7 Alcohol Brands That Win At Social Media

In 2013, the NIAAA reported that 86.8% of adults aged 18 or older had consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime.

It’s no surprise, then, that alcohol brands are as visible as they are in today’s commercial landscape.

It’s also notable that the biggest social media platform, Facebook, rose from what was a college-based platform where students were able to share their sometimes alcohol filled endeavors. Today, the scene is far different. Brands and companies, as well as individuals, use the different platforms as official representative pages and profiles. But how do alcohol brands perform?

These seven heavyweights (pun intended) are particularly effective at using social media to expand their reach, so we’ve zeroed in on some of the core concepts they are using that you can apply to your own marketing strategy.

PBR is clearly a company that knows its market. Often labeled a ‘hipster’ beer, their Instagram is packed with creative and compelling content that plays right into this idea. The images appeal directly to youth culture and consistently reference hipster tropes, ranging from classic video games and street art to vintage trucks as seen below.

They’ve struck gold with this strategy; that post had an engagement rate of 3.62%, dwarfing our Locowise Instagram Analyser average of 1.05% for profiles of comparable size.

In fact, over the past two weeks Pabst’s Instagram content pulled in an average engagement rate of 2.61%. Impressive stuff, and it speaks volumes about the power of knowing your audience and engaging them with fresh, relatable content.

https://www.instagram.com/p/9HSPobni1E/?taken-by=pabstblueribbon

Vodka Beluga is slowly, but surely, becoming a statement of wealth and way of life. Often mentioned in the songs and videos of infamous rap musicians, including G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha the alcoholic drink brand is still not as infamous as its competition. Yet, they do manage to boast a respectable following on Instagram. There, the vodka drink also manages to share some great marketing about their bottles and brand.

Yet, we wanted to take note of the way they share their brand through cocktails. Although not a particularly revolutionary strategy, Beluga shares branded glasses with cocktails that are made with their vodka, alongside a recipe shared in the description of the post on Instagram.

The reason we wanted to note this as a honorable mention is that Beluga manages to boost their engagement by sharing useful content on their audience that boosts both their brand image and uses their product. Have any particular ways you can use this strategy to promote your brand? Think sharing tips and tricks through valuable example means.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgLCOxrBi9G/?hl=en&taken-by=vodkabeluga

Visually, Smirnoff’s Instagram profile does a lot of things right. Despite the relatively broad range of color schemes used in their photos, their feed as whole comes across as cohesive and the bold colors make it all the more eye-popping. They’ve managed to include a bottle of Smirnoff in almost every picture, adding an element of branding and lending the feed a sense of consistency.

The profile also has a very well defined theme – namely, cocktails that can be made with Smirnoff – and it’s an extra bonus that they’ve included the recipes for each cocktail in the captions. This shows off the versatility of the product and entices users to keep coming back for more recipes. It’s a clever theme and one that works really well on a visual platform like Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/9WkiUgudEu/?taken-by=smirnoffus

Dogfish Head is a Delaware-based brewery that is making some pretty significant waves in the American craft beer industry. Though it’s grown rapidly in recent years from its humble origins in 1995, the company has made a point to market itself as a family-owned artisan business that remains enduringly human.

A quick scroll through their Twitter feed reveals just as much. Take, for example, their practice of replying to dozens of tweets every day. Starting conversations with consumers is an excellent way to show that, at the core of your brand, there is a group of very real people.

In another tweet, they literally invited their followers to talk to them in a Q&A session with their founder and President. Add to that their habit of posting behind-the-scenes pictures of the team and you have a Twitter profile that feels distinctly personal. And that’s exactly how I’d want my craft beer to be brewed.

https://twitter.com/dogfishbeer/status/660186272766496770

Fact: Alcohol and parties go hand in hand. This is an idea that Bacardi have taken to heart in their social media strategy, and it’s great branding – especially when you’re marketing to millennials.

In their #BacardiHouseParty campaign, the rum makers bring music and the party lifestyle to the forefront with exciting visual content that is geared towards a young adult market. Brandchannel called the scenario depicted in the video below “the ultimate millennial fantasy” and we’re inclined to agree.

The campaign even includes real-life parties taking place across the US, where they’ve teamed up with up-and-coming musical acts. It’s a cool concept and one that sends a very clear message to young people – party with Bacardi.

https://twitter.com/BACARDI/status/659853435060158464

In our article on becoming a social media marketing pro in 12 days, we stressed the importance of including a visual component with your social media content whenever possible.

This is a great rule of thumb that the team at Jim Beam has adhered to on Twitter, a platform where all too many brands rely primarily on plain text. Almost every tweet on their profile is accompanied by a tasteful image that naturally makes the content so much more attention-grabbing.

They’ve also made sure to include plenty of branding in their pictures for good measure. It’s good social media practice and a lot of brands stand to learn from this.

https://twitter.com/JimBeam/status/660516636059799552

Dos Equis hit it out of the park with their hilarious ‘Most Interesting Man In The World’ campaign. It’s one of the most recognizable ad campaigns in recent memory, has spawned a popular meme, and holds a place in pop culture almost ten years since its inception. It’s no wonder that Dos Equis’ social media presence still revolves around its charismatic poster child.

While recycling old ideas can make a brand appear rather stale, it manages to keep things interesting by focusing on topics that are in the moment, like the Labor Day post below.

Their social media profiles are also noticeably lacking in traditional advertising – there are almost no purchase links or other CTAs on their Facebook page. Instead, it’s a constant stream of funny content that keeps consumers entertained while also maintaining brand visibility. This is clever because if users don’t feel like they’re being sold anything, they’re more likely to stay for the content and less likely to unfollow or hide your posts.

https://www.facebook.com/DosEquis/photos/a.93467330339

The folks at Budweiser aren’t afraid to mix it up when it comes to social media. Earlier this month, the beer behemoth invited country musician Thomas Rett to take over their Twitter account as he prepared to perform at the Country Music Awards.

Takeovers like this are an excellent cross-promotion strategy, particularly when your guest tweeter is a popular musician with over half a million Twitter followers. That day, Budweiser’s account saw a noticeable boost in followers as well as engagement, so it’s safe to say that the stunt paid off.

This is an interesting strategy that is fairly easy to implement – just make sure you pick your ambassador carefully.

https://twitter.com/Budweiser/status/662020081610858496

Post creative and market-specific content (Pabst Blue Ribbon)
Make your visual content cohesive with a good theme (Smirnoff)
Converse with fans and humanize your business (Dogfish Head)
Present a lifestyle your market can relate to (Bacardi)
Use images and videos whenever possible (Jim Beam)
Keep your content current and don’t sell too aggressively (Dos Equis)
Cross-promote with social media takeovers