Fifty West Brewing Company is a brewery who values tradition. They’ve been around since 2012 and currently occupy a historical building from the early 1800’s. This building at some point used to be a roadhouse speakeasy. It also has ties to George Remus, who was a Cincinnati lawyer and bootlegger during the Prohibition era.
In addition, this building is rumored to have hosted Abraham Lincoln at some point.
The name Fifty West comes from the street they sit on. The historic U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California.
The Bus:
Fifty West has an iconic Volkswagen van that at one point almost took the founders across the country when they were on their way to the GABF. Sadly, the original van caught on fire and did not make it.
I asked Tommy Hemmer, who is the Head of Marketing at Fifty West, about their social media marketing and this is what I found out:
How important is it for Fifty West Brewing Co. to have a strong presence on social media?
Tommy Hemmer: I think it’s incredibly important. We have to be able to communicate to our audience, and the easiest way for a small company to communicate to a large audience and not invest a ton of money is through social media.
How many hours a week do you feel are necessary in order to do social media right?
Tommy Hemmer: I think that’s a really hard question to answer simply because there’s always more research to be done and social media is constantly evolving.
It’s impossible for me to nail down a number of how much time needs to be spent on social media… but I will say this, a lot of companies will hire and intern or a family friend to do their social media marketing, and although that might be a very cost effective way of getting and voice out there into the community, I don’t think that’s necessarily the best way to do it all the time because the strategical aspect of social media marketing is extremely important.
How many hours do you actually spend on social media?
Tommy Hemmer: I would say about 25% of my time is spent on social media.
Would you say social media for a brewery is a necessity or a luxury in today’s digital age?
Tommy Hemmer: It’s 100% a necessity! I think if you look at it as a luxury, you’ll not going to last very long.
Is being responsive on social media important?
Tommy Hemmer: We try our best to be as responsive as possible and not respond to people’s comments 2-3 days later. If somebody tags us on a post with something positive, we’ll like it. If it’s a negative thing, we’ll reach out and try to make things right.
Which social media platform do you feel is most beneficial to a brewery like Fifty West and why?
Tommy Hemmer: I would have to go with Facebook simply because they provide us with so many promotional tools and it makes it easy to see what’s working and what’s not.
What is the biggest struggle when it comes to managing every social media channel?
Tommy Hemmer: The biggest struggle for us is that social media platforms change way too fast. It becomes difficult to figure why things changed or when to take advantage of new features that get added.
How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media campaigns?
Tommy Hemmer: It’s difficult to really know 100%. Depending on what we’re doing, it’s easier to measure. If we’re hosting an event where we are selling ticket, then it becomes a lot easier to determine how much money was spent versus how much we sold.
Other than that, we just try to focus on growing our brand through social media and make sure people know who we are.
About Tommy Hemmer – Marketing and Public Relations at Fifty West Brewing Company in Cincinnati, OH.
Hobbies?
Visual arts and illustration graphics.
Favorite beer style?
Russian Imperial Stouts and Black IPA.
Favorite Fifty West beer?
Gunnison Black IPA
Favorite beer of all-time besides any of Fifty West’s beer?
Big Bad Baptist by Epic Brewing Company
Favorite brewery other than Fifty West?
Stone Brewing Company – Escondido, CA.
