BUILDING A BETTER INSTAGRAM PORTFOLIO

As silly as it sounds, social media platforms are a great place to market yourself.

The Instagram app has quickly become a profession to many users. For bartenders especially, using Instagram to flood feeds with pristine cocktails, bright liquids, and cool glassware is a great tool to take advantage of. Is it necessary for bartenders to have an Instagram? Absolutely not. Will utilizing the app help? It definitely can. As a bartender, you want to sell the experience, and showing off your cocktail making skills can help.

Posting a cocktail image and tagging brands that were used to create that drink can warrant a repost of the image. This can direct traffic back to your profile so other users can see your images. In this day and age, you won’t need professional lighting, a DSLR camera, and other equipment to yield beautiful images. Cocktail photography is a skill that can be mastered by anyone.

Instagram has a few functions: photos, IGTV, reels, stories, and live. Let’s break them down so you know how to utilize each one of them.

Photos

Instagram started as a social media platform to post photos on. There is more to posting than snapping an image and uploading it. Spend some time getting to know your audience and see what other bartenders are putting out there.

Including hashtags and locations in photos can make it easier for those who aren’t following you can see the image as well. When it comes to adding filters, don’t go over the top. People want transparency. If someone is to make the cocktail in question and it turns out less dull than what the picture shows, it could wind up being a mess. Keep it simple and just adjust the contrast, brightness, saturation, etc.

Try coming up with a posting schedule. Creating a schedule will allow you to see an entire month’s worth of posts before they go up. Tons of websites make this process easier.

Reels

Reels are a new way to post videos on Instagram. Similar to TikTok or Vine, they are 15 to 30-second videos that can feature about anything. They’re a fun and easy way to create engaging video content. And the cocktail industry has taken over these videos.

It’s a simple way to show viewers how to mix up a cocktail. They can show what ingredients to use, what glassware to choose, and what the result will be. The latest update allows for the reels to be at the forefront of your Instagram profile. Take advantage of these videos and use them for cocktail creation, behind the bar scenes, and cocktail tasting.

Live

It’s a very simple concept that can be a great tool for promoting a bar. When establishments begin to open up again, Live videos on Instagram can be a great way to interact with consumers. It’s a way to engage with followers directly and transparently. The audience can submit their questions and comments in real-time, allowing for a quick and on the spot response.

Instagram Live can be a great tool for discoverability. Every time you go onto Live, your followers will receive an in-app notification, letting them know someone is streaming. The Live will automatically go to the beginning of their stories feed. Another great feature of Instagram Live is it will stay up for 24 hours. Those who have missed it will be able to go back and watch.

Stories

Stories are often the first thing users look at when logging onto the Instagram app. They are displayed at the top of the feed and stay up for 24 hours. Similar to Snapchat, these are images or videos that users post for a short period.

Use stories as a call to action. For example, if you were featured in a magazine article post the article on your story with a swipe up. Make polls on Instagram stories to see what your followers are interested in. Do they want cocktail videos? Or would they rather see cocktail photos? These are questions your followers will be able to answer and it will better help direct you.

Instagram is a great tool to use when for bartenders. It doesn’t get easier than posting cocktail images.