Social media has never been more important to business.
Even before the Covid era, so much of our lives took place online. The pandemic with its subsequent shutdowns and people sheltering in place only drove more of our everyday dealings onto the internet. Today, consumers routinely interact with brands and stores through social media. These sites have become a crucial tool for beverage alcohol retailers to drive sales and differentiate from competitors.
And yet, so many stores do a poor job of leveraging this critical medium. A large number of retailers barely use social media, or have no active profiles at all. The businesses that badly underutilize the sites will often post simple, ineffective photos of products, generating little buzz. This is no way to stand out from the crowd.
It’s a mistake to ignore or underuse social media. Problem is, retail store owners and employees hardly have the time for this daily task, which can be a grind. Hiring a social media manager, even if just part-time, is one solution. Or finding someone on-staff who can pick up those additional duties is another way to remain active online. Either way, you do not want to be one of those businesses getting left behind in the critical digital channels.
Facebook seems to be fading for content creators, whereas Instagram and TikTok remain vibrant. Consistent, short-form content is key. There are so many stories you can tell from within a liquor store. Today’s consumers are as eager as ever to learn about the products they purchase and enjoy. Every brand and bottle on the shelf is a potential story, from the people who produce it, to the styles and practices the product represents. Even something as simple as “Why do we swirl wine?” can find success as a video online. It’s been done, many times to much success.
Many beverage alcohol retailers do excel at social media. We recently reached out to three stores in particular that shine online. We asked a series of questions answered by Diane Jamgochian, social media manager at Gary’s Wine & Marketplace in New Jersey (Instagram: @garys_wine); Sandra Spalding, director of marketing for Twin Liquors in Texas (@twinliquors); and Carly Hollowell, VP of marketing for The Good Pour in Florida (@goodpourgives).
Beverage Dynamics: Why is social media so important for beverage alcohol retailers?
Diane Jamgochian: Social media is important for beverage alcohol retailers because, like any industry, ours is constantly evolving. There’s always a new product, vintage or trend happening, and social media is the perfect place to showcase what’s new in a fun, user-friendly way. Like all media these days, it’s information at your fingertips!
Sandra Spalding: We pride ourselves on our engaged employees and customer interactions, so it is important that our social reflects that.
Carly Hollowell: In our industry, there is a lot of opportunity for retailers to own a space on social media, but a lot of that relies on having a brand personality and curating content that resonates with your desired audience and demographic. There’s so much that can be done to enhance the social experience in the retail industry where it doesn’t feel like you’re selling all the time, but rather creating opportunities to engage with your audience and build a loyal audience that will think of your brand when they go to purchase alcohol.
BD: What are some best practices for creating effective social media content?
DJ: For creating effective social content, it’s all about the quality and creating a consistent ‘channel.’ Just like a TV channel, audiences will gravitate to what they enjoy and feels familiar. For example, our Gary’s Instagram account primarily focuses on brief wine/beer/spirits educational videos, usually featuring a member of our team. Content should also be genuine to your business, so audiences can relate to what you’re putting out there.
SS: Informational and authentic is our top priority.
CH: Edutainment: We like to create content that is educational while it entertains, too. This could be cocktail recipes or sharing expertise advice in a way that is entertaining and trending.
Also:
- Follow the trends and fit in where you can! Don’t force your brand into specific trends, but lean in to the ones that have potential to benefit your brand.
- Capcut is a great resource for creating video content!
- Create content that encourages audiences to engage by commenting, sharing, liking the content rather than being a passive audience member.
BD: What makes for a good Instagram/Facebook Reel or TikTok video?
DJ: Other than the logistics like good lighting, clear quality, etc., there’s many factors that make for a good Reel/TikTok. ‘Hooking’ the viewer in the first three seconds, keeping the content concise, being genuine in your message and a strong call to action at the end can all set a video apart. Having a sense of humor always helps too!
SS: Focusing on authenticity is important, whether you are conveying humor, sentimentality, education or anything else.
CH: Authenticity. Show real team members in store, BTS clips, story tell, etc.! Also:
- Short, quick cuts that align with audio
- Audio that supports the visual with a story or guidance
- Good quality audio and video
- The ability to jump on video trends quickly
BD: How often do you post? Where? What do you post?
DJ: Typically, we post five times per week on Instagram and TikTok, which by far have our biggest following. On these platforms, we exclusively post brief videos, including wine/beer/spirits education, shopping tips and occasionally interviews with winemakers. We usually film in-store and feature the same four to five team members in our videos to give our content a familiar feel.
SS: 4-6 times per week. We post in all the formats to all the major platforms.
CH: On average, five times a week, across all platforms. We follow our four content pillars to determine what we post: edutainment, trends/holidays, charity/community and brand awareness.
BD: How do you measure the success of social media?
DJ: For measuring social media’s success, it’s easy to say that viral videos and a high following take priority. While these are important, it’s also about staying on-brand and posting what feels authentic to you. A high follower count doesn’t mean as much if no one’s commenting, sharing or saving your content. The real success is establishing a community where people can learn, share and are engaged.
SS: Analytics are robust, so we can measure just about anything these days. KPIs ROIs, you name it. But sometimes a video goes viral and none of the data that matters – it’s just good fun that people get excited about and want to share.
CH: Engagement. The more engagement you can account for, the more that Meta and other platforms will continue to serve your content in people’s feeds and push your content to the explore pages.
BD: How do you leverage relationships with content creators and brands on social media?
DJ: On Instagram, utilizing the collaboration feature really helps to leverage relationships with content creators. Not only does it create a joint post, but it maximizes the engagement between our following and theirs. And of course, tagging relevant accounts not only builds our relationships within the industry, but also gives them an opportunity to share our content, which is always a good thing!
SS: We enjoy sharing fun content from other creators, but most of our content is unique to TWIN which allows us to be our authentic selves. Even if it’s a brand, we infuse our Twin voice into it. We find the story!
CH: Authentic engagement is a good starting point. Consider following the creators you want to work with well in advance, and engaging with their content rather than just reaching out on a whim. Build those relationships and offer exclusive access and invitations to hosted events that entice them to share about your brand/business before, during and after the event. This is a great way to identify new audiences through like-minded creators that will rave about your business.
