Zephyr Strategy only works in digital marketing. Branding is obviously critical, retail sales can be important, and both PR and print advertising are still relevant but this is not what we do. Instead, we focus on providing services in these Eight Pillars of Digital Marketing. Not sure what you need, check out our Getting Started Initial Analysis.
Website
In terms of digital marketing, if a website is not aesthetically pleasing, mobile ready, and set up to funnel people towards “calls to action” (even as simple as signing up for a newsletter or directing people to events), everything else will be a waste of time. Because of constant change in website development, if you want to update your website it might be better to start with a new one. Yet effective websites need not be costly nor difficult to manage. Website projects are all project-based or hourly pricing.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Once you do have a website, you need to get found on search engines. We all know we should be correctly titling images, putting tags on pages, and using keywords on our sites. But over time, these aspects fall in priority and websites – even when created with SEO in mind – become poorly structured, at least in the eyes of search engines. Breweries, specifically, can benefit from “Local SEO” which includes optimizing a site for listing on geographically-focused websites. SEO Revamp ($1,500): If you like your website, an SEO Revamp might be all you need. We will work with you to come up with a list of your keywords, analyze your current website, and make changes to your internal linking, meta descriptions, title tags, image tags, page titles, and listings on local-oriented websites.
Content Creation
“Content is king” is a phrase that has been around for a decade but is still extremely important in digital marketing, for two reasons: 1) Search engines like websites that are fresh and 2) consumers want to visit websites that provide content of interest to them, not what companies want to promote. Having a News page or Blog on your site is critical and what you write on this page is equally important. Other forms of content creation include e-books, white papers, and original reports/analyses. Content Marketing Retainer ($500/month): We have found most breweries know they need to have a News or Blog page but struggle to keep it up. For far less than the cost of hiring a new part-time marketer, we will create one news/blog post per month, based on information you provide us.
Email Marketing and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Database
Every company knows they should be engaging in email marketing and most do, at least at a basic level. But engaging at only a basic level can waste resources and turn off customers, changing what should be one of the most effective, efficient forms of marketing into a negative. Effective email marketing includes establishing a CRM (even if it is just Mailchimp or a similar email program); collecting the right data; keeping your database updated; setting up email campaigns that include micro targeting; analyzing delivery, open rate, and click through statistics; and optimizing performance. Email Marketing Retainer ($1,500/month): With our Email Marketing Retainer, we will maintain your database, create and send email campaigns, analyze results, and modify the campaigns to improve performance. Campaigns include micro-targeting of your database by geography, interest, etc.
Social Media Marketing
Most companies engage in social media marketing and many in the beer industry do this quite well. Social media is the perfect way to relate a company’s culture – and the beer industry has culture in spades. At the same time, social media can be a time suck and some platforms, like Facebook, now are mostly “pay to play”. To be effective, social media should not just be a “push” marketing campaign in which companies promote what they want to say but an interactive platform in which listening is as important as talking, including responding on sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Beer Advocate.. Social Media Assessment ($1000): We will analyze your current social media including platforms and engagement metrics. We will then recommend a future strategy, suggesting platforms you should engage in and social media management software.
Video Marketing
Ach! We have heard for over a decade that video marketing is the future but most companies still treat it as a diversion. It is certainly possible to make polished videos and there is even a chance one will go viral. But for most companies, the key is just to create simple , personal videos with a cell phone and then to distribute them effectively – via email, your blog, social media, or video platforms such YouTube. Video marketing is all project based.
Influencer Marketing (Bloggers & Writers)
Breweries passionately make great beers. Bloggers and writers, often for no pay, passionately help connect these beers to consumers. But you can also work with beer bloggers and writers via sponsored posts, sponsored Tweets, Twitter tastings, display ads, virtual tastings, blogger-written shelf talkers, and blogger press trips. The key is to find the right influencers, select the right medium, and be true to yourself. Influencer marketing is all project based.
Online Advertising
Most breweries do not advertise online. But some of the top breweries are now engaging in search engine advertising or the popular “retargeting” in which your ad appears on websites visited by people interested in your company. The beauty of online advertising is it can be turned on and off on a moment’s notice, can be targeted to specific needs, and can be tracked to ensure results are worth the investment. While online advertising is not for every company, it can be highly effective when used. Online advertising depends on your needs and your budget.
Once you are on board with hiring us to help with your digital marketing, we offer a Statistical Analysis Retainer at $700 per month in which we provide you with a monthly report that analyzes your social media, website metrics, email marketing, and (if applicable) online advertising. Ongoing retainers are where the real value lies as they can help you eliminate the need to hire additional staff – and make your current staff more effective.
Allan Wright is the owner of Zephyr United, which includes Zephyr Adventures, Taste Vacations, and Zephyr Conferences as well as Zephyr Strategy. Allan has an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has lived in six different time zones, and has traveled to 60 countries. He has been running Zephyr for 20 years. As the main organizer of three six food and drink industry conferences related to marketing, social media, blogging, and tourism, Allan has arranged for hundreds of speakers to provide talks on these subjects. In his spare time, Allan runs his own food and drink blog, 
Beth Peluse is a digital marketing agency veteran with experience in a variety of industries including beer, wine, and food tourism, hospitality, event planning and management, pharmaceutical, and financial industries. Her work ranges from partnering with new brands to establish an identity and voice to breathing new life into existing and established brands through their online presence. Beth has spoken on digital marketing in the beer and wine industries at the North Carolina Craft Brewer’s Conference, the Wine Bloggers & Writers Conference, and the Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference. A craft beer enthusiast at heart, Beth has a goal of visiting every craft brewery in the Chicagoland area on her bucket list – which continues to be a moving target.