Smartfish Group

Craft breweries are currently all the rage and continue popping up in cities and small towns across the country. Shortly after becoming of legal drinking age, I jumped on the craft brew bandwagon just as it was really taking off. In five years, I have visited over 60 craft breweries and my Instagram feed is almost entirely brewery posts; I know less about what my close friends are doing and more about what my local brewery has on cask that evening! Needless to say, I have completely immersed myself in craft brewery culture, and social media has played a huge roll in keeping my knowledge current.

Why Social Media is Key

Millennials and their phones, am I right? Well, social media is the perfect way for a local brewery to advertise and connect with their target market. The transmission of information is just a click away and in a matter of a few hours, hundreds of people will know that their local brewery is serving up some pretzels tonight with their newest beer release.

Different social media platforms can hit different demographics. For example, the Gen X age group is more likely to log onto Facebook to see what’s going on this weekend while Millennials are hitting up Instagram and Snapchat. Posting content to multiple platforms and tailoring content to that platform will help bring in a wider range of people.

The Do’s and Don’ts

Although I’m fully immersed in marketing every day of the week, this is my perspective as a millennial, beer-loving, consumer.

DO post the current tap list, upcoming events, food trucks, closings/private events etc.

This is a HUGE plus for me! It’s Saturday morning and I’m ready to go on an adventure. Instagram is my weekend handbook. Who is releasing a beer? What events are going on? Where are the cool food trucks?

DO use your social media to communicate with your customers

This will help create a bond with your customers and keep them coming back. You will receive direct and honest feedback, be able to answer questions, and it gives you the opportunity to re-gram or share a customer’s photo to your page. This shows some serious customer appreciation and makes them feel a part of your world.

DO show off your staff

Posting with or about staff members makes your company personable and approachable. I love going to breweries, meeting new people, and bonding over beer. Being on a first name basis with the bartender isn’t bad either!

DO utilize multiple media types

Freshen things up with a video or animation! Those are just examples, but something other than a photo of a pint of beer will make me stop and look rather than scrolling right by.

DO pay for professional artwork

Although you are a craft brewery, you are still a company. Take pride in that! Too many times I have seen logos or beer labels that look like a kindergartener put it together.

DON’T post irrelevant things

This is a big one for me. Stick to a few categories for posting that really boost your brand and what you’re all about. I have seen breweries post things that are 100% irrelevant to the brewery, their beer, their happenings and it’s confusing. Whoever runs your social media accounts should not be posting about living it up at a baseball game, 200 miles away, and not relating it back to the brewery somehow.

DON’T publish a novel on one post

Keep it short and sweet and to the point. If the post is over 3 sentences long without stating the purpose, you’ve lost me and I’ve moved on.

DON’T put other breweries down while trying to raise your own

This looks bad and just turns me off completely.

DON’T link all social media accounts

Once you have content to post, decide what group of customers you are trying to target and which social media platform makes the most sense. Although you want to reach more people, just duplicating information instead of customizing it for that platform is blah.