The country’s third largest craft brewer, New Belgium Brewing, likes what it is getting from social media. The company said recently that it had conducted a successful social media campaign over the summer, adding nearly 50,000 facebook fans and 10,000 twitter followers in the span of just three months.
According to Twitter Counter – a popular service that provides statistics of Twitter usage – as of May 26th, when the campaign began, the company had 74,192 twitter followers. By Labor Day, when the campaign concluded, that number had increased to 93,670. New Belgium currently boasts over 106,000 followers.
The ‘Enjoy the Ride’ campaign isn’t the only recent social media effort from New Belgium. The company has also begun a paid sponsorship on Facebook, promoting a photo of its 16 oz. can of Shift Pale Lager. That photo is targeted at the news feeds of Facebook users, and currently has over 5,000 ‘likes’ and nearly 200 shares.
Below is a press release on New Belgium’s social media efforts.
FORT COLLINS, CO. — New Belgium Brewing’s “Enjoy the Ride” campaign wrapped up on Labor Day after a summer full of bike love and storytelling. The campaign, which started Memorial Day weekend, awarded 2,500 highly coveted Fat Tire cruisers and the three-month campaign grew fan engagement by tens of thousands, making it the largest social media experience to date for the brewery.
The Enjoy the Ride campaign was a blend of Fat Tire love, the enjoyment of life, passion for bikes and socializing. Some social media highlights include:
- New Belgium grew its Facebook fan base by approximately 50,000 fans and several “Enjoy the Ride” posts received upwards of 10,000 likes, with one post reaching nearly 24,000 likes.
- Twitter followers increased by about 10,000.
- More than 2,000 tagged posts on Instagram featured #enjoytheride.
- Thousands of people chipped in on Twitter, using the #enjoytheride hash tag, sharing stories and vying for a Fat Tire cruiser.
To coincide with the 20th anniversary of Fat Tire last year, New Belgium asked fans to submit personal Fat Tire stories during its “Joy Ride” campaign. For this year’s “Enjoy the Ride” campaign, New Belgium went through those entries and published more than 2,800 stories on packaging, point of sale materials and online. Twenty-four personal tales also appeared on the side of Fat Tire bottles.
New Belgium friends also visited www.newbelgium.com in droves to read the collection of fan-authored stories, create “beer-a-mids,” and much more. Across all New Belgium markets, local Beer Rangers shared bike love by hosting store giveaways and events. In addition, many people downloaded free New Belgium apps, available for both iPhones and Android phones.
New Belgium also enjoyed the ride by joining the USA Pro Cycling Challenge as the event’s official beer sponsor. New Belgium added flavorful commentary along the 600-mile journey, Tweeting (@NBBProChallenge and @NewBelgium), blogging, and sharing videos and pictures (Instagram handle: @NBBProChallenge) from the route. To read stories and see pics from the journey, visit http://www.newbelgium.com/prochallenge.
For more information on the brewery, visit facebook.com/newbelgium or newbelgium.com, and follow @newbelgium.
About New Belgium Brewing Company:
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces nine year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Sunshine Wheat, Ranger IPA, Belgo IPA, Shift Pale Lager, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit newbelgium.com.