According to one report, there are 70,000 bars in the US, and more than 1,200 label themselves as a sports bar. But make no mistake, any bar is a sports bar as long as they’re showing sports on their TVs. And that makes them a direct competitor to you.

Great service and a fantastic fan-friendly atmosphere are obvious ways of winning over fans and guests in the long-term. But, short-term, you still need a plan to get new bodies at your bar tops before you can turn them into regulars.

The key to that is marketing. And while you should continue to work through your digital marketing campaigns, operators should also try to think of creative, outside-the-box ways of promoting their business and getting in new guests.

To get you started, here are six alternative ways of marketing your sports bar.

Sponsor Local Teams or Leagues

A local softball team celebrating their league victory

An old classic, but one that has often gone overlooked in the age of social media. Sponsoring local athletics used to be one of the best and easiest ways of staying top of mind with folks in your town.

The main benefit of sponsoring a local sports team or league is that you know you’re getting your brand in front of locals, and locals are going to make up the bulk of your business.

  • Youth Leagues. While the kiddos probably aren’t your target demographic (unless you’re aiming for a family-friendly bar atmosphere), their parents certainly are. Many youth sports leagues will print your bar’s name on the back of jerseys.
  • Adult “Beer Leagues.” On top of getting your name on jerseys or league banners, you can aim to be the league’s official HQ where players can swing by for post-game drinks & food. You can even give the teams discounts for visiting right after their game, further enticing them to visit your establishment.

Get Involved in Community Events

Red cornhole target with two bags on it

Nearly every municipality does some level of community events, be it seasonal fairs or small business events, plus fundraising for local schools or social efforts. These are prime events to market your sports bar to your town and surrounding areas.

Be sure to keep your ear to the ground for when these events happen, such as signing up for your local Chamber of Commerce emails. When fairs or events happen, try to take advantage of the occasion. Having samples of your apps or serving beer (which varies greatly on event & location) can be a solid way to get folks interested in visiting.

But you can also look for other fun ways of engaging with the local community at these events, such as interactive games or contests that can drive future business. Some ideas:

  • Have folks compete against your staff. Everyone who participates gets a $5 coupon but anyone who can beat your team gets a $15 coupon.
  • “Beer Pong.” We suggest doing this as a non-drinking game and instead for the sheer sport of it. Similar to the cornhole idea, all participants leave with a prize but folks who can beat your staff get something extra special.
  • Pickleball. Think of this like wiffleball for tennis lovers. You can run a mini tournament, have challengers play against your staff, or do a King of the Hill style where one team holds the court, winning better and better prizes for each victory.
  • Spin-the-Wheel. A faire classic, you can have various prizes on the board. Everyone who visits your booth gets one free spin to see what they get. Prizes can be everything from coupons to free meals to autograph memorabilia to t-shirts or other swag.

The key here is to get involved with the community, so they want to get involved with you sprawdź to. Build that rapport.

Live Stream Your Events

Sports Fans Celebrate

FOMO or the fear of missing out is a strong motivator in humans, especially in the current digital age of documenting everything.

Sports bars and restaurants can use this to their advantage by live streaming their special events to their social media. Show everyone at home how much fun they’re missing by staying at home. Show sports fans celebrating big game victories, bands playing live music, or folks laughing during Trivia Nights. You get the idea.

The goal is to show the energy and excitement your establishment and its guests bring.

Even if you don’t live stream these events, snagging video that you can later edit and upload to your website and social accounts is a great way of enticing folks to come to your next event.

Become a Team’s Fan Club HQ

Sports bars fans

Turn your sports bar into the spot to watch all of a given team’s games by becoming a fan club HQ, such as alumni groups for local colleges.

This is especially great for fan clubs of more obscure sports in the US such as rugby or lacrosse, or teams in foreign countries/leagues. Finding places to watch those games can be tough. By giving those fans a venue to watch every game, you’re showing that community that you care.

Sports bars should also consider eSport teams when courting local fan clubs, too.

Get Into People’s Ears

Sports podcaster recording at home, holding a soccer ball

Sometimes a return to traditional methods of marketing feel like an alternative to the modern. In this case, instead of buying social media ads, turn to getting airtime on local radio stations or podcasts.

Depending on the pricing structure, you’ll want to keep your ad pretty brief. So be sure to get to the point of the ad and all the pertinent info ASAP. This is a great opportunity to market yourself as a fan club HQ (see above point), your special events, your menu, etc. You need to figure out what the goal of your ad is and then communicate that in a very limited amount of time.

Also don’t overlook niche podcasts, especially if they’re in line with your bar’s values or niche interest.

Don’t Forget to Leverage Your TVs & Digital Signage

SportsTV Guide for Digital Signage - on UPshow

Last but not least is leveraging the power of your TVs. One of the best ways to market your sports bar is to the folks who are already in your sports bar. In-house marketing is powerful and there’s a really strong chance people at your bar are looking at your TV screens.

For example, adding a single on-premise digital signage screen adds an average of 4.75% in annual sales to revenue. If your operations does $30,000 in weekly sales that translates into an increase of $1,475 or $74,100 annually. Digital signage garners also 400% more views than paper signage. It’s insane not to find ways of bettering using your screens to engage guests.

So be sure to use the power of your TVs and digital signage to market your business. Show guests what your specials are, what events you’re hosting, run contests, and what games you plan on showing for the upcoming week.

The payoff is worth it.