Common Craft Beer Marketing Mistakes Breweries Make

Running a brewery takes more than just making good beer! I have seen many brewery owners devote extra time to perfecting their recipes and ignore their marketing efforts. This actually causes slow business growth and poor interaction with consumers. Good beer alone does not ensure success anymore.

Craft beer is very competitive nowadays. Customers research breweries on the internet before they make purchase decisions. As a result, Craft beer Marketing became the single most important part of growing a brewery business.

While working with beverage brands I realized that many breweries make the same marketing mistakes. As some of them seem like minor inconsistencies it can actually lead to serious customer distrust and negatively impact revenue on the long run.

Website is not up to quality standards

One of the biggest mistakes I notice is the lack of professional website design and maintenance. Visitors hop on brewery websites and feel like they entered a 20 years old internet garage sale.

Some brewery websites are not mobile optimized, have missing information, they do not bring visitors what they are looking for.

A brewery website should include:

• Fresh tap list
• Location and business hours
• A story about the brewery
• What to expect when visiting
• Contact info
• Responsive website design

Good brewery marketing starts with a professional website because most potential customers visit the website before making any decision about buying products.
This is an area where specialized brewery marketing teams can support breweries in their local community and bring in more visitors.

Unofficial social media presence

Social media is one of the key elements of visitor engagement. Still many breweries are only active in social media when they are about to release a new tap or host an event.

Inactive social media accounts present businesses as uncommunicative. I believe consistency beats perfection and simple, regular updates work just as well.

Brewery social content should include:

• Pictures from the brewing process
• Staff spotlights
• Customer feedback and experiences
• How to guarantee an excellent tasting experience at home
• Coffee/beer pairings
• Promotion of special events

Craft beer Marketing is much stronger when there is a sense of connection with people behind the brand.

Using generic branding

Construction of similar branding materials is another error I frequently see. It is really difficult for customers to recall your business when logos, messaging and colors are very similar to competitors.

A brewery business should have:

• A recognizable tone of voice
• Unique visual identity elements
• Cohesive messaging
• A strong local footprint

Customers are most likely to support a brewery that appears authentic and stands out from competitors.

In my experience a movie like story about the brewery enhances long-term customer loyalty.

Forget about local SEO

Some breweries focus on social media content creation ignoring search return results. This is where the missed opportunities are built.

Locals search for:

• Breweries nearby
• Best beer around me
• Destination craft breweries
• Taproom events nearby

If a brewery does not show up on the first couple of pages of Google they may never get a new customer in their business.

Good brewery marketing involves:

• Responsively updating Google Business Profile
• Optimizing keywords for local searches
• Motivating reviews from customers
• Creating location based content

Simple steps like that will boost local visibility.

Not knowing the specific target market

Every brewery has different target groups of consumers. There are breweries attracting younger craft enthusiasts, others appealing to families or older citizens.

When applying marketing to target audiences not knowing their expectations it does not bring positive results.

I always encourage breweries to research:

• Customer age range
• Frequency of purchase
• Favorite styles
• How the local community is active
• Consumer behavior on social media

To make Craft beer Marketing really effective every brewery should know who it is communicating with.

Poor food photography

Beer is very visual, customers are intensely reactive to bottled and canned beer pictures. Still I see many breweries using dark blurry photos that jeopardize their entire marketing strategy.

Professional quality visuals help breweries promote themselves as more professional businesses.

Important to include:

• Beer pour images
• Hops
• Brewery interior shots
• Happy customers
• Brewing equipment and techniques
• Food pairings

Since most social media algorithms heavily depend on imagery, proper photography is vital to their success.

Overpulling big numbers

I frequently observe breweries constantly relaying sales related messages and promoting beers. The truth is that customers get bored of hearing only about your promotions.

A more successful approach is a voice that educates customers and build community connections.

Great stories and information sharing can be achieved with:

• Education about the brewing process
• Behind the scenes stories
• Local partnerships and events
• Customer reviews and testimonials
• Interviews of staff

This helps build long-term customer relationships.

Neglecting email marketing

Several breweries underestimate the power of their email lists. Social media programs are constantly changing, email marketing stays the same and works.

Brewery email lists allow a business to notify customers about:

• New beer releases
• Upcoming events
• Seasonal product launches
• Discounts
• New brewery developments

Simple emails increase chances for consumers to visit the taproom again.

Failure to connect with the local community

The fastest growing breweries are always active in their community. People want to support businesses that support the local area.

Community participation can mean:

• Partnering with other small local business
• Hosting local events
• Participating in festivals, parades etc.
• Supporting local charities
• Work with local musicians or artists

Craft beer Marketing is great when consumers build warm connections in the real world as well as online.

Partnering with knowledgeable, industry-specific marketing professionals

Some breweries hire the wrong agencies for their marketing campaigns. Brands need marketing teams knowledgeable of the beverage and cannabis industry to succeed.

A lot of time and thousands of dollars are wasted when generic marketing services work inefficiently without a clear target audience understanding.

There are specific agencies like Get Hoptimized that specialize working only with beverage and cannabis brands. Working with industry experts optimizes results and avoid costly mistakes.

Final thoughts

I assume that most of breweries do suffer from marketing shortcomings caused by inconsistency and lack of proper strategy. Traditional breweries are too focused on production and too less on communicating with their existing and new customers online.

Today customers conduct most of their purchasing decisions online. Good Craft beer Marketing helps producing a trustworthy and locally visible business with long term customers.

Small changes in visual branding, website presence, local SEO and consumer interaction boost brewery sales and long term customer trust. Successful breweries are those that implement improved marketing strategies.