What Beer Can Teach Us About Digital Marketing

The number of parallels between brewing beer and website development is shocking.  Starting of course with growing beards… but continued into the factors of quality as a reflection of the ingredients, a proven process that does not allow for shortcuts, and the importance of creative craftsmanship.

In honor of Powderkeg’s sponsorship of the Middleton Beer Festival last week, I thought it’d be fun to explore these parallels.

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Quality is a Reflection of Ingredients

Your ability to create a delicious brew relies heavily on the ingredients you use.  The hops, malts, yeast and water all play a critical role in the end product. If you have great hops, malts and yeast, but your water tastes terrible, you’re going to throw off the flavor of your beer.

Your online marketing strategy is no different.  Your impact is the sum of all them moving parts that you are putting resources into.  Your website’s design and user experience, along with the stability of the programming, create the base of your website.  Content provides a reason for visitors to come to your site, as well as be ranked well on Google.  If you have poor design, development or content, your overall digital marketing will be lacking.

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The Process Takes Time

If you’ve ever watched beer ferment before, you’ve seen the microscopic efforts of yeast cells slowly chomping away at starch and expelling carbonation and alcohol.  One little bubble at a time.  The fermentation process alone takes weeks, and that’s not including the heavy lifting that brewers need to do in the prep, brew, and clean-up steps in the process.  It’s hard work that takes time. The finicky nature of the biological process allows for no shortcuts to produce a great beer.

Digital marketing is similar, in that it’s truly a build up of compounding effort of professional programming and design, content creation, optimization and amplification.  Those who are looking for “quick fixes” are going to find themselves sorely disappointed.  However, those with the patience and integrity for the long haul will be rewarded.

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Creative Craftsmanship

You may know your neighbor’s cousin is a homebrewer… but that doesn’t make his beer any good.  Yes, some people may be able to pick up on the skills faster than others, but the more you perfect the skill, the better you become.  Most head brewers of local craft breweries have been practicing their craft for decades.  They’re educated and skilled craftsman.

When out meeting with prospective clients, I’ve heard the “my coworker’s kid can do it for a quarter of the price!” comment one too many times.  Just like with brewing… you’re going to get a much better product by a team of people that are skilled and educated, versus the individual who just started it as a hobby.

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So next time you have a nice craft beer, or visit a beautiful website, be sure to appreciate the time, effort and craftsmanship that went into it.