The Social Media Advantage for Craft Breweries

Batch 006 - How To Get More Instagram Followers and Better Engagement with Allison Mayer

One of the most common social media questions is focus on how to get more followers on Instagram. In 2016 Instagram introduced an algorithm into it's platform. The goal of the algorithm is to create a better experience for its users and keeps them on the platform longer. This means that strategies and tactics used just a year ago may, at best, no longer be relevant, and at worse may be working against you. This reality can feel overwhelming and trying to execute a strategy that leverages it in your brewery's favor may seem impossible. In this batch I chat with my friend Allison Mayer who is using Instagram as the primary social media channel for her photography business. Based out of Indianapolis, Allison started taking Instagram seriously when she lost one of her biggest clients to another photographer who had a big, active Instagram community. In batch 005 (hellobilello.com/batch005) I shared some tools you can use to help you create variety in your Instagram posts. This batch compliments it and digs in on the strategies you can do beyond just posting photos to create an engaged community on Instagram. How To Get More Followers on Instagram Allison says, *It takes a lot of work to make the algorithm work, but starting when your following is small will streamline the process as your community grows *Your account may not be effected as strongly by Instagram's algorithm if you have a smaller following (less than 5,000) *There are not a lot of tools to help automate or streamline Allison's game plan, but she does recommend InstaReport and Iconosquare (links below) *One tactic she recommends is getting rid of ghost followers (people who follow you but never interact with your posts). *While you can use up to 30 hashtags for each post, Allison recommends coming up with 3-5 different sets of hashtags with 5-10 in each set. Mix up and use these sets with your posts. *Instagram likes engagement, especially right after you post. Spend some time engaging with other people's posts right after your goes live to increase the amount of engagement your posts receive. LINKS InstaReport (iOS app only): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/followers-analytics-for-instagram-instareport/id1156192844?mt=8 Iconosquare: https://pro.iconosquare.com/ Connect with Allison Mayer on Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/allisonmayerwsa/ See Allison's work and beautiful photography; http://allisonmayer.com/

Batch 005 -10 Tools To Help You Add Some Variety To Your Instagram Posts

Instagram, which originally started as a place for photographers to share their best photos, has morphed into a full on social media channel with hundreds of millions of users. There are also over 12 million posts that have included the hashtag #craftbeer. This is a good sign for you and your craft brewery because it very simply and powerfully says, “Yes! People want to see my brewery and interact with us.” While you could simply start snapping photos and recording videos there will most likely come a point where you ask yourself, “What else can we share on Instagram?” In this batch of The Social Media Advantage for Craft Breweries I share the tools and apps I use to help me add a little variety to the posts I create on Instagram.

Batch 004 - Creating Greater Customer Loyalty With Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger Bots What are they? They are tools that can help businesses better serve customers who have specific needs or questions on Facebook. While Facebook offers some features to help you reply automatically to people who contact your business via Facebook Messenger it’s limited in just how much it can do. Thankfully, Facebook has made Messenger an open source platform. MOre specifically, people can now create tools and software that works on top of Messenger. This very similar to how third party apps (like the Facebook app) work on top of your smartphones Android or iOS software. How can you use them? Messenger bots, in their simplest form can be used in similar way that people use an email service like Mailchimp or Constant Contact. You can communicate one-to-one with people, providing information or answers to commonly asked questions. In addition to that, you can also send out “broadcasts” to people who have subscribed to your bot in the same way you can send an email to everyone who’s subscribed to receive your email updates. Why would you use them? People are inundated with emails today. It’s also a tool that was really popular in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Email was a communication tool when the desktop computer was the primary way to use the Internet. Today, the smartphone is the primary way people do this. Messages, both text and inside a messenger app, are the primary way they communicate with people. Messenger offers you the opportunity to communicate quickly and effectively with people in a way they’re communicating all the time. Less and less people are using email as a way to send and receive information, especially information outside of the business world. If your customers and fans are using Facebook (and you know they are) most likely they’re using Messenger in some form. A messenger bot meets these people where they’re at and offers a much higher probability that they’ll receive, read, and act on the information you send them. What’s Facebook’ Plan With Messenger? Facebook is making Messenger the primary feature for people to use when they want to interact with a business on Facebook. They’re doing this in three big ways; -On a desktop, the Messenger chat box opens up whenever someone visits your Facebook page. -On the Facebook app there is a dedicated Messenger button (in the lower right corner) whenever someone visits your Facebook page. -Response Time is now listed on your Facebook page to inform visitors how quickly you’re likely to respond to them. How Can I Get Started? To get started, I encourage you to test out a Messenger bot. More specifcallly, take a look at the one I created, called Fun Brewery. It’s designed to help people find the best craft breweries in the Milwaukee area. You can tap the link here or visit www.funbrewery.com. You also can see how my business uses Facebook Messenger by visiting Hello Bilello. You can visit it immediately here; http://m.me/hellobilello. Once you’ve tested these out, you can see how it works for your own brewery by visiting ManyChat.com. This is by far is the easiest tool to use if you want to start using Messenger to communicate with your customers and fans. It offers a free version with a load of great features and has even more options available on their paid plans (starting at $10/month for up to 500 subscribers).

Batch 003 - Get Your Customers Involved With User Generated Content

User Generated Content (UGC) is powerful component for every social media game plan but is often overlooked and neglected. Its unique value proposition is the unique combination of creating greater engagement with your community and it requires time and resources to create it. People love seeing their photos and posts shared and are likely to tell their friends about it. You, the craft brewery, don’t have even have to edit or modify it. You can simply share the content or post to your profile. The big question is HOW do you systemize it? How can you make UGC a habit for your fans and customers so that they’re regularly creating and sharing posts and content about your brewery? Third Space Brewing in Milwaukee, WI does this exceptionally well on their website and Instagram. They’ve promoted the #mythirdspace hashtag across their website, social channels, even on printed materials with the goal of encouraging people to use that hashtag when taking photos or sharing anything on social media related to their brewery. So when someone uses this hashtag on Instagram not only does it create a nice spot for Third Space Brewing to easily find UGC for their brewery, they’ve also connected those Instagram posts to their website. To see exactly how Third Space Brewing is leveraging UGC or if you have a question send me the word “batch003” in Facebook Messenger. Just search for “Hello Bilello” or you can tap the link to go directly to Facebook Messenger (http://m.me/hellobilello). If you really are finding the information here helpful, tap the Subscribe button and you can have immediate access to new content when it’s available (usually every single week).

Batch 002 - The 4 Ingredients Needed To Brew A Successful Facebook Game Plan

Facebook changed how the world communicates, connects, and shares information. Both individuals and businesses are using the platform for a multitude of reasons. So how do you keep your craft brewery relevant in the sea of information, viral videos, and fake news as people peruse through Facebook? In Batch 002 we dig into the four key ingredients that will freshen up your social media strategy and help you rise above a lot of what’s happening on Facebook. If your brewery is scheduled to open in the near future or you’re looking for a reboot on all things Facebook then sit back, crack open a crowler of your latest favorite and let’s dig into how your brewery can succeed with Facebook. If you want more info on this batch or you’re looking for specific details and links to what was shared, send a message with the word “batch002” to Hello Bilello on Facebook. Visit m.me/hellobilello or fb.com/hellobilello to get started.