Turn Casual Scrollers Into Booked-Out Regulars
Strong local competition, rising food costs and staff challenges make it hard for hospitality venues to keep margins healthy. Posting on socials every day without seeing extra bookings or function enquiries just adds to the stress.
The real problem is usually not effort; it is direction. When every post looks and sounds different, guests do not recognise your brand or trust what you are offering. A simple, on-brand social media style guide turns random posting into a clear, repeatable system that supports a real social media strategy in Perth.
We are talking about one clear document your whole team can follow. It covers how you speak, how your venue looks on screen, which offers you promote and how you handle guest content and influencers. We will walk through each part, then wrap it all into a 1-page template you can share with your staff, photographer or agency.
Lock in Your Brand Personality and Voice
First, decide who you are in your local scene. Your brand persona should match the guests you want to attract and the area you are in.
You might be:
- The neighbourhood local, relaxed and familiar, close to homes and schools
- The CBD lunch and drinks spot, fast, sharp and service-focused
- The coastal brunch favourite, light, sunny and social
- The special occasion destination, polished and intimate
- The family-friendly venue, warm, patient and practical
Write one short paragraph that sums this up. Include your main audience groups, like FIFO workers, office teams, tourists, locals or families. This becomes the filter for every caption and reply.
Next, set your voice and language rules. Decide whether you write in first person or third person (“We are pouring” vs “The bar is pouring”), how Aussie you sound (heaps of slang or mostly clean, plain language), and whether swear words are allowed (or not, even soft ones). Also define what you never say, like “cheap”, “bargain” or “deal” if you are premium, and how you talk about food, drinks and service (for example, fun and cheeky vs detailed and chef-led).
Then create simple, scenario-based voice rules. This is where your style guide becomes usable in real service, because staff are not guessing how to respond in common situations. Define how you handle rave reviews (big energy and emojis, or calm thanks), how you respond to complaints (apologise, explain, and move the chat off public comments), and what you do with last-minute bookings and DMs (send people to your booking link, ask them to call, or take details right there). Do the same for event and function queries, with a set reply that sounds like you and politely asks for budget, date and group size.
Save 1 or 2 example replies for each scenario in your guide. For example:
- Rave reviews: Do you reply with big energy, emojis, or calm thanks?
On brand: “Love this, thanks for spending your night with us, see you at the bar again soon.”
Off brand: “Thx for the support hun xoxo” if you are a high-end restaurant.
- Complaints: How do you apologise, explain and move the chat off public comments?
On brand: “Sorry this missed the mark, that is not our standard. Can you DM us your booking name so we can make it right?”
Staff can copy the style, so your brand sounds like one clear voice, not five different people.
Nail Visuals That Look Instantly “You”
Now make sure your feed looks like your venue feels. Start with your core visual elements so anyone taking content can match the vibe.
Lock in:
- Colour palette, based on your interiors, signage and menus
- Two or three editing styles or filters, for example warm and moody, bright and clean
- How and where your logo appears, like only on promo tiles or always in the corner of Reels covers
- Rules for text overlays, fonts, colours and how much text you allow on an image
For photography, be very clear. Hospitality content gets messy fast if there are no rules. Decide things like lighting (natural light on tables where possible and avoid harsh flash), and angles (your “hero” angles for food, cocktails and coffee, for example top-down for shared plates and close-ups for cocktails). Also set expectations for people content, including how often you show faces, staff, chefs, guests and crowds, and define what you never shoot so the brand stays clean and intentional.
Never shoot:
- Dirty plates, half-eaten food, messy tables
- Bins
- Off-brand props like random sauce bottles
Then define your format and content mix so creators know what to capture and you do not end up with a week of only cocktails or only sunsets. Your guide can list the core buckets, then assign rough ratios to keep the feed balanced and on-brand.
Content mix:
- Food and drink close-ups
- Venue and vibe shots, like sunsets, interiors, live music
- Behind the scenes, prep, staff culture
- Events, functions and specials
- UGC reposts
Set rough ratios, like 40 percent food and drink, 30 percent venue, 20 percent people, 10 percent promos. Add minimum standards, like “phone photos only if shot in daylight and not blurry” and preferred file types. This helps staff and creators know what to capture for your social media strategy in Perth.
Plan Profitable Offers Without Killing Your Brand
Hospitality feeds that only shout discounts can scare off the guests you actually want. Your style guide should clearly spell out what offers you run and how you talk about them.
List your offer categories:
- Weekday specials
- Seasonal menus and new dishes
- Events and functions
- Bottomless or set menu experiences
- Happy hours, if relevant
- Loyalty or locals programs
- Collabs with local suppliers and nearby businesses
Then set guardrails so promotions support margin and brand perception at the same time. Decide how often you post pure discounts compared to value adds (for example “free snack with drink” instead of “half price”), which words you avoid to protect your perceived quality, and how you use urgency (like limited seats or short booking windows) without sounding desperate. Add any compliance notes around liquor and promo rules that your staff must follow, so nobody accidentally posts something that creates risk.
Finally, map an offer cadence that fits your calendar. Hospitality in Perth has patterns, from corporate events and footy nights to summer holiday trade, so your guide should outline the key dates and seasons you plan around, how early you start promoting big events, and the basic copy and design templates for each offer type.
This way your feed feels planned and on brand, not like last-minute panic posts.
UGC, Influencers and Tagging Without the Headaches
Guests love posting food and venue shots. A quick UGC section in your style guide helps you use that content while keeping things respectful and safe.
Set rules for reposting:
- What you will share, like clear food shots, positive captions, venue vibe
- What you will not share, like photos of kids, private functions or anything that conflicts with your values
- How you ask for permission, for example a standard “Love this, ok to share and tag you?” message
- How you credit creators in Stories and feed posts
For creators and influencers, keep it simple and consistent so you do not waste time on partnerships that do not match your venue. Spell out who fits (like local, Perth-based food, drink and lifestyle audiences), your hard no content (such as irresponsible drinking, offensive captions or unsafe behaviour), and the basic deliverables (number of posts, Stories and tags). Also define how you decide if it worked, such as engagement, new followers from Perth, and enquiries in DMs.
Round it out with hashtags and tagging rules:
- Your primary branded hashtag
- A short list of local area tags and Perth tags staff can reuse
- When to tag suppliers, musicians, tourism accounts or nearby businesses
Ask staff to save strong UGC into a shared folder or chat. This keeps your content bank full on busy weeks.
Your 1-Page Style Guide Template to Share with Your Team
Now pull it all together into one simple page you can actually use in service. The goal is not a long document that nobody opens, but a practical cheat sheet that keeps posting consistent even when the venue is flat out.
Your 1-page style guide can include:
- Brand persona: 3 to 4 lines that sum up who you are and who you serve
- Voice and tone rules: do and do not phrases, reply examples for reviews and DMs
- Visual cheat sheet: colours, filters, logo rules, hero photo angles, content mix
- Offers: list of offer types, how often to post them, words to avoid
- UGC and influencers: what you repost, permission line, no-go content
- Practical bits: account logins, who can post, who approves promos or responses
Print it, keep it behind the bar or at the host stand and share it with managers, front-of-house, baristas and the kitchen team. Run a quick team session where everyone adds ideas, then lock the guide for a few months.
When your whole crew understands the style guide, content starts to feel natural. Staff know what to capture on a busy Friday night, your feed stays on brand and your social media starts working with your wider hospitality marketing, not against it. With clear voice, visuals, offer rules and UGC boundaries, those casual scrollers are far more likely to turn into regulars, function bookings and word-of-mouth fans.
Turn Your Perth Socials Into A Consistent Lead Engine
If you are ready to bring clarity and structure to your marketing, our team at Your Hive can help you build a tailored social media strategy in Perth that fits your goals and budget. We work with you to define your audiences, sharpen your messaging and create a practical content roadmap you can actually stick to. To talk through what this could look like for your business, contact us and we will map out your next steps together.
