OnTap Magazine

GOING PRO These days you really can’t run a business without using social media, but for those who confuse their SnapScan with their Snapchat or still call a hashtag the pound sign, Marcel Harper gives the lowdown on some social media basics for your brewery. I n our last issue, we looked at the basics of craft beer marketing if you’re looking to go pro. Today, I want to walk you through some basic questions and answers about social media as a marketing tool. These are questions I’ve fielded over the years of helping new brewers (and other businesses) navigate their way through this crazy thing called marketing. Let’s start off with the most basic (but fundamental) question that I’ve heard asked many a time by new brewery owners: DO I NEED TO BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Yes, you do. The more complex answer is that even if you’re not on social media, you actually already are. Sounds weird, right? Here’s an image I often use to explain what I mean: Imagine a really, really massive cocktail party held in a really, really huge and swanky mansion. In this party, there will be, as you’d expect, many little groupings and cliques of people standing around, chatting. Some groups may contain the cool kids, who everyone wants to be friends with. Their conversations will presumably also have a lot of influence over other conversations happening at the party. Maybe over there in the corner, we have a small clique talking in hushed tones. Their conversation is secret, but powerful. And over on the balcony is a very loud group of people whose conversations can be clearly heard across the room, even though what they’re talking about is not interesting at all. Social media is like this party. The party has already started and some of the guests are almost certainly talking about you or will be soon. The only question you have to ask yourself is: Do I want to be on the inside of the party or on the outside looking in? Because if you’re on the outside, there’s no way you can influence what people are saying about you. You just have to hope for the best. And I’d like to think that as a new business owner, you want to trust in something a bit more concrete that just hope, right? SOCIAL MEDIA: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? Unlike war, a whole heck of a lot. But the trick is to understand the differing functions of social media platforms. These do evolve over time and are not immune to fashion or trends, but the basics remain the basics. While there are functions that run across all platforms (such as consumer communication- -more about that later), each social media platform has a few things it does particularly well. 42 | Winter 2019 | ontapmag.co.za