So you've just gotten started with your karaoke room — or planning to start one — and looking for ways to get your bookings through the roof? You've come to the right place! In this article we'll share tips and tricks about karaoke room marketing, karaoke room promotion, typical karaoke room rates, and such things you'll need to think once getting started and growing with your business.
Many know karaoke rooms best from Japanese or Korean type of karaoke venues that are popular in Asia and can be found in major cities like New York. However — fortunately for those of us who have been bitten by the shy bug when it comes to public singing — private karaoke rooms are popping up for example in the Nordics and the UK, and we are forecasting it to be a growing trend, and for example the search results for karaoke rooms are growing exponentially*.
Download our *comprehensive karaoke room business guide to learn all about how to open a private room karaoke bar, the business model and get planning your concept!
Now, let's get deeper to karaoke room marketing!
Karaoke room pricing — per person or per room?
Karaoke can live in various spaces, from more intimate 2-3 person rooms to larger rooms to host company teams and bachelor/ette party groups. Or what stops you from trying out a single-person karaoke booth? However, an average karaoke room session is from 4 to 10 persons, in a 130-150 square feet/12-15 square meter room.
Based on Singa's karaoke room guide, the typical karaoke room rate is $40-80/40-88€ per hour. You can price your karaoke room with a 'per person' fee or 'per room' fee, depending on your room size and your typical audience. If you are running a high-end karaoke room, your pricing will likely reflect this, but consider the booking fee compared to your audience's willingness to pay — for example, how much would they pay for a movie ticket, a night out at a bowling alley, or an escape room. Keep in mind that the booking fee is (assumably) only a part of the income your room makes — selling drinks and/or food to your karaoke group will be an important part too.
👉 Read frequently asked questions about karaoke rooms!
Discounts and special offers
How much to charge for a private room karaoke can also vary on different times and days. As taking guests, and helping them start and end the karaoke room session is easy, running karaoke rooms won't necessarily cause much extra hassle for your regular staff — so you can consider keeping the room open for bookings outside of the most popular hours too. However, make sure to do some cleaning between the groups, and you can make the new guests feel welcomed with a brief introduction to the room once they arrive. Serving drinks and/or food directly to the room can be a great idea!
If your karaoke room is open for bookings on weekday nights or even during the day time, you can consider cheaper prices on less popular party days or hours of the day.
You can use seasonal discounts too, for example for more quieter periods, such as January weekends after the big NYE celebrations, you can try offer campaigns to keep the room moving.
Also, discounts for students, birthday parties, company retreats or multiple-room bookings can be something that might put your bookings on the rise!
Get the word out with social media!
For a restaurant with karaoke room(s), a great tool for karaoke room promotion is social media. Like for basically any other business nowadays, social media provides various channels, ways, and opportunities to get your word out.
Here are some fun ideas to promote your karaoke room on social media!
- Announce it with an Instagram/Facebook competition — Everyone likes to win, and a competition can be a great way to boost your social engagement, as it can trigger much more comments/likes/shares compared to a regular post. Make sure to accompany the post with some cool photos of your karaoke room to make the most out of it! And do make sure to comply with the up-to-date rules about the contests and giveaways of your selected platform.
- Invite/collaborate with influencers — Collaborating with local social media influencers can turn your karaoke room to a place-to-sing for your city or neighborhood. Think of of TikTok and Instagram influencers, Youtubers, artists, journalists — anyone who you think could be a match with your venue's vibe, and have some following or a platform to spread the word. You can invite influencers simply by providing them with a free evening at your karaoke room with some additional drinks and asking them to tag your venue if/when they post about it, or you can agree with them about some sponsored content from your restaurant with karaoke room.
- Post inspiring content about your karaoke — and encourage your customers to post about it too! You can use our fresh karaoke memes, create some reels and videos from your venue, and ask your customers to post about it too in their socials when they visit your venue. You can have some reminders about social media inside your venue — something simple, like a poster saying "tag us @(yourbarname)". Or simply make everything so photogenic and FUN that your customers can't NOT keep their cameras in their pockets during their visit.
Which takes us to the next part...
Create a (karaoke) room for experiences!
Karaoke singing itself is an experience like no other, but there are some things to consider to make your space the most memorable, instagrammable, and I need to visit again-able. People returning and sharing their experiences is the best way to bring in new customers. There is a variety of ways you can ensure return visits and create an awesome experience.
First thing to keep in mind, though, is that you want to have a karaoke system that is easy to use for your customers, and microphones and PA system that are pleasant sounding. To discover more recommendations about the equipment, navigate here to learn all about for equipment needed for a professional karaoke setup, soundproofing the room, and all those techy details.
With your PA system, you'll need a karaoke software that is easy for your customers to use on their own, and for your staff to manage the bookings and sessions easily. With Singa Business you can use the Karaoke Box mode to do all this. This video explains all the details about Karaoke box mode and how to use it!
To make your customers feel like they live in a karaoke universe of their own, you can create a unique atmosphere to the room. It doesn't need to be ridiculously expensive — you can come up with a certain theme — like color, decade, music genre, country, artist... you get the thrill! Just imagine the type of social media content your customers could be posting for example from a Britney Spears-themed karaoke room, a room filled with 70's style furniture, or karaoke room with big mirrors. The more you can create a visual experience the more people are likely to share images and tag your venue. For example the The Melody Club provides fun costumes to wear to get people to take photos and auto-records the performances for people to share.
👉 Read more karaoke room design tips here!
And finally — let singing fill your room
Once your bookings are rolling, your karaoke room(s) can provide unforgettable experiences for your customers, and an on-going revenue source for you. Wow-moments, experiences to remember, and moments of shared joy and shared microphone can make your visitors wanna come back again soon. Experiences and competitive socializing are popular in hospitality industry, and we at Singa believe that singing is something that belongs to everyone. We hope your karaoke room becomes a great success!
If you are using Singa Business, you can always ask us to promote your venue on our social media channels! Please reach out to your point of contact for more info.
If you want to get more insights and consultation about karaoke rooms, feel free to contact us! Chat with us on www.singa.com/business or email us at sales@singabusiness.com.