Beer in Colorado: Boston Beer Bloggers Conference: Part 7

Click here to read Part 6.

After lunch, the next item on the Beer Bloggers Conference (BBC) agenda was Social Media Best Practices presented by Tamre Mullins, a fellow Hoosier beer geek Nicole and I met at the Indy BBC and again during this year’s OneAmerica Mini-Marathon. The highpoints of her presentation (based on my Twitter feed) were as follows:

Live Beer Blogging at Burke Distribution

Hey, look; it's @tamremullins on the stage! #BBC13

Well, it was her on stage and I got excited for a friend; so sue me. Besides, by my posting this tweet, you know her Twitter handle and can now follow her.

Content is king. That's how you get social media followers. #BBC13

A pretty logo and eye-catching front page are nice but you have to keep the audience engaged if you want them to keep coming back. Don’t expect to float by on fluff material alone; you have to give your readers something they can sink their teeth into.

@tamremullins Wait, how are you updating as you're presenting? Who stole Tamre's phone?

Tamre’s Twitter account was updating as she was giving her presentation. My caveman-like brain was befuddled by this revelation.

Be a page, not a profile (on Facebook, that is). #BBC13

I’m fairly certain that Beer in Colorado is a page on Facebook and not a profile so I should be in the clear in this regards.

Caption contests up the engagement. #BBC13

Post a photo on Facebook and ask the audience to caption it. Add a survey to your page. Ask questions. Do whatever you have to do to get people to interact because that interaction fosters engagement which, in turn, ensures both repeat readers and new readers.

STILL not getting a Google Plus. #BBC13

I’m just not doing it, okay? Call me stubborn but I think I’m getting by on the blog, Facebook, and Twitter just fine.

Google Authorship? Okay, that one actually sounds pretty cool. #BBC13

I totally forget what Google Authorship is but it obviously tickled my fancy at the time.

This tweet's life is short. #BBC13

In some ways, Facebook and Twitter are complete opposites. On Facebook, you really ought to post once as people get downright agitated if you flood their newsfeed with the same article over and over again. On Twitter, however, you have to post and re-post because, once you’re on somebody’s feed, you’re almost instantly pushed to the bottom. Don’t be afraid to bombard your Twitter followers because your comments don’t have much of a shelf life.

#Dont #overuse #your #hashtags #please #BBC13

Because it’s annoying and it makes you look like a tool.

Share your experiences. We live pretty awesome lives and people are interested in us. #BBC13

We really do, don’t we? The life of a beer blogger is mighty sweet so why not let the world live vicariously through you?

The big screen at Live Beer Blogging (and my sage advice)

After Tamre’s spiel, we were off to Burke Distributing/Massachusetts Beverage Alliance, a beer distribution warehouse, to engage in BBC’s signature event: Live Beer Blogging. Live Beer Blogging is when brewery reps pitch their beer and bloggers then drink it and write a quick review all in the span of about five minutes. During the process, our tweets were projected on a big screen amidst the loading docks. If you were there, you would have read my Untappd/Twitter posts that said:

Christopher is drinking an Otter Creek Hop Session Ale by Otter Creek Brewing (Otter Creek, Wolaver's) at Burke Distribution

Little hippy [sic] but not uber bitter. Goes down easy. Sessionable as the name implies.

Christopher is drinking a Pandora by Idle Hands Craft Ales atBurke Distribution

Smells like cinnamon and tastes lightly tart. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking a Flying Jenny by Grey Sail Brewing of RI at Burke Distribution

Smells a little sweet and flowery. Mild hop bitterness. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking a Backyahd by Foolproof Brewing Company at Burke Distribution

Newest in RI, soon to be largest. No discernable hop aroma but present in taste. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking a Summer Swelter Ale by Baxter Brewing Co. at Burke Distribution

Some spiced aroma but spices REALLY show up in flavor. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking a Catalyst: Uprising! Series 1 Of 3 byBacklash Beer Company at Burke Distribution

Tasty! Sorry, my reviews are getting less detailed. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking a Connecticut Barrel Series Saison byThomas Hooker Brewing Co. at Burke Distribution

Best one yet. Very sweet and complex. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking a Slumbrew Happy Sol by Somerville Brewing Company (Slumbrew) at Burke Distribution

Good hefe but not necessarily getting the blood orange flavor. Maybe a little. Maybe. #bbc13

Christopher is drinking a Monkey Fist IPA by Shipyard Brewing Company at Burke Distribution

Bourbon aged and it definitely shows. #BBC13

Christopher is drinking an Ever Weisse by Night Shift Brewingat Burke Distribution

No, THIS is the best of the night! #BBC13

The last one, Ever Weisse, was indeed the best at Live Beer Blogging and we almost didn’t get to taste it! There were too many breweries at Burke to go around—each table of beer bloggers only experienced a portion of the brewery reps’ wares. When the Live Beer Blogging was officially over and when we realized Night Shift Brewing wasn’t going to make it to our table, a fellow blogger grabbed the rep by the shirt sleeve, pulled him to our table, and asked him kindly but firmly to continue the live beer blogging session if only for our table. I’m glad our table was so pushy, that tart, fruity ale is the stuff beer geek dreams are made of! Seriously, one of the best beers I’ve had; probably top 20, at least.

Burke Distribution is a warehouse—not exactly a tourist destination—which would explain the paltry amount of bathrooms. With several busloads of beer-drinkers all in the same space, that proved to be a problem thus prompting me to post this on the big screen:

Find a semi trailer, boys; free the pissah up for the ladies. That's my version of chivalry. #BBC13

Indeed, the event organizers told the guys to just go outside and whiz between trucks; we were out in an industrial zone—we weren’t going to offend any random passersby. If everybody waited for that single-stall toilet, half of us would still be there today.

After carousing with the beer reps and after Nicole sweet-talked her way into acquiring a free bomber of Fatty Bampkins Maine Hard Cider, we re-boarded the buses, enjoyed some more of Zack’s famous bus beer, and headed to our next destination.

Prost!

Chris