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Sometimes, I have business clients who aren’t sure what all of this social media stuff is in aid of. Sure, they’d say, we get that we need to have a presence there, but what’s the point? That’s a good question which you need even better answers for. Here are some useful starting points: Building an audience Probably the number one reason you need a strong social media presence as a craft brewery is to build a fan base who will in turn help you to build your brand. It’s reasonably easy to get a lot of followers on most of the platforms using paid-for advertising, but difficult to get the right audience. The right audience will be people who respond to your posts, photos, videos, and other content because they are delighted by it and interested in your brand. In turn, they will post photos, videos and stories about you on their channels and so on. You can see how this sort of snowball effect can quickly lead to a healthy community of people who become loyal fans of your brand. Loyal fans help sell beer. I can’t be clearer than that. You need loyal fans. Connecting to other breweries Given that most craft breweries are also using social media to build their brands, all platforms are useful tools to connect to fellow craft brewers. For instance, you can spread a bit of the love by commenting on another brewer’s beer that you like. They will doubtless respond in kind and before you know it, you’ve got a wonderful brewery love-fest social media extravaganza! It makes my little marketing heart beat faster just thinking about the possibilities... Communicate to your customers All social media platforms are potential channels of communication to (and from) your customers and consumers. For instance, a fan of your latest seasonal release may post a photo of the brew on Twitter or Instagram with a comment on how well it goes with their meal. You now have a golden opportunity to respond to that communication and start a conversation or just reward the fan with a, “Thanks, bud!” Don’t underestimate the power of responsiveness. If I post a glowing review of your beer on Instagram or Facebook with a cool photo and you take a month to respond, I’m probably not going to do that again, no matter how much your beer rocks. It’s not going to be all good, all the time, of course. Sometimes, people will post complaints about your beer on social media. Rather than being afraid of negative feedback and hiding in a social media corner, I’d recommend that you have a very clear strategy for each platform on how to deal with negative PR. Here’s where the question of control becomes important as well. You should probably have a clearly assigned person or group of people tasked with negative PR responses. Whatever you do, never, ever respond to negative feedback with a shoot- from-the-hip, emotional message. Seriously, don’t. GOING PRO When responding to negative feedback, keep these principles in mind at all times: Don’t be defensive. Mostly, you can only benefit from constructive criticism and even if you feel that the person’s claim is bogus, it will only make things worse if you come across as defensive or aggressive. Don’t feed the fire! Rather use diplomatic, well-reasoned and modest language and be fair-minded at all times. Don’t counter-criticize. Similar, but worse than being defensive is using the communication to level some criticism of your own. For instance, if a vendor posts a criticism of your latest delivery, you may be tempted to remind everyone how they stiffed you on that payment six months ago. Don’t do it. I’ve never seen this sort of escalating social media argument ever yield positive results for a brand. Ever. Defend your brand, not yourself. This may sound like a counsel of perfection, but it is important to set the record straight if you do feel someone is being malicious toward your brand and business. Take care to differentiate between that and someone who just doesn’t like you very much. The former is a problem, the latter is an annoyance. Either way, the best response to attacks of this kind is not to have a public spat on social media with the offending party. Rather, get your facts together, approach the person/s privately if possible, and if needed, seek legal advice. Once the issue is settled and you’ve proven you’re in the right, publicize the events to make sure your fans have the straight story (assumwing that any legal outcomes didn’t also include restrictions on disclosure). Reward the critic. This step is often overlooked, but if someone alerted you to a batch of beer that was off, shouldn’t you thank them for the valuable info? It can only help you improve your beer or processes, so why not say thanks? Post a nice thank you message on social media, invite the person to a brewery tour, send them a hamper; be nice. In my experience, initial critics often turn into your most loyal fans if you can win them over. That’s all for now, folks! Next time, I’ll be rounding out this marketing series with a few killer marketing ideas and strategies that all craft brewers should try at least once. Until then… WHAT’S THE POINT? Like Comment Share HOW DO I RESPOND TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK? 46 | Winter 2019 | ontapmag.co.za