It can be challenging to stand out in the crowded craft beer digital social space, where numerous brands compete for customer attention. However, by staying true to your brand and business plan, utilizing various social media tools, and having fun, you can gain significant and free exposure while building a loyal audience.
Take High-Quality Photos
Sharing product images, equipment photos, and fun pictures on social media is the first step to demonstrating your brand’s professionalism and worthiness. High-quality photos can enhance customer engagement and showcase your products in the best possible light.
To ensure great photos, check your equipment before shooting. While many modern phones have excellent cameras, investing in an affordable video-capable DSLR can be beneficial in the long run. A brewery that enjoys sharing will undoubtedly attract loyal customers.
Create an Editorial Calendar
With so much happening daily in a brewery, it may become challenging to consistently post on social media. Additionally, there is always something newsworthy to share, making communication with customers a seamless process. To address this, outline the weekly events in your brewery and create a social media calendar. Keeping your followers updated and regularly updating your page will enhance your brand’s reliability. Don’t hesitate to adapt the calendar last minute to leverage trending topics or events.
Share Behind-the-Scenes Footage
In addition to sharing professional content on social media, consider sharing authentic and humorous content that aligns with your brand. Showcasing the quirky behavior of your employees as they go about their daily activities helps reflect your company culture. Additionally, sharing photos and videos of the brewing process can engage guests in unique ways, such as capturing the addition of hops to an upcoming IPA or transferring a stout to a barrel. Interesting videos provide customers with a quick and comprehensive understanding of your brewery.
Create Video Content
Videos are now a popular trend on all social media platforms, offering an insider’s view of your brewery business. Whether it’s a detailed look at a brew day or a glimpse of daily operations, people love experiencing real-life moments. Facebook Live or Instagram Story can be used to invite customers to follow your brewery’s activities and product launches. Consider outsourcing to improve the quality of your videos.
Tell Your Brand Story
Social media provides an excellent platform for creativity, allowing you to weave your brand’s story through photos, copywriting, video, and voice. Building your brand story takes time and involves connecting your product with something broader than just beer. Through social media, you can communicate your brewery’s values and establish your brand’s culture.
Tips for Telling Your Brand Story
Focus on what sets your product apart from others on the market and expand on that. Consistency in your photos, tone of voice, customer interactions, and posting schedule all contribute to building your brand story. Use language and words that resonate with your target audience, making them feel like a part of your community.
Showcase Company Employees
Introducing the people behind your brand is vital for customers. Staff profiles and Q&A sessions are simple yet important ways to let your audience know who comprises your brewery. However, you can do more than just employee profiles and photos. Consider other creative methods.
Showcase the Skills of Your Team
Employee profiles aren’t the only way to showcase your team. You can share a notebook or funny company emails from your brewery, illustrating the warmth and humanity within your brand. If you choose to have employee profiles, ensure the photos are high-quality and aligned with your brand.
Interact with People
The keyword for social media is “social.” Users seek an interactive experience rather than just passive observation. Your brewery brand should fulfill this need and leverage social media accordingly. Fans and customers often turn to social media for answers, so it’s crucial to respond promptly when they ask questions.
Consider assigning someone responsible for answering or directing questions, concerns, and complaints on social media to provide excellent customer service. Implement policies for handling complaints online and aim to respond within 24 hours. Don’t forget to respond to positive reviews and feedback as well.
Tips for Interacting with Your Audience
- While it’s essential to interact with other brands, avoid disparaging remarks as it reflects poorly on your own brand.
- Using bots may serve certain purposes, but building authentic and interesting content on social media requires a human team.
- Not everyone you encounter on social media will be friendly, and there may be some hostile or dissatisfied customers discussing your brand. Develop a plan for handling customer complaints online and train your social media team accordingly.
Connect with Your Brewery’s Purpose
Just as social media users aren’t solely focused on likes and clicks, beer drinkers are interested in more than just beer. Consumers increasingly care about the ethics behind their purchases, making it worthwhile to put effort into this aspect. Some breweries establish a meaningful connection by holding events that align their brand with a broader cause and raise money for charity.
Links to Tips on Why You Started a Brewery
- Your brewery career should be a long-term commitment.
- You should be willing to dedicate your brand to advocating, taking action, volunteering, or making donations.
- It’s beneficial if your brewery business can relate to your target market in some way.
- Choosing a charity partner can facilitate the achievement of your goals while enhancing your brand’s impact.
