At the recent California Rum Festival, I presented a session about my experiences in building a large social media following for the Cocktail Wonk brand, plus observations on what works and doesn’t work for other social media feeds. Social media seems like the be-all and end-all in this day and age, so businesses have to adapt to that if they want to have a following online. This may mean doing collaborations with brands as well as influencers from companies like https://unrulyagency.com/ as well as others, but it all depends on what the business needs and how they can make a name for themselves.
As a matter of fact, there are a lot of people who may not be aware of social media platforms until they begin to use them for building their brand. A lot of what is out there is surface level for people to understand, and there is a lot that they may not know, which can help them get maximum mileage on their chosen platform/platforms. For those already in the pull of social media through its various iterations, they would want nothing more than to never be away from their digital family! In this day and age, where getting hold of an Internet service provider can be as easy as typing a few words like atlanta internet providers (or similar search terms), it may seem surprising that not many people have explored the possibilities provided by social media yet. Surprising, yes, but true all the more!
That is why people should delve deeper into the opportunities provided by social media. Honestly, with the various media platforms that are made available, smaller businesses can tap into resources like how they are able to buy Tiktok likes, what an Instagram manager can do for their daily posting, how they can push up their follower count on Facebook, and so on, which can be incredibly helpful for getting their name out there. As an example, Instagram can be a great platform for small businesses to gain popularity, thereby helping their business to grow. That being said, building a huge reach on the platform can be arduous and can take a lot of time. However, there can be various ways to buy Instagram followers that can be useful for businesses to establish their social media presence. This presentation is just one level, if people are serious about getting their name out there, they will need to do as much research as possible and reach out to those that can help them.
The presentation, available as PDF, includes my slides and my accompanying notes can be found here:
cocktail-wonk-guide-to-effective-social-media-in-the-spirits-industry
In the deck you’ll find:
- My take on the strengths and weakness of platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
- The need to “define your story”.
- What works and doesn’t work in posts.
- A substantial chunk of the presentation focus on creating effective, appealing photos to use in your photos – so much of the drinks industry is visual!
- Specific social media accounts that are doing a great job getting more followers.
Do check it out, and feel free to add feedback and questions in the comments here!
Thanks for posting this for those of us that couldn’t make it up to California Rum Fest. I appreciate you sharing what you’ve learned about posting to social media. It can be frustrating at times because I am a lot more engaged with friends and listeners on Instagram, but the only live link is in the user’s profile. Links galore on Twitter, but no one’s really active there (at least in the same community-oriented way they are on Instagram).
Totally agree, Kevin. I wish they’d allow it for verified accounts, or something. It’s maddening.
Good stuff Matt, lots of great info and photo tips – learned a few things myself. I’m glad you included the legal slide – I don’t believe that is well known to many smaller and newer producers.