Social Media and the Underdog

The modern development and rise of social media has been probably the greatest boon to the small business owner. A recently formed global expansion, extension, and amplification of the most effective and oldest method of advertising, word of mouth. Not like the original way of telling one person, then telling another, and having the positive word spread slowly social media has the opportunity to rapidly spread the word of a business, product, or service. In the past the mass communication to potential customers was only possible by way of advertising dollars through one of the media choices of print, radio, or television. This made the playing field for the small business owner a bit unbalanced since the costs of those media outlets may be out of reach financially. Social media in stark contrast to the old media outlets is often free, on a basic level, for businesses to use. The networking capabilities of these sites allow a business to send announcements to people who are connected to them. This person can then send that message to the others that are connected to them. Those people can then resend and so on reaching a potentially large audience via a digital word of mouth in a relatively short period of time and for minimal cost.

In the big business of alcoholic beverages the playing field is well stacked against the small producer. There are the control states, where a producer has to sell their product to the state and they in turn sell it. Then there are states with the three tier systems where a producer by law has to sell to a distributor who then sells their product to retailers. Money and influence from mass producers can make it very difficult for a smaller producer to secure a foothold in a very competitive market. This is where the benefits of social media can really be the steps for which the smaller producer can stand. Using the network to promote products can be the difference between success and failure. Two small producers who have embraced social media are Koval Distillery of Chicago and Wisconsin’s very own New Glarus Brewing Company.

Koval Distillery of Chicago, Illinois is a small operation founded and operated by Robert and Sonat Birnecker. Casting aside their careers in academia they, as many entrepreneurs do, plunged in to open the first distillery in the Chicago city limits since prohibition. As with any smaller operation entering a well established market, making yourself known is the real challenge. You can have the best product, but if consumers do not know who you are then it is all for naught. Distributors, necessary by law, do not like an unknown and have reservations about taking risks on products that will not move. Well, this was 2008. MySpace had fallen to this new networking site called Facebook which fit the bill for promoting this young company. Promotion is key to a startup like Koval. Word needs to spread quickly about events such as tastings at local bars or liquor stores. Facebook was perfect for what they needed. This allowed them to post events, recipes using their products for new cocktails, and information on upcoming new products. Fast forward five years and they now have over 5,000 likes on Facebook, 4,576 followers on Twitter, and also now use Instagram to post photos. They key here is five years. Five years! As much of a risk as they took hitting the five year mark means they have reached a major milestone. They have been able to expand their operation and in part thanks to the promotional power of social media. Congrats Koval! Please visit www.koval-distillery.com/ to learn more.

For those of us that live in Wisconsin, and maybe some of you who don’t, we know how serious we take our beer. That is the GOOD beer. We won’t even discuss that swill which spews from the Menomonee Valley of Milwaukee. That said, we will head out towards our state capitol and visit a small town of New Glarus, home to New Glarus Brewing Company. The husband and wife team of Deb and Dan Carey formed this small brewery in 1993 when Deb produced the funds to found the brewery as a present to her husband, a well educated and experienced brewer. This established New Glarus Brewing Co. as the first female owned brewery in the United States. New Glarus Brewing Co. had about a 15 year head start on the rise of social media so they were already well grounded in their Wisconsin-only market. Still, the value of promotion in this digital word-of-mouth system found use. Promotional announcements of products as well as pictures of events, rural Wisconsin, friends, staff in action, and those submitted from happy customers really creating a down-home type feel to their business. In addition to their home site, which currently has over 77,000 followers, they have also created a Facebook profile for their signature beer, Spotted Cow. The Spotted Cow profile has an additional 11,702 followers. One small, well now mid-sized, brewery who only sells product in one state has almost 89,000 followers on two different profiles. Considering the scope of the business that is quite good and a lot of mouths to spread the word. To this date New Glarus Brewing Co. does not have an official Twitter account, but that does not mean they are not represented. There is an unofficial account set up by fans of the brew with 5,799 followers. That is the epitome of free advertising. Take a look at one of Wisconsin’s award-winning breweries at http://www.newglarusbrewing.com.

    In business stepping onto the field can be a major risk for a smaller company. Promotion and advertisement is key to spreading the word about your business or products. What was old has now been newly revitalized with the implementation of new technologies and word of mouth advertising now regains the spotlight as a driving force of advertising.