Follow-up: The Secret to a Great TikTok or Reel
The secret to a great TikTok or Reel is apparently, Old Style? Orange & Brew, a popular craft beer bottle shop and bar in Downers Grove, IL, didn’t hesitate to put last week’s newsletter tip into action. Founder Eric Schmidt took full advantage of baseball’s opening day by sharing a video on social media of a personal tradition that he weaved into their draft beer menu. The result? A record-breaking performance on both their Instagram and TikTok accounts. The advice may not have been mind blowing to all, but was designed to simplify the process and serve as that final nudge for creatives or businesses on the brink of refreshing their social strategy. The payoff won’t always be instant, but in this case, the potential can be seen immediately.
Today’s we’ll break down the post’s impressive performance and with Eric’s blessing, explore how the video could’ve achieved even greater success despite such great contact on the first swing.
The Post
Performance
The performance on both TikTok and Instagram demonstrates how with today’s algorithms, any single post can outperform the number of followers an account has. Nobody has missed the boat on either social media platform, in fact, the playing field has been neutralized in many ways. Small accounts now have an equal chance of being heard from if they tell a compelling story, regardless of past performance. Here’s how Orange & Brew’s Old Style post performed after applying the formula:
The post on TikTok got 15X more views (3,200+) than their account has followers (217) and 2.5X more views than any of their previous 14 TikTok posts.
The post on Instagram got more views (4,900) on Instagram than the account has followers (2,936) and 1.6X more views than any other video ever posted.
To reiterate, this was on the first try using last week’s tip, without preparation, practice, or dialing in of a process.
Why It Performed
For how quickly Eric jumped on the idea (<1 day), he managed to weave in several key elements that make for a successful TikTok or Reel including:
A Personal Connection: Eric shared a personal story tied to a local tradition, while seamlessly linking it to a beer recently tapped at Orange & Brew. This created a connection with the bar’s potential customers, many of whom likely share a similar ritual.
The Business Owner as the Storyteller: By having Eric, the owner, tell the story himself and feature a widely recognized brand in Old Style, he added authenticity and relatability. While niche topics can definitely make for great content, starting with something familiar and more universally appealing is a smart and effective approach to leading things off.
Tapping into a Moment: The story was perfectly timed with MLB Opening Day—an event that naturally sparks excitement. It also included a touch of history and education, but did so with a fast-paced, concise delivery that kept viewers engaged without overloading them.
Ways to Increase Views
While nailing the first attempt, there’s always more than can be done next time to further dial in a video. Here’s some examples of how this video could have further exceeded expectations:
More Anticipation 🪝 The video could have begun with the camera buzzing past all of the tap handles before finally arriving at the Chicago Dog at the 5-second mark, during his opening line “There isn’t a tap handle that we get asked about more often than this one”. This would created an early curiosity and kept more eyeballs on the video during those crucial early seconds, making the viewer wait ever so slightly for the big reveal. Additionally, it would have indirectly shown the diverse list of breweries on draft, in addition to a classic, approachable beer like Old Style.
Raise the Subtitles: The subtitles should be made smaller so that all lines fit on fit on the screen, always leaving a decent buffer along the side edges, elevated above the account’s handle, and away from the engagement tools so that they’re not obstructed.
Sound: The sound was plenty solid, but could be further improved with a mic. Great sound alone can sometimes buy a few extra seconds of a viewers attention and be the ultimate decider of whether they stick around or not. Personal preference, but I am not a fan of the “talent” wearing a visible mic as I find them distracting. I’ve been rocking this👇 and have been very happy:
Title Card: During the first 6-12 seconds of the video, a header saying something like “Cubs Tradition Pouring in Downers Grove, IL” would add some local intrigue, a preview of what’s to come, and tell the algorithm to show it to people near Downers Grove. Those living near Orange & Brew probably don’t get a lot of content that hits so close to them, so the video would likely jump off the page to locals. Adding the hashtag #DownersGrove at the end of the copy could assist in helping the algorithm target locals as well.
Encourage Discussion: Ending with a casual invitation to discuss something related in the comments, like “any opening day traditions out there?”, may have given the post an additional spark.
Stay Hot: Easier said than done, but after a successful video, there’s a new and bigger audience ready to be shown your next post. It’s always advantageous to use the adrenaline to strike while the iron is hot, whether related to the last video or something new altogether. The longer you wait until the next post, the more the momentum dies off.
Does It All Matter?
A skeptic might question whether, despite all these views, if anyone actually went to Orange & Brew and spent money after seeing this video. My response is that it’s not about this video, it’s about what Eric does next. A regular presence that includes a “soft sell” (Old Style now on tap), but mostly good story-telling, is a long term strategy to build loyalty that you establish over a long series that eventually works in more members of the team and a diverse list of core topics that gets the Orange & Brew staff excited. Remember though, if putting these ideas and videos together isn’t fun, then it’s never going to stick. You must not only build a process and trust in it, but you need to have fun with the execution.
Credit: Ryan Dunlap: Argenta Brewing (Portland, ME)
Big thanks to Eric Schmidt of Orange & Brew for putting the advice shared in “The Secret to a Great TikTok or Reel” immediately to work, proving its effectiveness, and allowing me to share the results and further recommendations 🍻
I have to admit… as someone who creates a LOT of content on social media - for myself and clients… I’m ashamed at how little I’ve thought about it. These posts have inspired me to not only refine my system… but to put more thought into the content that I’m making. Thanks, as always!