It’s crowded field out there for craft breweries and wineries. Once, a realm inhabited by hipsters (remember them?) smaller operations have taken over an increasingly larger share of the US alcohol market. In fact, 85% of Americans now live within 10 miles of a brewery. That’s a lot of crafting happening all over the place. But a crowded market can sometimes make it hard to figure out how to properly get you brand’s name on the radar. But, never fear! We have some tips to help guide you along the process to make it smoother than your newest IPA.
Pre-Game Your Marketing Strategy
Imagine you’re in a bar and it’s completely packed. People crowded and pressed in. It’s hard to tell each of them apart as individuals but you just want to find the person you came here with. Thankfully, they have something that stands out about them – a bright shirt color, unique hair color, a loud laugh – making it easier to find them among all the people around you. And now you can push through the crowds and continue your night!
What is unique about your brand and your product is what is going to help you customers push through the crowded space of craft beers and wines in order to find the product that speaks to them. Because of this, it’s super important to answer some questions before you ever start promoting your product:
1. Aim for your target (audience)
What audience are you aiming to appeal to? Are you looking to hook business professionals with packed schedules or free-spirited artists that are more go-with-the-flow? While sometimes these demographics overlap, situating your product to appeal to a specific group allows your product to become an extension of that group. Your audience is the people you want to stand out to the most. So, by identifying them early, you can make the best decisions on how to stand out to them.
Answer this question first – it’s going to shape everything from here on.
2. Voice Matters
If your brand or product was a person, how would they talk? Seems like a silly question, but giving your brand a personality means it’s more likely to stick in people’s minds. Think consciously about what kind of voice your brand should have. People want to connect to other people, not products. So, show the personality behind the brand and give people something to remember about you.
3. Make the Outside Count
You already know that the inside of your bottle or can is pretty great. Make sure to reflect that with your branding and packaging. If your having trouble deciding where to start, refer back to your audience. If you’re trying to appeal to a more serious minded customer, bright packaging and branding may not be the best way to go. Let your creativity flow and let your brand stand out!
4. Mission
Did you know that 87% of people would purchase a product a brand was promoting a cause they believed in? More than ever, people are in tune with the problems of the world and feel compelled to help in whatever ways they can. Additionally, more people believe that businesses serve their communities and society as a whole. So whatever you’re passionate about, make it known. And if you’re not committed to a cause, think about possible causes you would feel comfortable aligning yourself with.
With that, it’s also important to make sure that whatever cause your working with, the values that accompany it are threaded through every aspect of your business. It’s not a good look to say you’re against exploitative labor practices and then buy your raw materials from the very companies who have those practices. Make sure that when you claim that your #woke, you’re not woke-washing yourself.
Getting your Brand On the Main Stage
Now that you’ve dug deep into what (and who) your brand is, it’s time to present it to the world! But… how? Well, that’s a loaded question. There’s a lot of ways of getting the word out about your product. There’s all the various social media platforms (facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, pinterest, etc.) which you can run ads and have your own account. Google Ads can automatically generate ads and place them systematically in front of the people it thinks would be interested. There’s also traditional advertisements, such as print and TV – even billboards! In other words, there are a lot of ways to get your name out into the world. But just because you plaster yourself everywhere doesn’t mean you’re going to be getting the best bang for your advertising buck.
So what’s a brand to do? Well, there’s a few things. Firstly, you’re going to want to take an omnichannel approach to your marketing. Omnichannel marketing is, in as few words as possible, meeting your customers wherever they happen to be. That means creating a strategy that takes into account multiple platforms, using each of them in the best way possible while also maintaining a consistent voice on each (see, told that checklist would come in handy!). If you want to know more about omnichannel marketing and how to best use it, we have a whole blog about it here!
That sounds awfully like just putting your product on every ad space available, right? The difference is that instead of just throwing your product out into the world and hoping for the best, you are instead strategically choosing where to go. Certain social media platforms are going to do better depending on the audience you are trying to reach, while others are just going to be wasted money. Do some research and see where your ideal audience hangs out online and start there.
Which platform to take your brand can feel overwhelming – trust me, we know there’s a lot of social platforms these days! But knowing which platform to use is tantamount to creating the most effective strategy. Still lost? Give the experts a call (and by experts we mean us)!
Influencers
So you have an excellent product, your brand personality figured out, you’ve thought about which platforms would be right for you… but where to go from here?
The simple fact of the matter is if no one is talking about your brand, no one knows about it. You can promote on your social platforms, run a few paid ads on Facebook or Instagram, maybe get a small following in the process. But it’s not the reach you were hoping for.
This is where influencers come into the picture.
Influencers can sell your product better than you can. This is because of a few, very important, reasons. First, consumers trust UGC (user generated content) far more than brand created content – 12 times more, in fact. On top of that, 48% of millennials believe that UGC is the best way to discover new products. Plus, UGC has faaaar more engagement than branded posts, and the more engagement, the more eyes that have seen your product. Bottom line, you want influencers talking about your product.
Good news: influencers want to talk about it. They are the masters at presenting your products in ways that people will connect with and their followers are usually pretty eager to hear their opinions on new products. After all, 56% of consumers are more inclined to buy your product after seeing an influencer speak favorably about them.
And that can seem scary. Your sending what is the culmination of a lot of hard work into the world without much say in how it’s going to be received. This is why you choose the influencers that closely match your target audience. Not only will you get your product in front of a ton of eyes, you’ll also get valuable feedback in real time. Something about your product not completely jive? Now you know and you can make changes, sooner rather than later.
There’s a lot of influencers out in the world and narrowing down the list to those who would fit you best can seem gargantuan. This is when you refer back to your pre-marketing checklist to try and find influencers who match you audience and then cross check that list with your budget. There’s an influencer for all size budgets. And even if they don’t have a massive following, it’s all good! Users tend to trust micro-influencers more than super-influencers anyway. Just make sure to give whatever influencer creative space and you’ll find that they make some amazing things!
Still feeling overwhelmed? Good news, you happen to be reading the blog of the best influencer marketing company ever, and we’re always happy to have a chat. And working with an agency comes with proven social strategies and a long list of influencers we have already vetted and trust. Plus, we’re a pretty awesome group, just saying.
In Summary
Whether you’re an established brewery wanting to expand or a brand new business getting off the ground, there’s a lot to think about when advertising your products. So make sure to use our handy checklist, pick the right social strategy for you, and bring some influencers into your fold. When all three align, it’s basically the best thing since… well… craft beer.
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