Digital Analytics Strategy Project: Iron Hill

This paper will discuss the inner workings of Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant. This will include a full history of the company and their digital marketing attempts, as well as, challenges the company faces and opportunities to improve themselves. The purpose of this analysis is to supply possible recommendations to Iron Hill executive and marketing teams to improve overall interaction with digital presences. Potential suggestions for the company will be supported through analysis of softwares, Google Trends and Tableau. 

Section 1

Iron Hill was founded in 1996 in Newark, Delaware as a scratch brewery and craft restaurant by three men. Kevin Finn, Mark Edelson, and Kevin Davies were soccer friends who took up home brewing in the early 1990s before turning it into the business empire it is today. The name of the establishment was chosen to honor the battle of Cooch’s Bridge during the Revolutionary War, where the location was the highest hill in Delaware, named Iron Hill. To represent the importance of naturally sourced ingredients, the logo for the company is a bird holding barley and hops --the two main ingredients used to make beer. To compliment this, founders made it a mission to emphasize the craft kitchen portion of their business endeavor. In its earlier years, Finn, Edelson, and Davies chose to keep its expansions in closer proximity for better guarantee that the ingredients sourced were the same throughout each location. 

The company has ventured to include multiple locations and cooperations with other organizations. Spanning from the tri-state area to South Carolina in its first 25 years of operation, Iron Hill has partnered with organizations and donation centers to support personal inclinations of charity uses. The Triple Chocolate Hill Foundation was implemented in September of 2004, vowing that a portion of every triple chocolate hill dessert purchase would be donated to the foundation for children's cancer research (Wilmington, 2022). Similarly in name, the rewards members of the company are referred to as Kings of The Hill. Members receive points on every dollar spent on non-alcoholic items to use toward free items and money off the entire bill, discounts on beer, and have one night a month dedicated to their committed loyalty. 

Section 2

Iron Hill Brewery uses one main website. This website is the home for anything a customer may need, focusing their attention on King of The Hill members. The website itself is nicely set up with bright and contrasting colors, easy to read font, and simple maneuvering of sections. The color and font used that Iron Hill is so recognizable is known for promoting brand personality. Brand personality is often referenced in forms of the metaphor that compares character traits of brands with common character traits of the people who shop at that brand. In other words, “[brand personality is] the set of human characteristics associated with a brand” (Labrecque & Milne, 2011). This can be turned around to exemplify the behaviors and expectations associated with Iron Hill in a digital and in-person setting. The flow of use of the website coincides with general searching for similar results, meaning: when one item is searched, multiple related topics are generated as well to specify the search. For more in depth users, there is an option to sign in as a rewards member and learn more about perks and the process of how everything works and is made. Other audiences are average customers looking for menus or locations. For general users, the information that is available includes: locations, menus, the history of Iron Hill, the brewing process and beer finder, rewards sign up, a blog, careers, and contact. 

In an effort to collect personal recommendations from customers, Iron Hill executives issued survey devices to all of their locations. These devices are called Yumpingos; similar to a smartphone or tablet, they are programmed with each check number and require the user to answer questions about each item added to the bill. Questions ask the customer to rate the food or drink on a scale of five, then give thumbs up or down to indicate the quality, portion, appearance, and value with an option to write in comments. Executives placed these surveys in its restaurants to better understand what customers want based on food and drinks. This allows updates to their menus derived from location-based food habits. 

Although there is little to suggest for these digital metrics, different questions could be beneficial to understanding more than the menu of each location. Questions that would return progressive comments toward the digital success of the restaurant include: ‘how did you find out about us?’, ‘how did you find the ambiance in our restaurant?’, or questions related to current events. To include a question asking about where the customer found this restaurant would return information such as if they heard about it online --any of the social platforms. The ambiance of the restaurant can be associated with its presence in person and duality of online presence, ensuring what is presented is what is delivered. Finally, relating survey questions to current events, like COVID-19, will instill a sense of concern from the company to feel its customers are cared for. To tie everything together, questions asked on these Yumpingo devices relate and suggest interaction with other digital presences and can even supply direct exchange. 

Iron Hill uses many social media platforms to insert themselves into the eye of potential and returning customers. Some of these platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. The Iron Hill Facebook page can be used to order online from specific locations and keep up to date on promotions and holiday specials, as they are posted every few days. The target audience for this platform are men and women ranging from 25 to 34 years old (Iron Hill Facebook, 2022). Facebook can be used in many ways to analyze the reach of its posts, impressions, engagement rates, and likes, comments and shares by individual posts (Hemann, p. 21). Facebook allows individual users to customize their reach  by including or excluding family, friends, and friends of friends. In the case regarding Iron Hill, it is suggested as a business company to release all information to the public. In this, Iron Hill marketing teams can utilize paid reach options to advertise to potential customers. The engagement rate can be analyzed from marketing teams to show the percentage of people who saw a post and interacted with it in some way compared to the post from Iron Hill to engage where work needs to be done. Overall, the company’s Facebook presence is well targeted while keeping posts decluttered with well paired photos. 

The Twitter account associated with Iron Hill is not actively posted on but is used in a more relaxed setting to post fun facts about the company and its beers. The target audience for this platform is much younger than Facebook’s and uses its platform more casually, hence the informal tweets from Iron Hill marketing teams (Twitter, 2022). The follower count for the company’s Twitter account exceeds 13,900 people, as seen in Figure 1, signifying that the platform could make a significant impact if the efforts are implemented. Because of its informal approach, more frequent and simple tweets released from Iron Hill’s account will promote more interaction and interest. With these frequent posts will need to be the use of hashtags. Hashtags are a way for twitter to administer its own search engine optimization. The majority of this platform’s challenges will be addressed through Tableau analysis. 

Figure 1.

Iron Hill’s YouTube presence is limited but has so much room for improvement. The company posts videos on this platform every few months, featuring special videos such as pairing beers and food on site, 25th anniversary celebrations, and themed descriptions of each beer(Youtube, 2022). So far Iron Hill’s channel has 165 subscribers but can grow rapidly if these platforms were used in cooperation with each other. 

Figure 2. Figure 3. 

As seen above, the organization’s YouTube posting frequency is sparse, but can be supplemented by including more videos that are more in depth. Figure 2. is a screenshot from Iron Hill’s YouTube channel, emphasizing the most popular videos. The most popular are related to Oktoberfest which is one of the largest drinking holidays in the world, and advertising their newest locations and most popular dishes. The fourth most popular video is about careers. Keeping this in mind, the video exemplifies employees of the company and how far they've grown since starting at the bottom. To better influence viewers to take an interest in this process, some videos could be filmed to include documentary style short stories from various locations and employees that show this process. By making the story more intimate, viewers are more inclined to come back for more. This will also create more of a presence for the company on this platform and change Figure 3. from posting every few months to more frequently. 

The final social media platform is Instagram. Iron Hill uses Instagram the most, as that is where the majority of their customers are found. With close to thirty thousand followers and three thousand posts, instagram users are kept in the know by Iron Hill marketing teams with consistent posts (Iron Hill Instagram, 2022). The team releases a post every few days and utilizes the story feature of the application as well to insert themselves on the target audience’s main page. The instagram pages are relevant to each location for the customization of each user. Instagram is Iron Hill’s most transparent use of social influence and is the most intimate for users to feel like they are a part of something. As mentioned earlier, these platforms working together could yield more successful interaction results. If Instagram posts used a hyperlink to directly transfer users to the company’s YouTube channel, there would be more traffic and appeal to watch the videos. On the same note, these videos could be released later on instagram to create a want to be first need in audiences. By working in cooperation, these platforms could support each other and be altered to do the same for Facebook and Twitter. 

Section 3

Google accounts for an average of 90 percent of all online searches, so this is where the analysis on Iron Hill Brewery will begin (West Chester,2.1 module,  2022). Google Trends collects these owned social metrics and compiles it to better understand the users of each platform. The first trend searched for was the topic “Iron Hill” in the past 5 years as a YouTube search. This search yielded results that showed little interaction with the brewery to its YouTube presence. The same goes for many related queries of iconic Iron Hill products and services, showing their YouTube needs to be worked on. Next, “Iron Hill Brewery” as a web search was found to be the highest search in Delaware and then Pennsylvania, and the related topics and queries resulted in things like location searches. To address the suggestion for Iron Hill’s YouTube success, a search comparing “day in the life” to “docuseries” in the food and drink industry reported recognizably higher interaction in the third week of each month, in the months dating from December to March as seen in Figure 4. This time frame is typically associated with the time of year to apply for new beginnings and ventures. 

Figure 4. Figure 5. 

In following searches related to Figures 4 and 5, it is shown that there is a higher interaction rate with the docuseries idea and culinary inclusion, following the same time predictions. YouTube analytics records how videos resonate with viewers which will be helpful for marketing teams to implement strategies to increase subscriber levels. By including various styles of video creation, Iron Hill is able to seek out which videos are performing well, and which could use an update. 

The second tool used to analyze this company was Tableau. Tableau is a software that allows multiple graphs to be made from a vast amount of information. The information collected for this analysis came from over 34,000 Twitter tweets. The tweets collected are compiled from key terms in the body of each post including words. Some of the search terms consist of ‘craft beer’, ‘yumpingo’, ‘customer survey’, ‘#brewery’, ‘#taphouse’, etc. From these related searches, analysis was able to organize everything into mentions, original tweets, and retweets over the course of October 7th to October 16th of this year. The first set of data was collected as a whole to analyze each key word usage over time. Within each graph, there are three lines that separate whether the data is an original tweet, a retweet, or a mention of that key word. 

Figure 6. Figure 7. 

Figure 8. Figure 9. 

Figure 10.

The first graph shows the statements of ‘iron hill’ in all tweets collected during the allotted time frame, resulting in a wide range of data. This data does not show much on its own; however, when compared to another graph like Figure 7, it is seen that ‘customer survey’ is not as used as a phrase as ‘iron hill’ is; but they follow similar peak times throughout the month of October. Figure 9 does not follow along with this time frame; however, it does show that craft brewing is often referred to in mentions rather than original tweets, leading to the conclusion that they are directed at craft brewing establishments. When the hashtags graph is included, the peak pattern is disrupted and unrecognizable. On another note, this graph portrays the impact of hashtag usage in tweets. Figure 8 has the most data shown for all of the “over time” tweets that were collected that is not seen in any other graph because hashtags are a form of promotion. Hashtags are used to search for topics and create threads from, as well as a modification of search engine optimization. This is applied in social media promotion because hashtags are often used as a way to describe what the content is about to relate it to other posts. 

The last figure of this section shows the data collected on tweets with ‘yumpingo’ in its text. The miniscule amount of data on this graph is telling of the impact of this survey device on its digital presence. Because the Yumpingo device is not already paired to cooperate with Iron Hill’s digital media presence, the lack of tweets relating to this is consistent with speculations. There are no original tweets with the word in it, and one retweet. If the company were to include a social media link or suggestion, the phrase may appear more frequently and result in increased interaction levels. 

Figure 11. 

The graph in Figure 11 shows the user activity and name of users who have tweeted with the term ‘PA beer’. From this data, Twitter accounts that produce media posts with this information included are discernable beer fanatics. Some of the usernames are very similar to their search, referencing the concept by choosing @BreweriesinPA and @beergoal50 indicating that the interactors of this topic are not only customers of Iron Hill, but other breweries of Pennsylvania as well. 

Figure 12. 

Figure 13. Figure 14.

Comparing the remainder of the graphs recording user activity, many of the usernames chosen are reflective of the same conclusion as the graph in Figure 11. Many of the chosen names for “iron hill” are related in some sort to the company, as are the names from Figure 13. None of these graphs show the same username in more than one graph and are all varying in method of distribution of the term. The majority of usernames in the graph communicating “customer experience” user activity relate to indicated customer assistance accounts; which tells the company that they need to add one of their own, even if it is a lesser used account. 

Section 4 

Recommendations were made in the majority directed at Youtube and Twitter with additions of Yumpingo. The most successful social media platforms that Iron Hill uses are Instagram and Facebook, which could benefit from updating their strategy to correlate with the improvements suggested to Youtube, Twitter and Yumpingo. 

As mentioned earlier, Iron Hill’s YouTube presence is the least interacted with, and is where the changes should begin. YouTube is used primarily for individuals who are looking for anything entertaining to keep them busy, Iron Hill can provide this. The untapped potential of this platform may just be the thing this company needs to push it to the next level of craft brewing. Utilizing the idea to create a documentary series on the YouTube channel will make a more personal approach to advertising, exemplifying the best employees day-to-day activities and successes, even humoring hardships. In return, this will allow the company to create better transparency and rapport with its customers. Through analysis of graphs from Google Trends, it is seen that searching ‘docuseries’ and ‘day in the life’ resulted in higher interaction and, therefore, increased activity for the company’s YouTube page. 

Iron Hill’s Twitter presence is not actively utilized which could be used to build stronger relationships with customers. Accounts belonging to other restaurant chains have shown success and even received free advertising from their Twitter followers when there is significant interaction. With such a high number of followers already, marketing teams know that there is a great allowance for development. More frequent tweets and linkage to other platforms, as well as utilizing hashtags on this platform will benefit the company greatly. Hashtags are Twitter’s own form of search engine optimization. They are able to organize tweets based on general descriptions of the content and suggest similar results when clicked on. The analysis of the graphs from Tableau prove the impact of the use of hashtags and Iron Hill’s lack of presence in the Twitter atmosphere. 

To tie everything back together, Yumpingo’s are added into these digital metrics to suggest better annunciation of their social presence. If marketing teams were to ask different questions on Yumpingo reports, they could return progressive comments toward the digital success of the restaurant. Questions about how the customer learned about Iron Hill would return conclusions about the online advertising and where improvements could be made. Other questions relating to current events show the target audience that the company stays up to date and is well-informed about what the customers are going through. Lastly, these devices can relay information that can be found on social media sites and even directly link customers to those pages. 

Conclusion 

Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant was carefully dissected throughout this paper to reveal the current state of the company’s digital presence and suggest solutions and recommendations to challenges faced. This analysis took information from the company’s YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and compared the analytics through use of Google Trends and Tableau. This information was collected and analyzed to suggest improvements to each of the platforms, including a special feature from the company’s very own digital metrics analysis. It was found that there is much to be done on each of the sites, but particular attention to YouTube and Twitter, as that is where the most potential is. Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant can do more and be more than it is, with some help. 

References

Google. (n.d.). 'day in the life', 'docuseries' Google Trends. Google trends. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://trends.google.com/trends/

Hemann, C., Burbary, K., & Owyang, J. (2021). Digital Marketing Analytics Making Sense of consumer data in a Digital World. Pearson Education, Inc. 

Iron Hill Brewery (@ironhillbrewery) • instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.instagram.com/ironhillbrewery/ 

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.facebook.com/IronHillBrewery 

Labrecque, Lauren & Milne, George. (2011). Exciting red and competent blue: The importance of color in marketing. Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science - J ACAD MARK SCI. 40. 10.1007/s11747-010-0245-y. 

Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://twitter.com/IronHillBrewery

West Chester University. (December, 2022). Digital Analytics. Topic 2.1: Search Analytics WCUPA [525-01] online classroom, arrived at https://d2l.wcupa.edu/d2l/home/3444019

Wilmington, de: Iron hill brewery. Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.ironhillbrewery.com/wilmington-de

YouTube. (n.d.). Ironhillbrewery. YouTube. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/@IronHillBrewery

YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube-docuseries restaurants. YouTube. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=docuseries%2Brestaurant%2Bday%2Bto%2Bday%2Blife