We got a chance to talk media relations shop with Kristin Wood, the Community Manager at Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado. Here she emphasizes the significance of relationships, specifically bringing online connections to life by hosting at the brewery. We know that’s not always possible, and we encourage breweries to get creative with swag packs, beer shipments, and other digital ways to create connections in other virtual ways that lead to longterm brand recognition.
Odell seems to get an array of media mentions every day. How much of the earned media that you get is organic? How much comes from your PR efforts?
If you include social media, I would say 70 percent organic mentions and 30 percent are from press releases and beer samples around new product launches.
How do you choose who to ship beer samples to?
We start with a list of people who are in the industry. Then we add to it over time with people who we find organically when they write stories or mentioned us or people or publications who we'd want to pitch to.
Any tips for engaging influencers on social?
Get to know them on a personal level. Communicating via social media as a brewery is great because you can be fun and casual and really build rapport with your influencers. Comment on their posts when they mention you and always re-share their content.
How often do you invite media out to visit your tasting rooms? How often do you host?
Whenever I see a social media influencer is going to be in Colorado, I always send a personal note inviting them to one of our taprooms. I often make a point to be the hone who hosts them, even if it's after hours because it's so cool to be able to meet this person in real life.
Who form your team handles PR? Is that their full-time or part time role? How does that work integrate with the rest of your sales and marketing team?
As the Community Manager, I handle PR. It's one of my many hats but it blends well with managing the social channels since the line between traditional media and new media (blogs, vlogs, social media influencers, etc) has become so blurred.
What have you had to learn the hard way about PR?
I studied PR in college and I feel like nothing I learned is relevant anymore. Social media has completely changed the landscape and rules of the game. Often I feel like I'm just figuring it out as I go.