Brewery Marketing: Essential Strategies for Brewery Success

Running a brewery requires a long list of considerations to get the orders and customers rolling in. And that’s when a brewery marketing strategy comes in. A strategy to attract your ideal customer is vital in the craft beer market. The beers are often so niche or creative that they appeal to a specific customer. So your marketing strategy needs to be purposeful and curated on the back of solid market research and consumer profiling.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by such a prospect, especially with your brewery’s success on the line. In this guide, we’ll completely break down the whole process of marketing your brewery. You’ve got online sales, tasting sessions, and event venues to consider - before you even consider the beers themselves. So let’s split things into more manageable chunks. There’s lots of valuable information coming up; let’s get started.

Brewery Marketing vs. Beer Marketing: A Definition Breakdown

First things first, what is brewery marketing? And how do we separate this from beer marketing? Brewery marketing is just marketing your actual brewery. This is an umbrella term as it involves lots of different factors. A marketing strategy for your brewery likely includes marketing for tasting sessions, beer, online sales, and gift shops. It covers everything related to your brewery business.

On the other hand, beer marketing is specifically about products. Beer marketing is just one aspect of marketing a brewery - albeit an essential one. Product marketing is much simpler, involving just that singular product type. You could invest in social media marketing, tasting strategies, and packaging for beer marketing. There are lots of different marketing avenues to venture down. But as a whole, this type of marketing has a singular focus - the product.

Marketing your brewery can seem like a mammoth task because there are many different focuses compared to beer marketing. Our advice is to split everything into sections. In particular, you should dedicate one section to marketing your beer and one to marketing your brewery as an attraction. This way, you have the product and attraction very clearly separated.

Then, you can consider what different things come under the ‘brewery as an attraction’ umbrella. You may wish to consider tasting experiences, brewery tours, and social media presence. You could even reach out to tourism boards, travel agents, and journalists in this area. It is easy to see how complex marketing a brewery is. You have tons of different things to consider. So make a complete list, breaking down each aspect of the marketing your brewery requires.

## The Essentials When Creating a Beer Marketing Strategy Now that we’ve broken down precisely what brewery marketing is let’s look closer at the beer marketing aspect. Beer marketing is just marketing your product. But to succeed, you need a high-quality beer marketing strategy. Creating an effective strategy to sell your beer is essential for your brewery business. So make sure to dedicate a lot of time to this stage. Whether selling beer in-person or reliant on online sales, beer marketing plays a massive role in your success.

1. Get your beer tasting perfect

Firstly, you should ensure you’ve got the beer to a tee. You should have controls and testing regulations in place already. And if you haven’t organized this yet, head back to the basics and learn how to start a microbrewery. You can’t run before you can walk. Before you embark on a beer marketing strategy, you should be 100% confident that your beer tastes delicious. Treat this as an essential first step.

2. Establish a budget and packaging designs

Next, consider a budget. Your products deserve a large proportion of your marketing budget since they bring in the most profit. But still, sit down to crunch numbers before moving forward.

With a budget in mind, you can evaluate packaging - the most essential beer marketing element. In shops, your packaging is what will sell your beer. So ensure that it is eye-catching and resonates with your brand image. At this stage, you can design packaging or re-evaluate existing packaging designs.

3. Market, market, market

Finally, you can invest in social media marketing. Use Tik Tok or Instagram to create reels of your beer. Or work with influencers. While you can use email and SMS, we’d only recommend doing so to provide special offers and loyalty rewards. Otherwise, focus on more visual marketing or in-person events like tasting sessions.

## Top 8 Brewery Marketing Ideas to Guarantee Business Success Ready to get this brewery on the road? These top 8 brewery marketing ideas are perfect for propelling your business toward success. Marketing is one of the most creative parts of owning a business, so get colorful in your idea process. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. Of course, if you feel a little stuck, you can always rely on some oldies but goldies. And that’s where these gems come in. Check out our top 8 marketing campaigns for boosting your business.

1. Get Your Instagram up and Running

You won’t be surprised at this one, but Instagram is a popular form of social media. You can connect with people worldwide in seconds, and Instagram has a vast reach. Instagram is also heavily reliant on visual details. Visual advertising is essential to market your brewery (and beer with it). The visual element is where you’ll draw in the most customers. And this way, your ideal customer can get a glimpse into what they will get if they purchase from you. Don’t forget your hashtags either - brewery hashtags are just as important as restaurant hashtags.

It is also worth noting that Instagram links to Facebook with the Meta Business Suite. Using this, you can sync posts and minimize your workload. You can even analyze your traffic and engagement rates in one place.

2. Run Tasting Sessions for Brewery Marketing

Like it or not, taste buds lead people. One of the best ways to attract customers is to get them in for tasting sessions. You can charge a one-time fee for the experience, provide some insight into beer, and market your products. Tasting sessions are exposure for your products. You can take the time to introduce them to potential customers in person.

Tasting sessions are also great for tourist attractions, which we’ll come to later. And since beer-tasting experiences are exciting, fun, you’ll have no difficulties accumulating interest.

3. Use Reels

Reels run the world. One of the top 2023 marketing trends was an increase in the popularity of videos. So when it comes to brewery marketing, don’t miss the memo. Make sure that you utilize videos as part of your marketing strategies.

With reels, you can jump on viral trends to gain traction. You can also provide more personal insights into your business by adding elements like interviews and behind-the-scenes tours. Be creative and watch for upcoming trends (music, themes, or dances), and you’ll do great.

4. Show Up in Your Community for Brewery Marketing

Showing up is a brilliant first step and a vital marketing strategy. You are networking and potentially building partnerships with other brands by showing up in your local community. You can sell beer to a local restaurant at a discount because of reduced shipping costs. Or would a local hotel love to sell your products behind their bar thanks to their latest sustainability movement? Network and see what comes from it. And don’t be afraid to meet people halfway. You could attend galas, farmers’ markets, and seasonal festivities. Get creative in ways that you can embrace your local community.

5. Get Yourself on Google To Accelerate Your Brewery Marketing

Google My Business is a must when running a brewery. By getting your business on Google, you make yourself easy to find. This means more people physically visiting your brewery and greater visibility to a broader audience. Both of these are huge bonuses.

You can receive customer reviews once you’ve joined Google My Business and successfully got your business on Google Maps. Customer reviews are essential for your business, establishing trust and authenticity. Make Google one of your priorities when it comes to marketing strategies.

6. Host Special Events

Special events are a fun marketing strategy to add to your list. There are tons of events you could organize for brewery marketing. You could organize a speed dating experience (providing your beer overnight) or an adult Easter ‘beer’ hunt. You could even provide a private event venue hire.

The best part of special events is the novelty. The novelty will get the guests over the threshold and give you your initial profit. And then, once you have the guests, you have a ready-made marketing opportunity.

7. Have a Website With Killer SEO To Boost Brewery Marketing

It is no secret that SEO is an absolute necessity in this day and age. A website is one of the best ways to boost marketing for your brewery. It provides a space for online sales and gives you a wider reach. We all know that the internet is a big, big place. And with a high-quality website, you can reach nearly every corner of the world.

Of course, this is where SEO comes in. If you want to be visible, your SEO must be at the top of its game. Strong SEO will have you ranking highly in people’s internet searches. While if you want, you can also use a blog section of your website to attract even more traffic.

8. Connect With Journalists and Tourism Boards for Brewery Marketing

Finally, make those press connections. Reach out to journalists who specialize or are interested in the beer industry (or travel industry). Remember that we mentioned tourism? Well, this is when it gets serious. You can reach out to journalists in the travel industry and tourism boards. Your local area will have a tourism board. This board is responsible for advertising the local area to attract tourists, so they’ll love to hear about your brewery. Let the board do your job for you and get advertising to potential customers and visitors.

Forming a Brilliant Brewery Marketing Plan

Ready to form your brewery marketing plan? Fantastic. The most important part of creating marketing strategies is forming a plan. The plan will be what helps you to make this a reality. Your plan will connect all the dots and hold you accountable.

So, break down your chosen marketing strategies into clear goals and steps. For instance, if your strategy is to invest time into TikTok, you could have a step of 3 reels a week. Your goal is to get 500 followers in the first month. Your steps should help you reach your goal. Keep things attainable, but don’t hesitate to think big and push yourself.

Once you have your goals and steps, you can add these to a marketing calendar. With a marketing calendar, you know exactly who is doing what and when. This means you can’t forget to take those marketing steps and are more likely to succeed. Have fun with your marketing calendar - making it as fun and colorful as you’d like. Then make sure that you hang it somewhere visible.

Follow these steps, and you’ll have a great marketing plan in less than a few hours. What’s not to love?

Is Brewery Marketing Beginner-Friendly?

Is brewery marketing beginner-friendly? That’s a loaded question. Some aspects of marketing a brewery can be quite technically demanding. For example, learning how to make reels can be confusing if you haven’t used Tik Tok before. However, you can quickly progress if you have a spare day or two a week. Marketing your brewery takes more time initially but becomes more time-effective as you build momentum. And none of it is so complicated that you have to outsource to an expert unless you want to.

Congratulations on being brave and taking this brewery on if you are new to marketing. Make sure to follow our earlier advice and break down all the aspects of marketing a brewery requires. Then you can pick one or two marketing aspects to concentrate on. This strategy should make marketing your brewery simpler for you.

Of course, sometimes outsourcing is the best thing for you and your business, especially if you are short on time rather than budget. Do you want some extra help with marketing your brewery? At Beambox, we are always happy to assist you with marketing your business. As experts in WiFi marketing and heightening the success of breweries and restaurants, we can help you boost your profit. Outsource to us, and let’s take these next steps together.

Let’s get things started today. Beambox has the best all-in-one WiFi marketing platform. We use a dynamic approach to connect, capture, and keep more customers. Start your Beambox free trial today, and let’s maximize your content marketing potential.

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