Marketing for Breweries and Craft Beverage Makers (Mississippi)
Do It With You Marketing now serves breweries, taprooms, and craft beverage makers across Mississippi, and it has been genuinely exciting to watch this industry grow in a state that only legalized craft beer sales at breweries themselves within the past decade or so. From Jackson's growing taproom scene to smaller operations taking root in Tupelo and Hattiesburg, Mississippi's craft beverage producers are building something real, but many are still marketing like it's optional rather than treating it as core to filling a taproom on a Thursday night or moving cans off a shelf at the local bottle shop.
Craft beverage marketing is a genuinely different discipline from marketing a restaurant or a retail shop, built around release hype, taproom events, distribution relationships, and a fiercely loyal community of enthusiasts who follow specific breweries the way some people follow sports teams. Mississippi's craft beverage market is still young enough that the breweries who build strong digital habits now, while the competitive field is smaller than in more saturated craft beer states, stand to capture outsized loyalty and awareness before the market gets more crowded.
The data on how craft beverage fans discover and choose where to drink tells a consistent story. According to industry research from craft beverage trade groups, a large share of taproom visitors decide where to go based on social media, particularly Instagram, where they follow specific breweries to track new release announcements and event schedules. Untappd and similar check-in apps have become a genuine discovery and loyalty tool in this industry, with active check-in communities driving meaningful foot traffic to breweries that engage with reviewers and keep their tap lists current on the platform. Separate surveys of craft beer drinkers consistently show that new release announcements drive some of the highest-engagement content any brewery can post, often outperforming general lifestyle content by a wide margin, since serious craft beer fans are actively hunting for information about what's pouring next. For a Mississippi brewery building its digital presence from the ground up, this means release announcements and taproom event promotion deserve to be the backbone of the content calendar, not an afterthought squeezed in around generic brand posts.
Mississippi's Craft Beverage Scene Is Still Being Written
Mississippi's brewery and craft beverage industry has grown steadily since the state's self-distribution and taproom sales laws loosened, and Jackson, Tupelo, and Hattiesburg have all seen new taprooms, cideries, and craft distilleries open in recent years. This relative youth is actually an advantage for Mississippi producers willing to invest in marketing early. In more established craft beer markets like Colorado or North Carolina, breweries compete against hundreds of established, well-marketed competitors for the same enthusiast attention. In Mississippi, a brewery that builds a genuinely strong Instagram presence, an engaged email list, and a well-optimized Google Business Profile can become the default, top-of-mind option for craft beverage fans in its metro area faster than it could almost anywhere else in the country.
That said, the audience is real and increasingly sophisticated. Mississippi craft beer drinkers travel to visit breweries around the Southeast, follow national craft beer trends on social media, and bring real expectations about release quality, event programming, and community engagement. Marketing that treats a Mississippi brewery like a lesser or scrappier version of a Colorado taproom sells the state's growing scene short, and the breweries earning the most loyal followings are the ones marketing with genuine confidence in their product and their place in this fast-developing regional story.
Instagram as Your Taproom's Event Calendar and Release Board
For breweries and craft beverage makers, Instagram functions less like a general marketing channel and more like a living event calendar and release board that your most loyal fans check constantly. New release announcements, ideally with a genuine behind-the-scenes look at the brewing or fermentation process rather than just a can shot, consistently drive some of the highest engagement any Mississippi brewery can post, because craft beer fans are actively seeking this specific information. Building anticipation over several days before a release, teasing tasting notes, the inspiration behind a beer's name, or a first look at new can art, turns a single release into a multi-post content arc rather than one announcement that disappears from feeds within hours.
Taproom events deserve the same treatment. Trivia nights, live music, food truck pairings, and release parties all benefit from a consistent promotional rhythm: an announcement post when the event is booked, a reminder a few days out, day-of Stories showing the setup, and in-the-moment Stories during the event itself that capture the actual energy of a packed taproom. This kind of consistent, layered promotion across the days leading up to and during an event does far more to build a reliable Thursday-night crowd than a single flyer-style post that most followers scroll past without registering.
Building an Email List That Outlasts Algorithm Changes
Social media platforms change their algorithms constantly, and a brewery that relies entirely on Instagram to reach its community is one policy update away from a sudden drop in reach. Email marketing remains one of the most durable, cost-effective tools available to Mississippi breweries, letting you reach your most engaged fans directly in their inbox with release announcements, event invitations, and merchandise drops, without competing against an algorithm for visibility. A simple sign-up prompt at the taproom bar, on receipts, or through a QR code on table tents, paired with a modest incentive like a free pint or a discount on your next visit, builds this list steadily over time.
The content itself should stay focused and genuinely useful rather than overly promotional. A monthly or biweekly email highlighting upcoming releases, the taproom event calendar, and any distribution news, like a new bottle shop or bar now carrying your beer, keeps your community informed without feeling like constant sales pressure. Breweries that build this habit early find that email consistently drives some of their highest-converting taproom visits and merchandise sales, since everyone on the list has already opted in specifically because they care about what your brewery is doing next.
Google Business Profile and Untappd: The Discovery Layer
A well-optimized Google Business Profile matters just as much for a Mississippi brewery as it does for a restaurant, particularly for capturing visitors who are new to the area, traveling through on the Natchez Trace, or simply searching "breweries near me" without already following your Instagram. Accurate hours, especially around holiday and event schedule changes, a current tap list where possible, recent photos of the taproom and outdoor space, and a steady stream of reviews all help your brewery show up prominently when someone is deciding where to spend their evening in Jackson, Tupelo, or Hattiesburg.
Untappd deserves specific attention as a platform unique to this industry. Serious craft beer drinkers use it to log check-ins, rate beers, and discover new breweries through the app's own local discovery features, and a brewery that claims its Untappd venue profile, keeps its menu current, and occasionally engages with check-ins and reviews builds credibility within a community that takes this platform seriously. Ignoring Untappd because it feels like a niche app misses an entire segment of highly engaged, high-frequency craft beer drinkers who are actively using it to plan where to drink next.
Distribution Marketing: Getting Retail Partners to Sell for You
For Mississippi breweries and craft beverage makers who distribute beyond their own taproom, marketing doesn't stop at the front door. Point-of-sale materials, from tap handles to shelf talkers at bottle shops and grocery stores, extend your brand into places your direct marketing can't reach, and coordinating these materials with your current release calendar keeps them from going stale on a shelf. Building genuine relationships with the bar managers and retail buyers who decide what stays on tap or on the shelf matters just as much as consumer-facing marketing, since a distributor or retail partner who is genuinely excited about your brand will promote it far more effectively than any point-of-sale material alone.
Social media can support these distribution relationships directly by tagging and thanking retail partners publicly when a new account starts carrying your beer, which both strengthens that business relationship and signals to your followers exactly where they can find your product locally. For a growing Mississippi brewery, a simple, regularly updated "Where to Find Us" page on your website, paired with social posts celebrating new accounts, turns every new distribution relationship into a marketing moment rather than a quiet backend logistics update nobody outside the business ever hears about.
Common Marketing Mistakes We See From Mississippi Breweries
The most common mistake is inconsistent posting between releases, where a brewery goes quiet for weeks at a time between big announcements, then wonders why engagement feels flat when the next release finally drops. Craft beverage fans want an ongoing relationship with a brewery, including behind-the-scenes brewing content, staff spotlights, and general taproom life, not just a feed of product announcements. The second mistake is underinvesting in email, treating it as outdated compared to social media, when in reality it remains one of the most reliable ways to reach your most loyal fans directly, especially as social platforms continue to make organic reach harder to earn.
The third mistake is neglecting Google Business Profile and Untappd because they feel secondary to Instagram, missing an entire audience of new-to-the-brewery visitors who are actively searching for where to drink rather than already following an existing brewery's account. We help Mississippi breweries build a complete marketing system across all of these channels, treating each one as part of a connected strategy rather than juggling disconnected efforts that never build real, lasting momentum for the brand.
Video Content That Fits a Working Brewhouse
Video has become one of the highest-performing content formats for breweries, and the good news is that the most effective brewery video content doesn't require a film crew. A short, handheld clip of a can line running, a brewer dry-hopping a tank, or a bartender pouring a fresh pint with a satisfying head consistently earns strong engagement on Instagram Reels, because it gives fans a genuine window into a process most have never seen up close. Time-lapse footage of a busy Friday taproom filling up, or a quick staff interview about what makes a specific release special, rounds out a video content mix that feels authentic rather than overproduced.
The key is building video into the existing rhythm of brew days and release preparation rather than treating it as extra work bolted onto an already busy schedule. A brewer who already has their phone nearby during a dry-hop addition or a canning run can capture fifteen seconds of footage in the time it takes to walk to the next task, and that raw, in-the-moment content often outperforms anything more staged. We help Mississippi breweries build simple video habits that fit naturally into brew day and event day workflows, rather than asking already-stretched teams to become full-time content creators.
Paid Advertising That Builds a Taproom Following
Organic content builds the foundation, but targeted paid advertising can accelerate growth for a Mississippi brewery, particularly around a grand opening, a major release, or a slow season that needs a boost. Geofenced Instagram and Facebook ads targeting people within a realistic drive time of your taproom, filtered by interest in craft beer, local breweries, or nearby competitor pages, put your brewery in front of exactly the audience most likely to show up on a Friday night. Retargeting ads aimed at people who have visited your website or engaged with your social content but haven't yet made it to the taproom can be the nudge that finally converts genuine interest into a first visit.
For breweries with distribution, paid social can also support retail partners by promoting where a specific beer is newly available, driving traffic to bottle shops and bars carrying your product rather than only your own taproom. We help Mississippi breweries set modest, trackable ad budgets tied to specific goals, whether that's filling seats at a release party or building awareness ahead of opening a new location, so every advertising dollar has a clear job to do rather than disappearing into vague brand awareness spend with no measurable return.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is marketing a brewery different from marketing a restaurant?
Brewery marketing centers on release hype, event promotion, and a highly engaged enthusiast community that actively tracks what's pouring next, rather than the broader dining-decision marketing a restaurant needs. Platforms like Untappd, which have no real equivalent in restaurant marketing, play a meaningful role, and content tends to lean more behind-the-scenes and process-focused, showing brewing, fermentation, and can design rather than just finished plates. That said, many fundamentals overlap, including Google Business Profile optimization, Instagram content strategy, and email marketing, which is why our approach borrows proven tactics from both worlds.
Do you help with can and label design or just marketing strategy?
Our core focus is marketing strategy, content, and promotion rather than package design itself, though we work closely with breweries who have their own can art and label designers to make sure that artwork gets maximum promotional mileage across social media, email, and point-of-sale materials. If a Mississippi brewery needs a referral to a designer who specializes in can art, we're happy to point clients toward partners we trust, while we focus on making sure every new release gets the marketing rollout it deserves once the artwork is finished.
Can you help us build our Untappd presence?
Yes, we help Mississippi breweries claim and optimize their Untappd venue profile, keep tap lists current when possible, and build a habit of engaging with check-ins and reviews from the app's active user base. Untappd is a genuinely important discovery tool for serious craft beer drinkers, and a well-maintained profile signals to that community that your brewery takes the platform, and by extension its customers, seriously. We typically fold Untappd management into a broader digital presence strategy alongside Google Business Profile and Instagram, since all three work together to capture different types of visitors.
How often should we announce new releases on social media?
Most Mississippi breweries see the best results building a multi-post arc around each release rather than a single announcement: a teaser a few days before with a hint at tasting notes or can art, the official announcement on release day, and follow-up content over the following week featuring guest reactions or pairing suggestions. Between releases, we recommend filling the calendar with behind-the-scenes brewing content, staff spotlights, and taproom event promotion so your account stays active and genuinely interesting even during quieter stretches when nothing new is dropping that week.
What's the best way to grow our brewery's email list?
The most effective approach combines a simple, low-friction sign-up opportunity, like a QR code on table tents or receipts, with a genuine incentive, such as a free pint or early access to release day lines. Taproom staff mentioning the list during a great interaction with a guest, especially a first-time visitor who seems genuinely excited about the beer, often converts better than any printed sign alone. We help Mississippi breweries design this sign-up flow and build the ongoing email content calendar that keeps the list engaged long after that first sign-up.
Do you work with cideries and craft distilleries too, or just breweries?
Yes, our craft beverage marketing services extend to cideries, meaderies, and craft distilleries across Mississippi, since the underlying marketing challenges, building release hype, promoting taproom events, and growing a loyal local following, are very similar across these categories. We tailor the specific platforms and messaging to each producer's audience, since a craft distillery's cocktail-focused content and events often look somewhat different from a brewery's release-driven calendar, but the core strategic approach of building a genuine, engaged local community translates well across Mississippi's fast-growing craft beverage landscape overall today.
How do you measure whether brewery marketing is actually working?
We track metrics tied to real taproom and distribution outcomes rather than vanity numbers alone, including taproom visit trends around release and event promotion, email list growth and open rates, Google Business Profile direction requests, and where new customers say they heard about your brewery when asked at the bar. For breweries running paid social ads, we track cost per taproom visit or cost per new email subscriber, letting us reallocate budget toward whatever is genuinely building your most loyal, repeat-visiting fan base in Jackson, Tupelo, or Hattiesburg.
Is now a good time for a new Mississippi brewery to invest in marketing?
It's an especially good time. Mississippi's craft beverage industry is still young enough that the competitive field for digital attention remains far less crowded than in more established craft beer states, meaning a new or growing brewery that invests in a genuine content and community strategy now can build meaningful market position before the scene gets significantly more crowded. Breweries that wait until the market feels saturated to start marketing seriously will be playing catch-up against competitors who built loyal followings and strong search visibility years earlier, during this current growth window.
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Ready to Grow Your Mississippi Brewery's Following?
Ready to build a marketing system worthy of what you're brewing? Call DIWYM at (256) 274-1289 and we'll walk through your current release promotion, taproom events, and online presence, then map out a plan built specifically for Mississippi's growing craft beverage scene.
From Instagram and email to Google Business Profile and Untappd, our team handles the full digital presence so your brewers can stay focused on what's in the tanks. Reach out at info@diwym.com or give us a call, and let's build the following your beer deserves.