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Marketing

THE POWER OF PERSUASION:

Why Your Craft Brand Needs Social Media Influencer’s NOW!
By: Chris Mulvaney, President, CMDS Marketing Agency
I n the past, reviewers and critics were the ing photos of what and where they are drinking,
sharing videos, stories and reels of new releases,
ones who determined what foods you
wanted to eat and what movies you liked
your audience with filtered selfies - they will make
to watch. Then, when you turned on the TV, you encapsulating the crowd ambiance and engaging
would see a product-endorsing celebrity tell you sure your product gets the ultimate endorsement
what you wanted to buy. advantage in hand and puts your online following
on speed-dial.
Now, not so much. You still have celebrity
endorsements, sure, but you are much more likely So Why Are Influencers So Important?
to see them on social media than on prime time.
With online technology far surpassing any printed Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram
newspaper, tv commercial or critic comes the birth were built with connection and humanity as its pur-
of a new legion of opinion-swayers - the social pose and are primarily meant for person to person
media influencer. And, when it comes to craft relations.
beverages, there is no better place to be for brand
promotion than having your product in one of their And, those people will
hands - and selfies - on social media. typically buy for two reasons:

This new breed of influencer is not necessarily a 1. Recommendations from someone they trust, and
celebrity. In fact, most aren’t. They are bloggers, 2. Price.
cell phone photographers, Yelp reviewers. All some-
one needs is an online platform to post. Take that Influencers have an established credibility and can
platform, add a determination for a large following, persuade others by virtue of their trustworthiness
sprinkle in an enigmatic personality and the right and authenticity. Your brand’s target influencers
“look” and viola! The new ”influencer” can take a are users that employ your brand hashtag and who
brand like yours to an insane level of success. have the largest number of followers. What they
like, buy, share and post will sway their followers to
This proven method is exactly why the craft bever- do the same.
age industry is utilizing the social media influencer
to further their reach and skyrocket their sales. On Influencers can be useful in three main ways for
the internet’s various platforms, such as Instagram craft beverage businesses:
and Facebook, lives a world of craft beer influenc-
ers, liquor afficianos and self-promoting humans ● They can create content
commanding attention in the space. ● Their audience can associate themselves with
them, and
Whether they are self-proclaimed writers, brew- ● They can provide exponential revenue growth.
ers, distillery fans, liquor conoissors, beer somme-
liers, beer-tenders, models, advocates, happy hour In addition, this past year alone shows the sky-
fans, or just plain-old well-respected craft beverage rocketing success of the craft beverage hashtag.
lovers, they are, in short, people we deem influen- The following hashtags were used over and over by
tial in this world. influencers all over Instagram:

And, as of December 2020, there were 2.3 billion ● #craftbeer: $29million
of them on Instagram. ● #cocktails: $28.9 million
● #supportlocal: $26.6 million
By strategic use of tagging, sharing links, post-

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