What Brewery & Pub Owners Can Learn from Social Listening

Written by Justine Nightingale
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 08:00am CDT

Social listening is key to any business in the 21^st century, and that’s especially true for brewery and pub owners.

You’ll find that in our ultra-connected world, your customers aren’t only thinking about you when they’re inside your brewery or pub. They’re talking about you online. They may post photos of your craft beers, tweet about the atmosphere, leave reviews on Yelp, and tag you in their stories. Whether you’re listening or not, the conversation is happening.

To help you understand it better, we look at what brewery and pub owners can learn from social listening to better engage guests.

First, though, let’s dive into social listening.

Just What Is Social Listening?

This intriguing term means monitoring and analyzing online conversations people have about your brand.

Social listening goes beyond simply checking your notifications. It involves tracking mentions of your brand, products, services, and related keywords across a wide array of online platforms. (tweet this)

This may mean monitoring your social media platforms, review sites, blogs, forums, and more. Tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Brandwatch, and more make it possible for you to automate and analyze these mentions in real time.

But the power of social listening isn’t just in tracking mentions. The real power comes when you analyze what people are saying, look at how they feel about you, identify trends, and use that data to make business decisions about your brewery or pub.

Why Social Listening Matters for Breweries and Pubs

Social listening is a cost-effective marketing tactic, and you don’t have to have a large budget to make it work for you. Because it’s a relatively low-cost item in your budget, it’s a must-have. Here are some of the many benefits:

You Can Understand Your Customer’s Preferences

Have you ever wondered why your regulars keep coming back? Conversely, do you know what drives people away after that first or second visit?

When you practice social listening, you have direct access to the opinions of your customers. These are unfiltered, and you can learn a lot as your customers share freely in the digital space.

You can find out which beers are crowd favorites, whether guests love (or hate) the trivia night, or if your seasonal menu is hitting the mark.

For example, if you notice a spike in positive mentions of your new IPA on Instagram, that’s a signal you may want to feature it prominently in your marketing. On the flip side, consistent complaints about wait times or staff friendliness are red flags you want to address.

You Can Keep Tabs on the Competition

You don’t have to limit social listening to just your brewery or pub.

You can track what people are saying about nearby pubs and breweries to see what customers are enjoying (or disliking) elsewhere. Maybe a competitor is getting rave reviews for a food truck partnership or themed beer release. You can use these ideas and adapt them for your own location.

You Can Spot Trends in Real Time

The craft beer community is known for being enthusiastic, vocal, and always on the lookout for what’s next. Whether it’s a sudden interest in low-ABV beers, a wave of gluten-free requests, or the latest TikTok beer challenge, when you practice social listening, you stay ahead of the trends.

In fact, 54% of social media users use social media to research products. That means your customers are talking about your pub long before they walk through the door, and they’re comparing experiences with others.

How to Get Started with Social Listening

You don’t need a full-time marketing team to put social listening into practice. Here’s how to start small and scale as you go:

1. Choose the Right Tools

Free and paid tools can help streamline your efforts. For beginners, platforms like Google Alerts or Mention are great starting points. If you’re ready to dig deeper, consider Sprout Social or Brandwatch. They both provide you with robust features like sentiment analysis and competitor tracking.

When setting up alerts and dashboards, be sure to monitor:

• Your business name and social handles
• Signature beer names
• Branded hashtags (e.g., #HopHouseNYC)
• Industry keywords (e.g., “craft beer New York City”)

2. Monitor Key Platforms

Focus your listening efforts on where your customers hang out. You can begin by focusing on the following:

3. Analyze the Sentiment

Are your customers happy, upset, or somewhere in between?

You want to analyze customer sentiment so you can separate the compliments and the criticisms.

Over time, you’ll start to see patterns. For example, you may learn that your service on Friday nights is unacceptable, while Thursday nights are wonderful. You can see who is working during those times and offer appropriate training.

4. Take Action

Social listening is only one half of the equation. The real value lies in what you do with the insights. (tweet this) Here are a few practical ways to respond:

• Shout out user-generated content: Repost guest photos, tag them, and say thanks.
• Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative: A thoughtful reply to a 3-star Yelp review can show potential guests that you care.
• Adjust your offerings: If people are asking for more local collaborations or vegan-friendly options, consider testing them out.
• Join the conversation: Use trending hashtags or local events to stay culturally relevant and increase visibility.
• Fix processes: If people are complaining about service or wait times, it’s time to train your staff.

Final Thoughts on Social Listening for Brewery and Pub Owners

You are in a personal and community-driven industry, and online customer engagement is as key as what happens in your brewery or pub.

Social listening gives you the power to meet your guests where they are, understand what they care about, and make changes that resonate both online and off.

Whether you’re a neighborhood pub, a family-owned brewery, or an expanding taproom brand, tune in to the digital conversation to stay relevant, responsive, and real.

Start small, listen often, and always be ready to respond.

If you do it right, what you learn online can help you build relationships and effectively engage with customers. You can take action with what you hear and learn, and make your brewery or pub the best in your community.

Is your website ready to stand out online? At Restaurant Engine, we can create a website for you that highlights your brewery or pub. Your website is the centerpiece of your online marketing, and it needs to look beautiful and perform well. You can also count on us to create an amazing website that is optimized for SEO and works across all digital platforms. Let us help you make the perfect site that draws customers in, improves customer engagement and your conversion rate, and enables you to grow your new business using website data!  

Are you ready to take your restaurant to the next level with a new website?

Get your free website consultation today! 

Images: Louis Hansel and Victor Clime on Unsplash