Digital Marketing: Craft Beer

Much like it is now a requirement for companies to have a website and active presence on social media, it will soon become a necessity to have a strategic plan in place when it comes to digital marketing (if it isn’t already). In our new world of socially distanced interactions and expectations, this includes all types of businesses, including ones that might have been able to get by without much of this before.

Today, we’re talking about craft breweries.

Beer drinkers are turning to social media profiles, online reviews, and other digital touchpoints more and more when it comes to discovering and researching new beers. This, coupled with our increasingly virtual “reality”, makes digital marketing it a primary way to reach and engage with your target audiences, anywhere in the world.

In a city like Denver that seems to have as many craft breweries as it does CVS pharmacies, it’s incredibly important that someone who has sampled your beer on a bar crawl through RiNo can easily locate your online presence and buy from you without a hassle. Since there are so many options saturating the market – and customers know it –  they may have a shortened attention span.

Having a digital footprint in the modern beer lover’s online world can make or break your business. Let’s talk about how.

Competition is fierce in Denver if you’re a microbrewery. When a consumer has a million different options to choose from, brands matter more than ever. A successful digital marketing strategy can help differentiate you from your competition, interact with potential buyers, and positively influence your bottom line.

Technology has completely revolutionized the way people make purchasing decisions. Of course, this isn’t specific to the craft beer industry, it applies to almost every industry.

One of the most significant information aggregators at play here is Instagram. The app offers an easy way for users to come across recommendations from their peers, follow local breweries and even hashtags like “#beer” that consolidate posts by topic. A few of my personal favorite accounts are @denverbeerco and @boulevard_beer. One based here in Denver, one in Kansas City. They’re two of the accounts I interact with most, and am constantly being made aware of new releases, fun events, discounts and, more recently, news about the companies are responding to coronavirus-related struggles.

While social media sites like Instagram represent the new age of digital marketing, it would be a mistake not to also discuss the tried-and-true, foundational point of online messaging.

Let’s say someone sees your beer at their local liquor store or gets a recommendation from a friend. They’re intrigued, but they want to know more about your product. There are many different ways for that potential customer to find this information, but the way they’ll most likely do that is through your website.

It helps to underscore the importance of a well-designed, functional website with an analogy beer snobs can appreciate – it’s like the first sip they take of that new, barrel-aged, 15% ABV Russian Imperial Stout you’ve been dying to try.

The quality of your website should introduce customers to the quality of your product.

If you’re looking to revamp your brewery’s website presence, we’re here to help. Working with an ad agency will save you time and money in the long run. While there are a plethora of options for DIY-ers to construct a website on their own, a lot of basic, free WordPress themes and off-the-shelf options look, well… basic and free.

Cheers!