reason for a Sydney pub to embrace social media is because it is often used to organising social gatherings.
Per head of capita Sydney’s population has adopted online social networking and search engines like google as a credible information source faster than any OECD country. Sydney’s online economy in relation to population density is second only to New York. However most of the money is going out of Sydney, buying products from vendors outside Sydney. Compared to Europe and North American pubs in Sydney have been slow in developing an online presence. Three years ago a Sydney pub would consider a large screen TV in the venue as a feature worth advertising. Now most people have one at home. The same is true with pay TV sporting events. Why go to the pub to watch the big game when you can sit in your lounge room, where the beer is on the house.
However new social patterns have opened a huge channel through which a pubs in Sydney can communicate and build a relationship with potential patrons. local customers can be targeted through online advertising in a very precise and inexpensive way. Many of these new channels, like twitter and facebook are free. The most compelling reason for a Sydney pub to embrace social media is because it is often used to organising social gatherings which is why Pubs in Sydney gain a fan base much faster than other businesses. A Facebook fan page is ideal for promoting events at a venue. People can see which of their friends are attending and make recommendations about the pubs to their friend. This is the beginnings of viral networking. Because a recommendation comes from a friend, rather than an advertisement, it is considered far more credible.
Pubs in Sydney have the opportunity to inform their local community about their offerings far more economically than ever before.