The Benefits of Social Media for Bars and Breweries

Managing a successful bar or brewery is no cake walk. You’re busy doing all kinds of tasks. I’d like to list them out, but you know what you do, and you know what an ordeal managing through a single busy day can be. However, it’s 2019, and almost every watering hole deals with cut throat competition. But on top of serving customers and keeping them happy and coming back, you also have to think about a solid, sustainable marketing strategy. You always want to bring more and more customers in. Traditional marketing strategies can only take you so far. You need more. You need digital marketing. More accurately, social media marketing. In this post, we discuss the many obvious benefits of social media for bars and breweries and how to go about doing it.

If you have read our previous articles, you should know it clearly by now, social media is crucial for your business. It’s evident that in this part of the century, people don’t usually visit bars and restaurants based on newspaper ads and fliers as much as they do from learning about them through social media. It’s thus vital that you be a master of your social media game. Creating a good online reputation is one thing. Sustaining it is a whole other art. In the long run, even if you have the best craft beer, or your food is exceptionally well, or you provide the best ambience, in this day and age, it is your online presence that determines your survival in the industry. Wouldn’t it be great if more locals became regulars? If your business became a destination for out-of-towners? Well, you can do both by adopting the right strategy of social media for bars and breweries.

All your customers are on social media

Would you like some statistics that impact what we’re actually preaching here?

1) There are over 3 billion people using social media, and the number increases every year (Smart Insights, 2018).

2) Facebook is the world’s third most-viewed website in the world, with Google taking first position and Youtube coming in second (World Economic Forum, 2017).

3) 60% of users learn about new products on Instagram (AdEspresso, 2018).  

4) Every second, there are 11 new people that use social media for the first time (Skyword, 2018).

With more and more of our daily lives turning into online phenomenon, it would be naïve and almost even tragic of a business owner, especially of bars and craft breweries to not have a social media presence. It’s an ocean out there, and there’s enough fish for everyone. All you need to do is cast a net and cast it right. So where to start?

Step 1: Know yourself

It’s an important part in running a bar or microbrewery to have a sense of identity that distinguishes itself from the rest. Craft beer fans, especially, place a lot of value on identity. Their interest often goes beyond just the names of their favourite beer. You need to have your own style to draw them (back) into your establishment. Blind imitation will not take you too far. On social media, you have a voice and a personality. Let it be yours, attractive and original.

Take the American company, Hangar 24, for example. They have their own style, the Hangar 24 style, and people love it. There’s a reason they have over 58,000 followers on Facebook. Here’s one of their recent posts. Notice the signature use of their voice:

Step 2: Know your audience

If you’re a bar or a craft brewery, it’s understood that your target audience should all be above the drinking age limit, but not by too much. It’s the younger adults who drive the most business in this industry and co-incidentally, they happen to be most active on social media. The ages 21-34 to be more specific. You can focus on this age group while targeting your ads on facebook. You address both, existing customers as well as potential. As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, on social media, unlike traditional advertising, you aren’t just selling, you’re engaging. You can connect with your audience, start conversations with them, and keep the ball rolling. Social media for bars and breweries calls for a comparatively more continuous engagement. You always want to be in their attention with your carefully designed posts. You want to tap into this pool of general subconscious suggestibility.

Step 3: Make and sustain the right connection

The difference between the right social media strategy and a poor one is the inexplicable connection between the audience and the brand. You need to get into their minds and in a profitable way. Not all popular kinds of online activity will get you there. It’s a perpetual journey of applying perfected formulae with a mix of bold experimentation. Your content constantly needs to be fresh and well worth the attention invested by your audience.

These three simple steps, as simple as they sound, is the formula for social media success as long as you understand and implement it well. We know how busy you might be with your day to day activities running your business. Why not give this responsibility to experts in this field? We at CrayonPanda would love to handle your social media responsibilities for you, helping you to get your enterprise where you have always wanted it to be.

Until our next piece of advice, Cheers!