For years, brewery marketing has centered on growing social media followings. But as algorithms increasingly determine who actually sees those posts, many breweries have discovered that having thousands of followers doesn’t necessarily mean they’re reaching thousands of customers.
That realization prompted Chicago’s Dovetail Brewery last year to rethink how it communicates with its audience. As the brewery explained in a BREWER Podcast last year, they are not abandoning social media, but instead shifting its focus toward channels it owns.
“The strategy is not a one-size-fits-all strategy,” said Jenny Pfäfflin, Brewer and Marketing & Creative Manager. “If social media is a helpful tool and you’re reaching the people that you need to reach through social media, by all means… we’re still using social media. We’re just reinvesting in the way that we communicate to our audience.”
For Dovetail, the catalyst wasn’t declining follower counts. It was declining visibility.
Despite more than 20,000 Instagram followers, many posts were reaching only a fraction of that audience. Taproom regulars frequently mentioned missing events the brewery had promoted across every social platform.
“We were barely hitting 1,500-2,000 views,” Pfäfflin said. “10% of the people that followed us were seeing our posts.”
The problem wasn’t necessarily the content, it was relying on platforms that ultimately decide who sees it.
“You’re constantly fighting these algorithms and what works and what doesn’t work,” she said. “What gets your post in front of the people that were engaged enough in the first place to hit that follow button?”
Rather than spending more time trying to solve the algorithm, Dovetail asked a different question: What communication channels does the brewery actually control?
The answer became an editorial-style email newsletter called The Schnitt.
The shift reflects a broader marketing principle brewery owners, marketing directors or social media managers may want to consider. Followers are valuable, but they aren’t owned assets. Email subscribers are.
“What happens if that TikTok ban goes through?” Pfäfflin said, referring to the uncertainty surrounding the platform earlier in 2025. “You’ve lost your followers. You can’t take those followers along with you. Whereas with direct email marketing… we can take those email addresses with us to another provider.”
That distinction has become increasingly important as platforms evolve, algorithms change and new social networks emerge.
“Email has been around forever,” she said. “But it’s also the future. Email has … proven to be something that’s always going to be there.”
The newsletter itself reflects another lesson for breweries looking to strengthen customer relationships: don’t simply replace social media posts with promotional emails.
Instead, create something customers actually want to receive.
Rather than filling every edition with new releases and event reminders, Dovetail treats its newsletter more like a magazine than a marketing flyer. Stories dive into brewing traditions, service rituals, historical references and community connections, while also highlighting local partners and interesting discoveries beyond the brewery.
“I want to go beyond, ‘Here’s our new release’ and ‘Here’s our event,'” Pfäfflin said. “Those are obviously useful things to put in your newsletter, but I want to connect to the community.”
She hopes readers leave each newsletter issue curious enough to continue exploring.
“I am giving you little leads to get into your own rabbit hole,” she said. “I hope people can really sit down and think about it without any distractions because there is a ton of distraction on social media.”
That editorial mindset also creates differentiation in increasingly crowded inboxes. Instead of competing for fleeting attention, breweries can provide context, education and personality that reinforce why customers connected with the brand in the first place.
The strategy also reflects the realities facing many independent breweries.
Pfäfflin describes herself as a one-person marketing department while also contributing on the brewing side of the business. Competing with larger breweries producing polished videos across multiple platforms simply isn’t realistic.
“I do all the graphic design. I do all the social media. I do the newsletter,” she said. “But also… I brew.”
Instead of trying to excel everywhere, Dovetail chose to concentrate its efforts where they could create the greatest long-term value.
“I would rather put my time into… something that I think makes the most sense for our audience.”
That doesn’t mean abandoning social media altogether.
Instead, Dovetail has repositioned it as a supporting channel. Instagram remains active with collaborative posts, event promotions and pinned monthly calendars, while newsletter content often serves as the foundation for more thoughtful social posts.
WATCH OR LISTEN: BREWER Podcast with Dovetail Brewery
“We’re not abandoning social media because it is still an important tool,” Pfäfflin said. “We’re taking the pieces of The Schnit, and then I can translate that into a more thoughtful social media presence.”
The early results suggest the approach is resonating. After announcing the shift in early 2025, newsletter subscriptions jumped roughly 20%. Pfäfflin also received more than 100 direct replies from readers who appreciated both the strategy and the more personal communication.
“People were saying, ‘I’ve been thinking about this too.'”
Engagement metrics have followed suit, with stronger-than-average open rates, increasing website traffic and more consistent interaction from subscribers.
The most valuable asset may not be the largest audience, it may be the audience they actually own.
