Episode 021: Using Instagram to Keep Taps Flowing (Part 2 of the Holy Trinity Series)
She’s been evolving her craft since the days of Myspace and has tackled modern day social platforms as they have arisen. Specifically, with Asheville Brewing Company, Alli has been managing their Instagram account for the last 5 years and has racked up over 21,000 followers with more than 3,000 posts.
Instagram Strategy
Consistent and Comfortable
Asheville Brewing Co. made it onto Craftbeer.com’s 9 Breweries You’ll Want to Follow on Instagram, which is how we got in touch with Alli. She created the brewery’s Instagram page back when the platform was dwarfed by Facebook. She has kept their social reach organic for the last five years. Nothing paid. No like for like trades. She posted in a way that seemed natural to her and authentic to the brewery and the people who work there.
Alli likes to find the funny side of things and believes her humor is a consistent theme among her posts. She admits, however, there is always trial and error in making posts. Sometimes things might fall flat on their followers, but staying consistent with posts (3 posts a day is her sweet spot) makes sure there’s always something new to grab their follower’s attention.
Her organization has evolved over the years so she can more easily refer to pictures she’s saved and archived. Alli doesn’t use any social management tools – she has found a way to do everything from her smartphone and with an organic timing rather than scheduled posting sessions. Her recent posting campaigns include highlighting their female employees for National Women’s Month and a beer naming contest.
Notable Quote from the Interview
The ABC Logo
The founder and president, Mike Rangel, is originally from Uruguay and wanted to incorporate the sun from the country’s flag into the Asheville Brewing Company logo.
She is the author of 9 Breweries You’ll Want to Follow on Instagram and also lives in the east coast’s craft beer hub – Asheville, North Carolina.
9 Breweries of Instagram
In her article for Craftbeer.com, Shawndra picked 9 breweries that clearly display a unique best marketing practice through their Instagram accounts. We’re pleased that Asheville Brewing Company made it on the list, and we encourage you to go check out the other 8 as well.
Real and Intimate
Shawndra has found that Instagram works best when a brewery has a strong, solid vision. Not just with the head brewer or an owner, but for everyone that works at the brewery. Having a vision that everyone on the team can rally around helps accrue tons of quality, intimate posts that really grab followers’ attention. Consumers are pretty much done with companies shoving messages down their throat. Breweries can really capitalize on this by letting their followers see everyday slices of their life – letting them go behind the scenes.
For a Cause
Finding a cause to rally behind is also a key for reaching out to a local community. Habitat Brewery, for example, has a Pints with Professors night every month where professors from UNC Asheville come and discuss issues over beer. Whether it’s an intellectual gathering or bringing in a charity to help name a beer, using causes and related articles to make content to fill up posts throughout the week is a great way to retain follower engagement.
Allison Brown contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @ashevillebrewingco
Facebook: Asheville Brewing
Twitter: @ashevillebrewin
Web: ashevillebrewing.com
Shawndra Russell contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Shawndra Russell
Twitter: @shawndrarussell
Web: shawndrarussel.com
Strapped for Time?
When push comes to shove, do you feel robbed of doing your best work by competing priorities?
