Highlights from SMBME 67 – Special Evening Beer Event

Our special evening edition of SMBME was so much fun – and not just because the B stood for beer!

#SMBME breakfast, for dinner, with @mainebeerco Lunch. pic.twitter.com/Xgk2mX6u0w

— River Drive (@Whiskey_Wood) November 12, 2015

Our panel of Maine brew pros made the night what it was – fun, inspiring and informative. If you missed it, or got a little too wrapped up in the beer portion of the event, here are the nuggets of wisdom I walked away with. Here are some photos thanks to Judy Beedle Photography as well.

Our Panelists:
Peter Jensen Bissell – Bissell Brothers
Daniel Kleban – Maine Beer Company
Don Littlefield – Maine Brew Bus
Mat Trogner – Allagash

• Don’t engage the trolls. Do reach out to and empathize with people who have legitimate gripes
• Don’t post something and sit there clicking refresh to see what happens. Get out there and make something new. Always be creating.
• If you have a great product and a great story. The rest will take care of itself.
• Learn from what others are doing successfully. Do those things, but make them even better.
• Show your fans what’s happening at work – and play. Let them live vicariously through you.
• Always be thinking about what might be interesting. Do your best to capture it in the moment.
• Think ahead to show progress in the future. Example: Taking a photo of founders in their new, empty space and following up with the same shot over time.
• Don’t sell on social channels. Build a community. The results will be tenfold.
• Be personal.

Not too shabby for a beer-fueled SMBME without bacon! Thanks to Maine Brew Bus and Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference for buying us all a round, to Whiskey Drive Lumber for the sweet beer openers and to the rest of our sponsors: Portland Press Herald, Gorham Savings Bank and Vreeland Marketing – we could not do this without you!