How to Promote Your Venue: The Power of DesignMyNight and Other Tools

Here’s the fun part: seeing what actually works. With analytics tools built into ResDiary you can track booking trends, no-show rates, customer return rates, and promo redemptions. 

These insights help you double down on what marketing and promotion efforts are working, and give you the opportunity to adapt what’s not.

Simply having a great venue isn’t enough, you need to make sure people know about it. That’s where effective promotion comes in: helping you stand out, get noticed, and keep your tables full.  

From social media engagement to email marketing, discovery platforms to data insights - there are tons of tools out there to help you attract the right customers.  

So, let’s dive into how to make promotion work for you and what the best marketing tools for restaurants, pubs, and bars are. 

Why do you need to promote your venue? 

Put simply: if you don’t promote your venue, who will? 

Effective marketing is all about reaching the people who are most likely to walk through your doors. Whether you’re hosting quiz nights, launching a new seasonal menu, or offering 2-for-1 cocktails, promotion is how you let customers know what’s happening and why they should care. 

Done right, marketing can: 

• Drive footfall and increase bookings 
• Boost brand awareness and customer loyalty 
• Keep your venue top of mind when customers are deciding where to go 
• Help you grow, scale, and stay competitive 

And in a busy market, that makes all the difference.

The best marketing tools for restaurants and pubs 

Here are some of our favourite tools for promoting your venue and attracting diners:

Discovery Platforms (like DesignMyNight) 

Earlier this year, in our Beyond the Booking: UK and Ireland Hospitality Trends Report 2025, we found that half (48%) of customers use hospitality discovery platforms to source new venues. These platforms connect customers with venues related to their specific searches, boosting your visibility and promoting your venue to the right audience.  

They’re also the second most popular method for making bookings (67%), only behind booking via the venue’s own website (79%). 

Some good stats there, right? Well, we’ve got some more for you. 

DesignMyNight’s recent report, Pubs and Bars in the UK and Ireland: A Look at What's Happening in 2025, suggests that 58% of customers like to be able to find bars and pubs on the likes of TripAdvisor or DesignMyNight, etc.  

These two options take precedence over alternatives, with 43% of customers indifferent about being able to find pubs and bars on discovery apps like Ambl, First Table, Fanzo, in comparison.  

(Jump ahead to discover just why DesignMyNight is a customer favourite ⬇️) 

Having a listing on a discovery platform allows you to put your business in front of diners who are actively looking for where to go next.  

Your listing can feature business info, attractive images of your venue, upcoming events, and up-to-date offers to give users a reason to make that booking with you.

Marketing Communication Tools  

If you want to keep in touch with your regulars and turn newcomers into repeat visits, then having an email marketing tool is a must.  

Did you know that email marketing can produce a return on investment (ROI) of around £42 for every £1 spent? From family-friendly lunch deals to student happy hours, you can target your messaging to the right groups and drive real results.  

ResDiary offers handy integrations that allow you to manage your customer database, create promotions and campaigns, and send marketing communications with ease.  

Systems like Wireless Social help you collect email addresses and details from all visitors to your venue who want to access Wi-Fi, in an informal, opt-in manner. While customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Acteol or SMS messaging tools like Silverstreet can take this data and combine it with booking system data to send tailored messages and emails that actually get opened. 

You can also track your performance in our analytics suite to see how well these marketing campaigns are delivering, for ongoing optimisation and refinement.

Social Media Integrations  

Your venue might live offline, but it thrives online.  

Aside from peer recommendations, social media is the largest source for discovering venues for 18-34-year-olds (60%). And with social media and mobile usage ever prevalent in all demographics, venues need to understand how to harness these tools to connect with their customers, growing their following and maximising their reach.  

Which is why Reserve with Google is one of the biggest advantages in the bookings industry. It allows guests to book a table at your venue, directly from Google Search, or Google Maps, in just a few clicks. 

ResDiary’s Meta integration does the same, making it easy to connect your bookings and promotions to your online presence. By adding a booking button to your Facebook and Instagram profiles, it simplifies the booking process for both you and your customers. 

And as a ResDiary customer, you can take advantage of both of these, completely commission-free.

Website Widget and Promotions Feature

79% of customers say that their preferred method of making a booking is via a venue’s website. Which means that most come snooping around your website to get a sense of what you have to offer.  

90% of venues are already using reservation software to make booking directly a possibility - but are they capitalising on this fully? With ResDiary, you don’t just get a reservation software to manage bookings, you can fully embed booking widgets directly into your website and other channels, using our promotions feature to market your special offers, too. 

Got a quiet Tuesday night or want to kickstart a new lunch menu? Use the ResDiary promotions feature to run time-limited booking deals, like: 

• Early bird discounts 
• 2-for-1 mains 
• Free drink with a meal 
• Seasonal specials 

Not only do these offers attract new faces, but you can track how well they perform in your booking diary and tweak them as needed. 

Analytics Tools 

Here’s the fun part: seeing what actually works. With analytics tools built into ResDiary you can track booking trends, no-show rates, customer return rates, and promo redemptions. 

These insights help you double down on what marketing and promotion efforts are working, and give you the opportunity to adapt what’s not.

How DesignMyNight can work hand-in-hand with your brand 

Time to give DesignMyNight the spotlight now, because when it comes to getting your venue noticed, it has some serious perks. 

• Increased Visibility: DesignMyNight puts your pub or restaurant in front of up to 3.9 million potential customers every month. Your listing works around the clock, promoting your venue in bespoke areas that suit your location and your priorities. 
  

• Easy-to-Use Platform: Adding events, updating your menu, tweaking your copy, it’s all super simple. Tailor your listing to suit your brand and showcase it exactly the way you want to, without needing to be a tech expert. 
  

• Engagement with Customers: DesignMyNight makes it easy to interact with potential customers by letting you add event listings, post new offers, and respond to customer queries all in one place.  
  

• Booking Diary Synchronisation: The best bit? Bookings made through your listing sync automatically with your ResDiary booking diary, so you can manage all your reservations in one smooth, central diary. Less admin, more action. 

Explore more about how to get listed on DesignMyNight and the benefits that come with it here. 

Get started promoting your venue today with our FREE resources

Promoting your venue isn’t just about all the flashy stuff, it’s about creating real connections, getting your brand out there, and keeping your tables full day after day. 

Whether you’re using ResDiary’s recommended smart tools, building your email list, or jumping into the DesignMyNight discovery platform, the key is consistency. The more visible and engaging your brand, the more bookings you’ll see. 

🎉 Want more ideas of what deals to make your marketing more engaging? Read our 10 Best Restaurant Promotion ideas blog to get some inspiration 

Are you a pub or bar looking for more expert tips and marketing strategies? Download DesignMyNight’s FREE report Pubs and Bars in the UK and Ireland: A Look at What's Happening in 2025 for all the essential insights to make your marketing a success.