Twelve-Month Social Media Plan for Lone Pine Brewing

COM 310 Social Media

Spring 2016

Rebecca Hardin, Melissa MacLeod, Olivia Payne, Skip Spoerke, Andrew Whiting

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... i

Introduction and Objectives .......................................................................................................... 1

Social Media Audit ........................................................................................................................ 3

Facebook .................................................................................................................................. 3

Instagram .................................................................................................................................. 4

Twitter ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Website ..................................................................................................................................... 7

Yelp ........................................................................................................................................... 8

LinkedIn .................................................................................................................................... 9

SWOT Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 10

Strengths ................................................................................................................................. 10

Weaknesses ........................................................................................................................... 10

Opportunities ........................................................................................................................... 11

Threats .................................................................................................................................... 11

Competitive Analysis .................................................................................................................. 12

Target Audience ......................................................................................................................... 14

Key Messages ............................................................................................................................ 17

Try Lone Pine .......................................................................................................................... 17

Share Lone Pine ..................................................................................................................... 18

#LonePine and #craftbeer ....................................................................................................... 19

Social Media Platforms to Use ................................................................................................... 20

Facebook ................................................................................................................................ 20

Instagram ................................................................................................................................ 22

Twitter ..................................................................................................................................... 24

Time of Implementation .............................................................................................................. 27

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Tutorials ...................................................................................................................................... 28

Hootsuite ................................................................................................................................. 28

Hootsuite Tutorial: Free Plan .............................................................................................. 30

Analytics .................................................................................................................................. 41

Accessing Facebook Analytics ............................................................................................ 42

Accessing Twitter Analytics ................................................................................................. 43

Instagram Analytics ............................................................................................................. 45

Tactics ........................................................................................................................................ 46

Hashtags ................................................................................................................................. 46

Consistency and Engagement ................................................................................................ 48

Platform familiarization ............................................................................................................ 48

Scheduled content updates .................................................................................................... 49

Learning analytics ................................................................................................................... 49

The 80/20 rule ......................................................................................................................... 50

Benchmarks ............................................................................................................................... 51

Stage One: Instagram ............................................................................................................. 51

Stage Two: Twitter .................................................................................................................. 53

Stage Three: Facebook .......................................................................................................... 54

Stage Four: Community Building ............................................................................................ 56

The 40/40/20 rule ................................................................................................................ 56

Stage Five: Initiate Conversations .......................................................................................... 57

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 58

1

Introduction and Objectives

The social media team—Rebecca Hardin, Melissa MacLeod, Olivia Payne, Skip Spoerke, and

Andrew Whiting—has dedicated the past two months to determining appropriate social media

strategies for Lone Pine Brewing (Lone Pine) to follow in its first year of operation. The

proposed plan establishes a brand voice on social media through content and engagement

consistency on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Development of this 12-month social media

plan comprised of the following research:

• The Lone Pine Brewing Release Party on March 16—participant observation

• Academic articles and studies—content analyses

• Demographics and personality types—content analyses

• Social media usage by other craft beer breweries—case studies

• Recommendations by social media professionals—case studies and content analyses

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer the ideal reach for Lone Pine to target the audiences

most inclined to become customers. All three social media platforms are free for personal and

business use, and are easy to setup and learn.

Lone Pine has accounts on all three platforms but has not developed an effective strategy for

using social media. Over the next 12 months, this plan aims to help Lone Pine use these

accounts to attract more followers and build an engaged community through the development of

a brand voice.

Although Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter provide numerous options for sharing content and

engaging followers, the team recommends that Lone Pine uses Hootsuite—a social media

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management platform. Hootsuite provides support for managing multiple social media profiles,

convenient communication from one application, status update scheduling, and analytics. A

tutorial for setting up and using Hootsuite starts on page 28.

Developing a brand voice on social media often takes at least a year. This social media plan

challenges Lone Pine to provide consistent engagement and adopt a scaled approach to

familiarize the brewery quickly with each social media platform. In other words, the necessary

time to develop a brand voice could be significantly reduced. Initial implementation of this plan

requires about two hours. The necessary time for implementation appears on page 27.

The article, “Create Your Social Media Plan,” states that it takes two to three months to measure

the success of content on social media platforms accurately. How to use analytics for measuring

the company's social media growth and specific expectations to observe stability in analytics are

detailed in this plan, beginning on page 41.

Completion of the social media plan requires meeting five benchmarks—each estimated to

require two to three months to attain; it cannot be immediately completed. Benchmarks are

designed on a graduated scale, with the intent of providing ease familiarizing Lone Pine with

each social network and learning how to use analytics to benefit engagement. Detailed

descriptions of the benchmarks can be found on page 51.

Key messages have been created for each target audience, based on these two goals: try the

beer and share the beer. Each key message has been paired with custom hashtags for Lone

Pine, and another custom hashtag has been declared for all content posted to social media.

Custom hashtags aid in building a community that is easy for Lone Pine to maintain. Key

messages start on page 17.

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Social Media Audit

Facebook

A Facebook search for “Lone Pine Brewing” reveals two pages as results (early research*). One

search result has a profile image; information tagged “Food and Beverage;" and a custom URL

(https://www.facebook.com/LonePineBrewing). It has 824 likes (April 21), and Lone Pine keeps

the page updated with current brewing and distribution information. It is recommended to delete

the other page that appears in the search results, as it may confuse consumers. *As of April 21,

only the page with a custom URL appears in the search results.

The page description for Lone Pine is very strong, incorporating how the brewery wants to

impact the consumers and how its goals are expected to be achieved. The description is brief,

which holds the reader’s attention, and is accompanied by a map displaying the location of the

brewery in Portland, Maine.

The profile and cover images are very particular to Lone Pine and emphasize offered products.

Displaying growlers that are in production may pique consumers’ interest due to the growing

interest to purchase growlers from breweries.

The phone number for the brewery—a vital piece of contact information—is not listed. Even if

the brewery relies on personal mobile phones for business calls, including a phone number as

an option for reaching Lone Pine may boost consumer confidence.

Links to Lone Pine’s Twitter and Instagram profiles were initially displayed on Facebook, but

they have since been removed (April 21). A link to the brewery’s website is still displayed. It is

advised that the social media links return to assist in cross-platform recruitment and following.

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Several of the photos that Lone Pine has posted have received 50 or more likes, numerous

comments, and a few shares. These actions allow for a larger reach on Facebook and

organically build and strengthen the Lone Pine community.

Most increases to page likes fall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for Lone Pine. The

“Likes” tab shows the current week’s percentage of page likes, a graph displaying the peaks

and valleys, and a comparison to the previous week. More detailed analytics are visible only to

Lone Pine. See page 42 for information about accessing Facebook’s analytics.

Instagram

The Lone Pine Instagram profile (@lonepinebrewing) features the following:

• Profile image

• Biography

• 598 followers (April 21)

• Up to 77 likes and a few comments on each photo (April 21)

• Up to 243 views on each video (April 21)

Changing the biography from “We are building a brewery” to represent the current status of

Lone Pine (early research*) allows people to know that Lone Pine is now both brewing, and

distributing the product as well. *As of April 21, the biography no longer includes the phrase,

“We are building a brewery.”

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Some comments on photos go without reply from Lone Pine. Replying to comments builds a

connection between the consumer and brewery. Having a connection encourages consumers to

try new products and build communities.

Videos engage Instagram users. They can show what the brewery is doing on a daily basis,

forming a connection between the consumer and brewery. Examples of this could be the

brewing process, bottling process, first-time consumers trying the beer or a pour of a newly

distributed beer. In a poll conducted by the social media team, females said that videos on

Instagram offering an inside look at company operations were attractive.

For not having any distributed products (early research*), Lone Pine has a decent following of

consumers, music venues, and craft beer promoters in the Portland, Maine area. To increase

the number of followers, hashtags such as #craftbeer #drinklocal #drinkME could draw more

traffic to photos. *As of April 21, two products are being distributed.

Twitter

Lone Pine’s Twitter account (@LonePineBeer) reveals the following details (early research*):

• No biography

• Zero tweets

• Following zero accounts

• Has a profile image

• Has 12 followers

*As of April 21, the account shows two tweets, 50 followers, and that the brewery is following

three accounts.

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Twitter can quickly spread recognition of the Lone Pine brand and products. Lone Pine can

include links to events, product photos, behind the scenes photos, polls, and much more

through Twitter.

Tweeting the name of the restaurant, pub, or music venue that Lone Pine’s beer is sold can add

value to both, the brewery and company providing point-of-service or point-of-purchase. Lone

Pine can also tweet photos of customers drinking the beer at point-of-service locations, like

restaurants and bars—tagging customers captured in the photo to encourage engagement.

Incorporating common craft beer hashtags to catch the attention of more consumers across the

state, or New England is highly recommended. Examples of some common craft beer hashtags

include #DrinkME, #drinklocal, and #craftbeer.

Using Twitter to network with other breweries, restaurants, and music venues in Portland,

Maine, Lone Pine could recruit a larger following on Twitter. The first step to networking on

Twitter is to follow the company or person. Here are a few local businesses that the social

media team recommends Lone Pine to follow:

• Allagash Brewing Company: https://twitter.com/AllagashBrewing

• Maine Brew Bus: https://twitter.com/MaineBrewBus

• Sebago Brewing Company: https://twitter.com/sebagobrewing

• One Longfellow Square: https://twitter.com/onelongfellow

• Port City Blue: https://twitter.com/PortCityBlue

• Portland Empire: https://twitter.com/PortlandEmpire

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According to Aaron Lee from postplanner.com, a biography is typically the first thing a consumer

sees on a business's Twitter page and helps to decide whether the consumer should, or should

not follow that business. There is a character limit of 160 characters for Twitter biographies, but

using keywords for the industry and adding some personality can increase consumer interest. It

is recommended that Lone Pine develops a biography for Twitter as quickly as possible.

The brewery will initially need to follow more Twitter users to increase the amount of consumers

that Lone Pine's tweets are reaching. It's not uncommon for an account to follow hundreds of

users, unfollow all of those who don't follow back after a couple of days, only to immediately

follow hundreds of other users. This tactic is often used to build a follower base rapidly to

increase consumer confidence in the quality of content being shared. It is neither recommended

nor is it not recommended that Lone Pine follows this strategy, but growing a 100% engaged

follower base from scratch can be a tough road to travel.

Website

The website states that Lone Pine is building a brewery (early research*). Lone Pine needs to

update this as soon as possible. *As of April 21, the website identifies that the tasting room has

opened.

The website design is clean and modern, but the information presented on the website could be

improved. It is recommended to provide links to all upcoming Facebook events on the event

page. It is also recommended to remove page links from the navigation menu until “coming

soon” is replaced with quality content.

Offering website visitors an opportunity to learn about brewery news could be improved by

additionally allowing them to comment on that story. Allowing comments only on posts using a

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particular template is easy to do for any developer since the Lone Pine website is built on the

WordPress content management system, .

Readers can ask questions, write comments, or respond with witty memes (provided that the

administrator allows images in comments). Comments provide another opportunity for personal

interactions with individual consumers and encourage return website visits by consumers.

Yelp

Lone Pine does not currently have an active account on Yelp. It is important that consumers

have a trusted outlet to rate and discuss the beer, especially now that distribution is underway,

and the tasting room is open.

A growing percentage of consumers read reviews that talk about products and experiences

before trying something new. Allowing consumers to provide feedback about Lone Pine

products and experiences on a platform that is trusted by consumers can also prove helpful to

Lone Pine when researching areas for operational improvement and creating new beer flavors.

One reason consumers trust Yelp is because businesses cannot pay to have negative reviews

removed, which ensures current and honest reviews by previous buyers. Consumers are more

willing to try something new if reviews indicate that the product or service will meet their wants

and needs.

The social media team recommends that Lone Pine creates an account on Yelp soon, even

though the selected tactics for this plan do not address managing a Yelp account.

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn—primarily beneficial for business to business (B2B) engagement—is not currently

being used by Lone Pine. LinkedIn offers methods to find new employees, network with

business owners to expand sales areas and promote new products to working professionals.

The social media team recommends that Lone Pine creates an account on LinkedIn within a

year, but it is not required for immediate social media growth or success.

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SWOT Analysis

The social media team completed this SWOT analysis on March 7. Some details may have

changed between the date of completion and the date of delivery.

Strengths

• Good location for craft brewery

• Has an online following

• Has 10-12 vendor accounts

• One-year contract with Empire

• Saving money by distributing and bottling at brewery

• Locally sourced ingredients

• Offer barrels and half-barrels

Weaknesses

• Duplicate social media accounts

• Low volume of employees

• Only one beer available

• No regional distribution

• New company

• No tavern/tasting room

• No tours

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Opportunities

• Connections to local music scene

• Community building through tastings

• Festivals/Fairs, such as Portland Lights on August 8

• Summer tourism is high

• Craft beer increasing in popularity in Portland

• Portland is a college town, attracting target audience

• Located close to shore, which may benefit brand awareness

Threats

• Winter tourism is low

• Numerous direct competitors in the region

• Many competitors have established presence on social media

• Maintaining competitive prices

• Competition already established in the local area

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Competitive Analysis

To better understand the strengths and weaknesses of Lone Pine, in comparison to other local

craft beer breweries, a competitive analysis was conducted for Shipyard Brewing (Shipyard).

Shipyard is based in Portland, Maine and has produced beers for 22 years. Known mostly for

seasonal brews, Shipyard produces over a dozen flavors of beer. Seasonal beer flavors cause

production to fluctuate.

Shipyard targets a similar audience on social media to the intended audience of Lone Pine.

Many posts include outdoor themes and local events. The brewery also shares photos of its

craft beer community to attract new members and unite the current community members.

Shipyard has 27.5K followers—after eight years—on Twitter. The brewery tweets about local

events in the Portland, Maine area, even if the brewery will not be in attendance. New beers are

also promoted on Twitter to increase awareness.

Shipyard does not tweet daily, but the brewery does follow the 80/20 rule (see page 50) when

tweeting. Custom hashtags are not used by Shipyard to further build its community and there is

little engagement.

Instagram is used by Shipyard to showcase new beers, operational procedures, collaborated

efforts, and events that the brewery has attended. Females prefer visuals that provide

information about the product and males enjoy seeing the product in the great outdoors—where

males consume it most often.

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With just over 9,100 followers on Instagram, Shipyard generates significant likes from its

followers regarding photos and videos, however, comment counts are low. The brewery does

not often engage its followers; replies are rare for comments and questions.

Shipyard does not have an active Facebook page. A page has been created and has just under

5,000 likes, but nothing has been posted.

Lone Pine can capitalize on Shipyard’s social media weaknesses to recruit followers and build a

community within the Portland, Maine area. The easiest opportunities for Lone Pine include the

following:

• Follower engagement

• Custom hashtags

• Facebook page

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Target Audience

The target audience—provided by Lone Pine for the social media team—is described as

gender-neutral, the late 20s to mid-50s in age, and adventurous. The audience has been

collected from personal experiences in the Portland, Maine area and observing other craft beer

drinkers who live in the city. Maine offers numerous opportunities for outdoor adventure and the

owners of Lone Pine fit within the target audience.

A 2014 study by Chris Crowell for Craft Brewing Business indicates that craft beer is primarily

targeted to males ages 21 to 34. The same information is also identified in the article by Mintel,

“Craft Beer Sales.”

“Craft Beer Sales” suggests that 51 percent (3,030) of males who drink craft beer rely on the

style of beer—IPA, APA, or Lager, 48 percent (1,454) drink microbrews on occasion, and 25

percent (758) drink microbrews when paired with food. New England craft beer drinkers also

consider the brand while making purchasing decisions.

Males who earn between $75,000 and $99,999 per year compose the highest percentage of

craft beer buyers when looking at style, brand, and flavor. According to American FactFinder,

Portland, Maine, has a median income of $45,865, which is lower than Mintel reports and lower

than the earnings for the highest percentage of craft beer buyers. American FactFinder further

reports that 20.1 percent (13,305 people) of Portland, Maine residents are near the median

income of $45,865.

About 9.4 percent of males (1,920) residing in Portland, Maine, were within the $75,000 to

$99,999 income level in 2014. Previous years were 7.5 percent (1,489 males) in 2013 and 6.8

percent (1,307 males) in 2012.

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In 2012, 8.1 percent (1,908) of males and 6 percent (1,236) of females fit the $75,000 to

$99,999 income level throughout the state of Maine. The percentages increased to 9.6 percent

(1,908) of males and 6.4 percent (1,382) of females in 2013, and again increased to 10 percent

(6,615) and 6.8 percent (4,501), respectively, in 2014. American FactFinder reports that a total

of about 19.1 percent (19,263) male and female Maine residents fit the 21 to 34 age group in

2014.

For further research on Lone Pine’s target audience, the social media team attended the Lone

Pine Release Party at the Great Lost Bear in Portland, Maine on March 16. It was discovered

that many of the attendees were male, in their early to mid-30s, but there were also males in

attendance that were in their mid to late 50s.

Many of the younger males wore flannel long-sleeved shirts, work or hiking boots, and had

thick, bushy beards. Most younger males that were not donning this attire were sporting a

trendy man bun and a well-groomed beard. Older males were professional in appearance,

wearing business casual or business professional attire.

Females that attended the event were in their mid-20s to mid-50s. Their attire included nice

blouses, athletic outfits, and professional business suits. The females appeared to enjoy

drinking the Portland Pale Ale just as much as the males.

According to Craft Brewing Business, 84 percent of consumers choose their style of beer based

on the season. The style of American pale ale—full bodied, light in texture, floral and citrusy in

taste—makes it a very popular spring and summer beer.

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Lone Pine’s first beer was distributed in March—likely to become the brewery’s flagship beer—

named Portland Pale Ale. Attendees of the Lone Pine Release Party shared rave reviews about

Portland Pale Ale for its citrus tones and bitter-free aftertaste. It was described by one attendee

as, “a wonderfully smooth sippin’ beer.”

Once the team finalized its research, it determined that Lone Pine has three target audiences:

adventurous males ages 21 to 34, professional males ages 35 to 55, and adventurous and

professional females ages 21 to 55. They reside in the Portland, Maine area, have annual

incomes between $60,000 and $99,999, and enjoy social drinking. Beards are optional.

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Key Messages

Offering Lone Pine a social media plan that includes trying the product for the first time and

promoting loyalty to the brewery, two key messages were created. The first key message is “try

Lone Pine” and the second is “share Lone Pine.”

Try Lone Pine

The first key message, try Lone Pine, is directed toward an audience of craft beer drinkers who

have not tried Lone Pine products. Males and females, age 21 to 55, belong to this audience.

Part of the effort to customize social media content specific to this key message is the use of the

custom hashtag, #LonelyNoMore. This hashtag should be used on Instagram and Twitter when

targeting craft beer drinkers who have not tried Lone Pine products.

Three strategies dependent on target audiences were created for this key message:

adventurous males age 21 to 34, professional males age 35 to 55, and adventurous and

professional females age 21 to 55.

Adventurous males age 21 to 34 want to channel their inner ruggedness by feeling as one with

nature. Visual storytelling of Portland Pale Ale being consumed after a hike or a tough day on

the job site is the chosen method for delivering the key message to this audience.

Professional males age 35 to 55 are family men who seek the flavorful freedom to return to their

roots. Mouthwatering descriptions of how a Portland Pale Ale pairs with hamburgers and

hotdogs at the family's backyard barbecue is the chosen method for delivering the key message

to this audience.

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Styled to attract attention, Portland Pale Ale leads to a citrus infused, bitter-free, pleasant

lifestyle for adventurous and professional females age 21 to 55. Photos and videos of females

enjoying Portland Pale Ale in a variety of settings is the chosen method for delivering the key

message to this audience.

Share Lone Pine

The second key message, share Lone Pine, is directed toward an audience of craft beer

drinkers who enjoy Lone Pine products. Males and females, age 21 to 55, are in the audience

for the first key message.

Part of the effort to customize social media content specific to this key message is the use of the

custom hashtag, #SharingALone. This hashtag should be used on Instagram and Twitter when

targeting craft beer drinkers who enjoy Lone Pine products.

Three strategies dependent on target audiences have been created for this key message:

adventurous males age 21 to 34, professional males age 35 to 55, and adventurous and

professional females age 21 to 55.

Adventurous males age 21 to 34 respond to visually appealing, exclusive details about beer and

upcoming events with personalized communication. With this audience, share content that

includes photos or videos, event details, candidate flavors or label designs, and private

messages.

Professional males age 35 to 55 typically join informational communities featuring one-on-one

communication and flavorful descriptions. With this audience, share content that includes

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detailed descriptions, information about the brewery and beer, how-to tips, upcoming releases,

and private messages.

Adventurous and professional females age 21 to 55 prefer to engage photos and videos,

nutritional information, social experiences, and behind the scenes updates. With this audience,

share content that almost always includes a photo or video, sometimes includes nutrition or

ingredient information, often shows Lone Pine products in a social setting, and sometimes

portrays what happens behind the scenes.

#LonePine and #craftbeer

#LonePine is a custom hashtag for use with the majority of content posted by Lone Pine.

Clicking on the hashtag will show social media users the content by Lone Pine and content

shared by other consumers about Lone Pine.

#craftbeer is commonly used among craft beer drinkers and breweries. Using this hashtag with

Lone Pine content is one way to expand the reach of the social media content and brand name

organically. It is suggested that the majority of content posted by Lone Pine includes #craftbeer.

Hashtags can be useful at extending engagement and reach on Instagram and Twitter, but are

not recommended for content posted to Facebook.

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Social Media Platforms to Use

Facebook

Statista claims that there were 158.4 million Facebook users in the United States of America in

2015, potentially increasing to 177.5 million users by 2020. The report also states that

companies can directly communicate with followers on Facebook.

Although Facebook is currently the most popular social media platform, it may also prove itself

to be a challenging platform for organic reach. Analytics research companies, such as

Locowise, have argued over Facebook’s algorithms and organic expectations for the past few

years. Nobody has won the argument, however, because every company has been proven

wrong by a competitor.

The social media team’s recommendation is to use Facebook specifically for engaging

followers. Followers of brands, companies, and other Facebook pages only share content when

it is perceived to be of high enough value to friends and family. Choosing the right type of

content for increasing perceived value makes organic reach possible on Facebook.

The top ten types of shareable content, identified by Buzzsumo in 2015, are listed below.

1. Amazing and surprising imagery

2. Trendy topics

3. Inspirational quotes

4. Photo lists

5. Animals and babies

6. Funny images and videos

7. Controversial topics

8. Quizzes

9. Consumer warnings

10. Secrets of becoming successful

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The article, “Craft Beer Marketing: How to make the most out of Social Media,” indicates that

craft breweries typically receive the most engagement on Facebook when sharing photos.

Based on other Facebook engagement research, that is most likely accurate information. The

social media team recommends, however, posting content in various formats (text-only, photos,

videos, quizzes, etc.) to prevent followers from becoming bored.

Facebook recently introduced hashtags to the platform. As of April 21, most consumers do not

utilize hashtags on Facebook, like they do on other social media platforms. It is suggested by

the team that Lone Pine watches for increasing the popularity of hashtag usage but does not

focus on combining hashtags with content posted to Facebook at this time.

Publicizing events on Facebook is popular among many small businesses, nonprofit

organizations, groups, schools, teams, and individual consumers. Part of the reason for the

feature’s popularity is that time is the only cost associated with inviting people to the event,

measuring attendance expectations, and thanking guests for attending the event. The best part

about using the events feature on Facebook is that event pages live beyond the event, which

means Lone Pine can look at who responded and who ignored past event invitations to

determine who to invite for the next event.

Facebook also allows tagging pages and other users in posts. When other companies or

consumers tag Lone Pine in a post, brand awareness expands. Each time a tagged photo of a

Lone Pine beer is added to a timeline or album, brand awareness expands. The cost to Lone

Pine: a few seconds to say “thank you.”

Inkling Media recommends daily Facebook updates about the organization and upcoming

events. Coschedule analyzed Sixteen social media engagement studiesCoschedule in 2015.

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The social media team analyzed more than 20 additional studies over the past two months.

Based on the combined results, it is recommended that Lone Pine initially updates Facebook as

shown in the weekly schedule on page 55.

Instagram

Craft beer breweries widely use Instagram for the image-based promotion of new beers and

distribution locations. Each photo can include the location and multiple hashtags to build and

unite the Lone Pine community.

A noticeable increase in the Instagram population has been observed since 2013. In 2013, 37

percent of 18 to 29-year-olds were active on Instagram; the percentage has since climbed to 53

percent. Instagram appeals to young adults, ages 18 to 29 according to the Pew Research

Center.

According to Statista, in 2015, Instagram had 77.6 million users in the United States of America.

The number of users is predicted to increase to 116.3 million by 2020. About 65 percent of

leading brands are active on Instagram, but only 19 percent of them have a following larger than

100K.

To attract new followers and retain engagement, a common industry hashtag (#craftbeer) has

been selected for Lone Pine. Common hashtags serve as one method of promoting organic

growth for social media accounts. Users searching for #craftbeer will have the opportunity to

discover Lone Pine. The Remedy Communication team discusses common hashtags in the

article,“5 Social Media Tips for the Craft Beer Industry.”

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In addition to using #craftbeer, when presenting a new seller or an event, Lone Pine should

include a hashtag of the location so these enthusiasts will be able to find it, such as

#PortlandME or #PortlandEmpire. Hashtags that are commonly included by the place of

business or city residents with their Instagram content increases the opportunity for further

organic growth.

Custom hashtags promote the building and uniting of the Lone Pine community. The social

media team developed three custom hashtags for Lone Pine: #ShareALone, #LonelyNoMore,

and #LonePine. Depending on which audience is targeted by the content (see page 1), Lone

Pine can use #ShareALone or #LonelyNoMore. #LonePine can be included most of the time

(see page 19).

Every organization indicates different ideal posting times on Instagram to heighten engagement.

The Huffington Post article, "Here's the Best Time to Post a Photo on Instagram," identifies the

best posting times to be 2 AM, 8:30 AM or 5 PM. TrackMaven reports that Instagram

engagement remains consistent all day every week, with only a slight increase on Mondays and

a slight decrease on Sundays. Quick Sprout, on the other hand, says that off-work hours are the

best times for engagement.

The majority of bars and music venues close at 1 AM in Maine. At 2 AM, the brewery can share

the “best of” photo of followers drinking Lone Pine beer. The photo can be from that evening or

a previous night, taken by a Lone Pine employee, venue employee, or a follower. The brewery

can also tag the venue where the photo was taken and add these hashtags: #craftbeer,

#LonePine, and the location.

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Posting at 5 PM may prove optimal for reaching employed followers. It is the time of day many

people are finishing their work day and planning evening activities. Relaxed photos,

representing total freedom from the daily grind with a Lone Pine beer can drive social media

engagement.

Identifying the ideal times for Lone Pine to post content to Instagram required significant

research by the social media team. Analyzed in the research were the time and day that other

craft beer breweries share content on Instagram, the time and day their followers are

commenting on the content, and the recommendations of more than 30 social media analytics

companies. The team finally settled on the simple weekly schedule shown on page 52 for Lone

Pine to initially follow when posting to Instagram.

Twitter

Twitter is the best way to reach craft beer drinkers between the ages of 21 and 27 years old. In

the report “How to use Social Media for Craft Beer Marketing,” using #craftbeer is

recommended to reach this audience.

Twitter will also help engage males and households with an annual income of $50,000 or

higher, according to the Pew Research Center. Since 2013, the Pew Research Center has

observed a dramatic increase of these users on Twitter.

Sarah Benoit (JB Media Group LLC) insists that consistently posting content on Twitter is useful

for increasing brand awareness. Consistency also helps connect brands across the industry.

“Craft Social Media ways to make Craft Beer Marketing work” highly recommends using a

location hashtag for attracting consumers to the point-of-service or point-of-purchase. Lone Pine

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can use location hashtags with Empire, the Great Lost Bear, and any other establishments that

currently carry Lone Pine products.

Custom hashtags can also be used Twitter. #LonePine can be included with most content.

#ShareALone and #LonelyNoMore can also be used for content corresponding to the key

message.

According to Statista, Twitter had 52.5 million users throughout the United States of America in

2015 and is projected to have 70.7 million users by 2020. Twitter was also found to be most

prominently used during events. The use of Twitter during events can easily be tracked by 67

percent of millennials who follow event related hashtags.

Certain craft breweries in the Portland, Maine area, and other New England breweries define

the recommended time to post tweets as mid to late afternoon and into the early evening (3 to 7

PM). Extensive research, however, provided a consensus of optimal times to post on Twitter.

The compiled research concludes that Monday-Saturday, at 6 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, 5:30 PM, and

9 PM are favorable times to use Twitter. Lone Pine will need to define its schedule to match its

audience's activity on Twitter.

Polls on Twitter are often easy ways to encourage engagement. Lone Pine can use polls to find

out what followers think about new flavor ideas, which restaurants to approach, or for comparing

beers. Lone Pine can track the analytics for each poll to determine what type of questions

attract the most engagement, which hashtags are most effective at broadening reach, and what

time of day and days of the week polls are most helpful for increasing engagement and reach.

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It is recommended that Lone Pine initially updates Twitter as shown in the weekly schedule

found on page 53.

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Time of Implementation

Setup of the social media accounts is complete since Lone Pine already has Facebook,

Instagram, and Twitter accounts. A Hootsuite tutorial begins on page 28, complete with setup

instructions and recommendations, and is expected to require about two hours to complete.

Hootsuite is the only account that needs to be established; therefore, Facebook and Twitter

setup and usage tutorials are not included with this social media plan.

It is expected that becoming comfortable using Hootsuite for managing the three social media

accounts requires time. After following the tutorial included in this social media plan, it is

encouraged that Lone Pine spends some additional time playing—navigating the platform,

creating posts, and tracking hashtags. Hootsuite will ultimately be able to help Lone Pine reduce

its daily social media time to one hour.

The dedicated social media hour should be broken into at least two 30-minute sessions: one in

the morning and one in the late afternoon. With practice, the brewery might be capable of

shortening each session to 15 minutes each and scheduling four sessions per day.

The hour is useful for reviewing analytics, viewing content from followed hashtags and users,

and engaging followers. Content development and content scheduling are not intended to be

part of the hour; those activities need to be scheduled separately.

Sarah Benoit, from JB Media Group LLC, suggests implementing a monthly editorial calendar to

ensure that time is dedicated each day to social media. The recommended posting times and

target audiences appearing in this social media plan can be copied directly into the editorial

calendar for the first few months. It is best also to include time for engagement, content

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development, and scheduling content for future posting. Building the editorial calendar each

month is expected to require an hour.

The most difficult portion of this social media plan is receiving and understanding analytics.

Facebook and Twitter each offer free analytics for users. Instagram does not, but the team has

included a few options for accessing analytics for Instagram on page 45. Hootsuite also offers

analytics; however, the free reports do not contain much information, and more extensive

reports cost up to $50 each.

Due to the low volume of content and lack of previous content to measure, analytics require

about three months to stabilize and show trends. Despite the instability, however, it is

recommended that Lone Pine reviews the analytics on a daily basis starting on the first day of

social network implementation for this plan. Some analytics may stabilize sooner than three

months, which means they will become more useful for identifying trends and using the trends

to shape future content formats, posting times and days, and push engagement.

Tutorials

Hootsuite

Hootsuite provides its users with the ability to manage multiple social media accounts from one

application. The free plan allows users to manage up to three social profiles and the premium

plan—$119.88 billed annually—lets users manage up to fifty social profiles. Social networking

accounts that can be managed with Hootsuite include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+,

WordPress, Instagram, and YouTube. There are at least 30 other social networks that are

supported by Hootsuite via free and premium extensions.

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Both, the free and premium plans allow users to schedule an unlimited number of status

updates in advance. Users can manually schedule each update or give scheduling control to

Hootsuite through the AutoSchedule feature.

It is recommended that Lone Pine at least tries the free 30-day trial of the premium plan for its

higher quality analytics and a greater number of extensions than what’s offered by the free plan.

Subscribing to the premium plan, however, is not a requirement. Another option is to use the

analytics provided by the social networks themselves (see page 42 for Facebook and page 43

for Twitter), Iconosquare for Instagram (see page 45), and possibly Google Analytics for landing

pages that Lone Pine establishes for measuring engagement (not included with this plan).

Analytics are important for measuring message reach and engagement. Without them, there is

no clear way of knowing what time of day is best to post messages on social media, what type

of message is attracting the most engagement, how many messages are ideal for each social

platform, nor which messages are most effective for increasing the number of followers.

Hootsuite can help simplify the data collection process by keeping all analytic data in one

location, rather than requiring users to visit multiple websites.

The following tutorial explains how to use the free plan for Hootsuite.

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Hootsuite Tutorial: Free Plan

Registration (estimated time requirement: 5 minutes)

1. Signupforthefreeplanathttps://hootsuite.com/signup?planId=1

2. Click “Create a new account”

3. Add Twitter and Facebook

4. Click “Continue”

5. Click “Done adding social networks”

Registration screenshots are on the next page.

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Image 1: Hootsuite signup page

Image 2: Add social networks

Image 3: “Continue”

Image 4: "Done adding social networks"

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Getting started (estimated time requirement: 15 minutes)

1. Read:

● Terms of Service for Free and Pro Users

● Privacy Policy

● Copyright Policy

2. (links are located in upper right corner of page)

3. Follow the brief on-screen tutorial

4. Click “+ Add Stream”

● Click “Instagram” and then click “Add Profile”

● Follow the onscreen instructions to connect the account

● Click “Setup publishing now”

● Follow the onscreen instructions to setup publishing

Getting started screenshots are on the next page.

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Image 5: Hootsuite onscreen tutorial Image 6: Add a stream

Image 7: Add Instagram Image 8: “Setup publishing now”

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Customization (estimated time requirement: 15 minutes)

1. Return to the Dashboard and click on “Settings”

A. Optionalchanges:

1. Account:Gravatar,name,password,securitysettings,removeaccount,etc.

2. Preferences:LanguageandTwitterretweetsettings

3. Archives:Nothingtochange

4. RSS/Atom:AddRSSorAtomfeedstosharecontentautomatically—not

recommendedrightaway

5. VanityURLs:Nothingtochange

6. Notifications:Choosewhentobenotifiedaboutaccountactivity

7. AutoSchedule:Selecthowmanytimesperday,betweenwhichhourseachday,and

whichdaysoftheweektoautomaticallysharecontent

B. Hoverover“Tools”anddragtheowlicontothebrowsertoolbar

C. Clickon“AppDirectory”andlookthroughsomeoftheappsthatcanbeintegratedwith

Hootsuite—addingappstoanaccountisoptional

Customization screenshots are on the next page.

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Image 9: Hootsuite settings Image 10: Account settings

Image 11: Drag owl icon to browser toolbar Image 12: Browse through the available apps

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Analytics (estimated time requirement: 10 minutes)

1. ReturntotheDashboardandclickon“Analytics”

A. Select“TwitterProfileOverview”

B. ChoosethereportownerandTwitterprofile

C. Click“CreateReport”

D. Lookatthegraph(ifavailable)toseefollowergrowth

E. Lookatotherfreereports(ifavailable)—severalarenotfree

Analytics screenshots are on the next page.

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Image 13: Hootsuite analytics Image 14: “Twitter Profile Overview” report setup

Image 15: Overview of Twitter profile with gradual growth Image 16: Yellow bar indicates a report that is not free

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Compose, Manual Schedule, and AutoSchedule (estimated time requirement: 15 minutes)

1. ComposeMessage

A. ReturntotheDashboardandclickinsidethe“Composemessage”textarea

B. Choosetheaccount(s)

C. Composeamessage

D. Options:

1. Sendthemessageimmediately

2. Savethemessageasadraft

3. Addalinkandshortenitwithow.ly

4. Attachmedia

5. Addlocation

6. Targeting(forTwitter)

7. Privacy(forFacebook)

8. Schedulethemessage

2. ManualSchedule

A. Aftercomposingthemessage,clickonthecalendaricon

B. EnsurethatAutoScheduleisswitchedoff

C. Settheday,time,andemailpreferences—theuserretainscompletecontrol

D. Click“Schedule”

3. AutoSchedule

A. Aftercomposingthemessage,clickonthecalendaricon

B. EnsurethatAutoScheduleisswitchedon

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1. AutoSchedulewillautomaticallychoosethetimeforpostingthemessagebetween

thehoursselectedinSettings—theuserhasnocontrol

C. Click“AutoSchedule”

Compose, manual schedule, and AutoSchedule screenshots are on the next page.

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Image 17: Compose a message Image 18: Manually schedule a message

Image 19: Switch AutoSchedule on to give Hootsuite control Image 20: Click the “X” to remove scheduling

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Analytics

Twitter and Facebook analytics can be accessed individually for free through their

corresponding websites with the Web browser of choice. Instagram does not offer a similar

service and, therefore, requires third party analytics software for accurate measurement. The

recommended analytics software company for Instagram is Iconosquare, which is discussed in

more detail on page 45.

Social media analytics refers to the data analysis of audience engagement, message reach,

follower growth, consistency, and more. Analytics in social media is vital to consistent growth,

time management, and choosing the type of content most enjoyed by the audience. Ultimately,

understanding how to read and analyze the data provided by analytics software will strengthen

a company’s ability to craft social media strategies that deliver impressive results.

According to BusinessDictionary.com, analytics are defined as “the field of data analysis.

Analytics often involves studying past historical data to research potential trends, to analyze the

effects of certain decisions or events, or to evaluate the performance of a given tool or scenario.

The goal of analytics is to improve the business by gaining knowledge which can be used to

make improvements or changes.”

Brief instructions are included on the next two pages for accessing Facebook and Twitter

analytics.

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Accessing Facebook Analytics

1. LogintoFacebookusinganadministratorprofileforthedesiredpage(http://facebook.com)

2. Clickon“Insights”abovetheCoverPhoto

a. Pagemustfirstmeettheminimumrequirementof30fans

Screenshots of accessing Facebook’s analytics are below.

Image 21: Facebook "Insights" link Image 22: Facebook analytics overview

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Accessing Twitter Analytics

1. LogintoTwitter(http://twitter.com)

2. Clickontheprofilephotoinupperrightcornerofpage

3. Choose“Analytics”frommenu

Screenshots of accessing Twitter’s analytics are below.

Image 23: Twitter analytics home Image 24: Twitter analytics tweets graph

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The screenshots and step by step directions previously listed for Hootsuite, Facebook, and

Twitter analytics are intended to demonstrate the basic access and use of these applications.

More information can be acquired by watching the following demonstration videos:

• Hootsuite: https://learn.hootsuite.com/hootsuite-university-video

o Title: Getting Started with Hootsuite

o Author: Hootsuite University

• Twitter: https://youtu.be/ZX93XimDtnU

o Title: Twitter Analytics

o Author: Rosh Sillars

• Facebook: https://youtu.be/3KVT0qPid8Q

o Title: Facebook Insights 2016 Tutorial – Analyze Your Facebook Statistics for

Optimal Facebook Marketing

o Author: Thomas Joslyn

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Instagram Analytics

Since Instagram does not provide analytics, there are three options for tracking follower

engagement and other factors of the Lone Pine Instagram account:

• Be very active on Instagram

• Use the Iconosquare Hootsuite extension

• Use the Iconosquare Plus analytics tool

The first option would be for Lone Pine to be on top of all Instagram interactions. The brewery is

required to check Instagram a few times every day with this option to answer questions or

respond to comments on any of the posts.

The second option is to use the Iconosquare Hootsuite extension, which will cost Lone Pine

$4.99 per month ($59.88 annually). The Iconosquare Hootsuite extension will provide analytics

on content, engagement, and community for Lone Pine’s Instagram content—accessible from

Hootsuite.

The third and most recommended option would be to use the analytics software, Iconosquare

Plus (http://iconosquare.com), to receive detailed information about Lone Pine’s Instagram

content. Iconosquare Plus costs $28.80 per year and provides analytics on content,

engagement, and community—accessible from the Iconosquare website.

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Tactics

The social media team has retained simplicity for the tactics of this plan. It is recommended that

Lone Pine takes advantage of its first year in business by developing its brand voice on social

media. Tactics that will help define a brand voice include the following:

• Hashtags—common and custom

• Consistency and engagement

• Platform familiarization

• Scheduled content updates

• Learning analytics

• The 80/20 rule

Hashtags

The article, “3 Key Hashtag Strategies: How to Market your Business & Content”

(wishpond.com), suggests that a custom hashtag gives consumers knowledge of the company

and offers an outlet to connect with the brand. The social media team has developed three

custom hashtags for use with posts concerning the brewery and its products.

Hashtags are most successful when placed at the conclusion of a post on Instagram and

Twitter. It is not recommended, at this time, to insert hashtags with Facebook content since the

majority of consumers have not adopted them.

Custom hashtags allow followers to engage with the brewery, grow the social community, and

introduce other consumers to the brand. It is recommended that Lone Pine uses at least one

custom hashtag with each post, when possible.

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Social media trends can be local, national, or international. John Ramos on forbes.com defines

a trending hashtag as a hashtag topic that has become very popular with users of the platform.

It is recommended that Lone Pine keeps a watchful eye on trending hashtags and be prepared

to divert momentarily from scheduled posts to participate in appropriate trending discussions to

raise brand awareness.

Current trending hashtags are best used when they relate to Lone Pine in some way. According

to, "7 Free Ways for Boosting Your Social Media Engagement," trending hashtags can increase

a message's reach to an audience that would not usually see anything shared by the brand.

Some hashtags trend every week, such as #TBT (Throwback Thursday). Scheduling posts that

include a commonly trending hashtag might help raise brand awareness faster than other

hashtags. An example for #TBT is a photo of a past event. Lone Pine can ask followers to

comment on the experience using the custom hashtag, #LonePine.

All content shared on any Lone Pine social media account can use local hashtags. Some local

hashtags include the following:

• #drinkME

• #drinklocal

• #localbeer

Local hashtags are searchable on Twitter and Instagram, and can introduce craft beer

consumers to Lone Pine. Other trendy hashtags for the Portland, Maine area and hashtags that

are unique to craft beer may allow Lone Pine to see which hashtags best work with its content

for generating engagement.

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Consistency and Engagement

Consistency refers to keeping a schedule and posting content that compliments the brand voice.

Engagement refers to communication between the managed account and anyone else.

Engagement could be actions, such as commenting, liking, messaging, or sharing. It is

imperative that Lone Pine responds to every engagement to create a social community,

enhance customer service, and expand the marketing influence of social media.

Aiding Lone Pine in maintaining consistency, Hootsuite is recommended for scheduling content

updates, managing the three social networking accounts, and engagement. Hootsuite, as

described starting on page 28, is a social media management platform that is free to use for the

first three social profiles. Lone Pine can use the free version of Hootsuite throughout this entire

plan.

Platform familiarization

The only way to become comfortable on each social media platform is to use each social media

platform repetitively. There are no secret recipes to share. The next section of this plan, starting

on page 51, covers benchmarks that will help Lone Pine prioritize becoming comfortable on

each platform. Facts about each platform are below.

Facebook and Instagram users are attracted to visual references. Twitter users enjoy visual

references but are not as accepting to multiple tweets using visuals. John Rampton, a Forbes

writer, states that visual posts may have up to an 85 percent interaction rate with users on

Facebook and can increase retweets by 35 percent.

Facebook events provide analytics even after the event has ended. This is good for choosing

who to invite and not invite to future events.

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Twitter tends to be the easiest social media platform to build a following on. Because of the

speed at which content streams, however, engagement rates are typically low compared to

other social networks. A Forrester Research study showed the Instagram generates the highest

consumer engagement out of all social media platforms. Instagram has 58 times more

engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than

Twitter.

Instagram recently extended its allowable video duration to 60 seconds. According to the

Weidert Group, many companies have used Instagram video since 2013 to communicate brief

messages with their followers.

Scheduled content updates

Scheduling content to be shared at a later time or date requires a couple of hours one day per

week. The purpose of scheduling is to offer additional time for engagement throughout the

week.

The social media team has recommended Hootsuite to Lone Pine, in part, for the ability to

schedule content updates through the management platform. Hootsuite will require an

adjustment period for Lone Pine due to its complexity, and while there are easier options

available, Hootsuite is the best choice that is free.

Initial schedules for each social platform can be viewed in this plan, beginning on page 52.

Learning analytics

Twitter provides analytics for their users, and this would be an additional way for Lone Pine to

see how the engagement is with followers, the gain of followers, and if they are losing followers.

50

By looking at the analytics provided by Twitter, Lone Pine can test out different amounts of

tweets per day and different times of the day to tweet to reach the largest audience and receive

engagement on those tweets. Once Lone Pine has established this number, it will be able to

track the consistency of their tweets through the amount of engagement through each tweet.

The 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule refers to social media content frequency. Eighty percent of all posted content

should not be perceived as marketing or advertising for the brewery or Lone Pine products.

Twenty percent of all posted content can be perceived as marketing or advertising for the

brewery or Lone Pine products. Four examples of the 80 percent are below.

Four examples of the 80%

• How-to articles

• Another user’s content

• Local events

• Industry news

Four examples of the 20%

• Announcing a new product

• Selling tickets for an event

• Behind the scenes information

• Asking for product feedback

Lone Pine is challenged to abide by the 80/20 rule throughout the duration of this social media

plan.

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Benchmarks

The social media team has established five benchmarks (stages) to create a brand voice on the

selected social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The stages are designed to

ensure ease of use for Lone Pine and maximize engagement with each target audience.

The social media team proposes that Lone Pine starts with Instagram, then add Twitter, and

finally add Facebook. The first three stages require approximately two months each to

complete. The remaining two stages—growth and engagement—require about three months

each to complete.

Although this social media plan is designed to span 12 months, the objective is to satisfy the

requirements of each stage successfully. It is, therefore, recommended by the social media

team that Lone Pine focuses less on the amount of time and more on the results. If it takes

three months to complete stage one, then it takes three months to complete stage one. There

are no maximum time requirements or deadlines to meet.

Stage One: Instagram

Instagram will be the first social media platform implemented. The objectives for stage one are

below.

• Become fully confident posting, navigating, and engaging users on the platform

• Follow a deliberate posting and engagement schedule for eight consecutive weeks

• Choose an analytics strategy and become familiar with how the data is presented

The initial posting schedule is provided in the table on the next page.

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Table 1: Instagram posting schedule

Target

Audience Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Males

21-34 5 PM 2 AM

Males

35-55 Not currently active on Instagram

Females

21-55 2 AM 5 PM

It is suggested to replace this schedule with one specific to the days and times that Lone Pine

followers are most engaged on Instagram, once analytics stabilize. See page 45 for information

about analytics options to measure message reach and engagement on Instagram.

Lone Pine should upload content four times per week—targeting a specific audience each time.

Uploads can be videos or photos and should abide by the 80/20 rule (page50). Appropriate

hashtags—custom, local, industry, trending, or common—should be included with each update.

Daily engagement should also be consistent with messages, comments, likes, and shares.

Lone Pine is expected to reach this benchmark after two months. The social media team wants

to stress, however, that reaching this benchmark may take longer.

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Stage Two: Twitter

Lone Pine will continue posting to Instagram four times a week and maintaining daily

engagement, and Twitter will be added to the schedule. The objectives for stage two are below.

• Become fully confident posting, navigating, and engaging users on the platform

• Successfully manage both, Instagram and Twitter on a daily basis

• Follow a deliberate posting and engagement schedule for eight consecutive weeks

• Become familiar with how Twitter analytics data is presented

The initial posting schedule is provided in the table below.

Table 2: Twitter posting schedule

Target

Audience Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Males

21-34 5:30 PM

6 AM

2 PM 12 PM 5:30 PM

6 AM

2 PM 12 PM

Males

35-55

6 AM

2 PM 12 PM 5:30 PM

6 AM

2 PM 12 PM 5:30 PM

Females

21-55 12 PM 5:30 PM

6 AM

2 PM 12 PM 5:30 PM

6 AM

2 PM

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It is suggested to replace this schedule eventually with one specific to the days and times that

Lone Pine followers are most engaged on Twitter. See page 41 for information about accessing

and using analytics on Twitter to measure message reach and engagement.

Twitter should be used six days a week, with four tweets distributed throughout the day—

targeting a specific audience each time. Tweets can be text, videos, or photos and should abide

by the 80/20 rule (page50). Appropriate hashtags—custom, local, industry, trending, or

common—should be included with each update. Daily engagement should also be consistent

with messages, comments, likes, and shares.

Lone Pine is expected to reach this benchmark after two months. The social media team wants

to stress, however, that reaching this benchmark may take longer.

Stage Three: Facebook

Instagram and Twitter will continue being used while becoming comfortable managing

Facebook. The objectives for stage three are below.

• Become fully confident posting, navigating, and engaging users on the platform

• Successfully manage all three, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on a daily basis

• Follow a deliberate posting and engagement schedule for eight consecutive weeks

• Become familiar with how Facebook Insights (analytics) data is presented

The initial posting schedule is provided in the table on the next page.

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Table 3: Facebook posting schedule

Target

Audience Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Males

21-34 3 PM 1 PM

Males

35-55 3 PM 3 PM

Females

21-55 3 PM 3 PM

It is suggested to replace this schedule eventually with one specific to the days and times that

Lone Pine followers are most engaged on Facebook. See page 41 for information about

accessing and using analytics on Facebook to measure message reach and engagement.

Lone Pine should update Facebook once per day, six times per week—targeting a specific

audience each time. Updates can be text, videos, or photos and should abide by the 80/20 rule

(page50). Hashtags should not be used at all for Facebook. Daily engagement should be

consistent with messages, comments, likes, and shares.

Lone Pine is expected to reach this benchmark after two months. The social media team wants

to stress, however, that reaching this benchmark may take longer.

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Stage Four: Community Building

After meeting the stage one benchmark, Lone Pine should aim to increase its following by 30

percent—utilizing the 40/40/20 rule. The objectives for stage four are below.

• Successfully manage all three, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on a daily basis

• Organically grow social media following by 30 percent using the 40/40/20 rule (described

below)

The 40/40/20 rule

Forty percent of content is about the craft beer industry. The content should not be specific to

Lone Pine, but may include recommendations, news, how-to articles, etc.

Forty percent of content is about the Portland, Maine community and area events. Events can

include anything from a craft beer festival to a performance by a new band. Community content

can include local news, new restaurants, recommendations, etc.

Twenty percent of content is marketing or advertising for the brewery or Lone Pine products.

The 20 percent can include anything about the brewery or products, such as ideas for a new

beer or a new point-of-service location for Lone Pine.

Lone Pine should focus on at least a 30 percent increase to its following by targeting the local

and industry communities. Updates can be text, videos, or photos and should abide by the

40/40/20 rule. Daily engagement should be consistent with messages, comments, likes, and

shares.

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Lone Pine is expected to reach this benchmark after three months. The social media team

wants to stress, however, that reaching this benchmark may take longer.

Stage Five: Initiate Conversations

The final benchmark for this social media plan consists of posting content to Instagram, Twitter,

and Facebook that initiates conversations. The objectives for stage five are below.

• Successfully manage all three, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on a daily basis

• Create at least one message per day on any social media account for six consecutive

weeks that receives at least one comment

Four examples of content that might initiate conversations are below.

• Ask a question

• Label design contest

• A funny photo

• An inspirational quote

See page 20 for more examples of engaging content.

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Conclusion

The fundamental objective of this social media plan is to provide Lone Pine with tactics that can

be applied strategically and comfortably. Following this plan offers Lone Pine an opportunity to

launch onto social media with the right tools, the right platforms, and the right timeline that

allows for gradual progression. The team is confident that the effort required to meet each

benchmark of this plan will present a significant return on investment for Lone Pine.

The definitive goal of the social media plan is to help Lone Pine develop its brand voice on three

of the most popular social networks by engaging specific audiences in the Portland, Maine area.

Made possible by the recommended tools and strategic design, this plan is expected to be easy

to follow, but challenging to complete. It is designed as a 12-month plan, but may require longer.

There are no maximum time limits nor timed deadlines to meet.

The team is assured that this social media plan will aid Lone Pine in becoming a well-known

and socially competitive craft beer brewery in the state of Maine and the greater New England

area.