Pub for sale through social media

Russell Little, owner and operator of Adelaide's Excelsior Hotel (pictured), has begun marketing the property on social media after disappointing results from conventional methods.

Little has developed a blog, a Facebook page boasting 1400 Friends, a Twitter account with a growing following, and is currently building a YouTube channel for video content, all under the banner of Do You Want My Pub.

Little builds his audience through regular posts and by targeting specific industry groups on LinkedIn and says "doing nothing gets you the results you deserve".

"We had discussed the possibility of using social media platforms with a number of people, somewhat tongue in cheek, and received the same response: "Won't work, never been done, I don't do Facebook, etc," Little told TheShout.

"It appears to me that normal paper advertising is only getting to an audience that probably already know it's for sale, and we need to reach a far larger audience."

The Hotel had previously been marketed by agents TJ Board, but after three months on the market Little was unimpressed with the number of inquiries.

"I have been lucky enough to have the help of a friend of mine, Kurt Opray of Impact Data, who used social media to sell a house earlier this year," he said.

Little is the proprietor of Complete Hospitality, which as well as the Excelsior still operates the Stag Hotel and The Duke, also in Adelaide.

Source: The Shout, 13 August 2012