Social engagement with alcohol brands has risen far more than other sectors during the coronavirus pandemic — an astounding 326.51% year over year. And consumers are interested in engaging with brands that are donating money or resources to coronavirus relief efforts.

Overall, eight out of the 10 top performing posts by alcohol brands address the coronavirus in one way or another, reveals ListenFirst, the social analytics company that compiled the data.

ListenFirst looked at 284 alcohol brands, along with 22 other verticals such as healthcare brands. It compiled a social engagement score measuring the volume of post responses and fan growth across Facebook, Twitter (and hashtag/handle mentions) and Instagram.

The most successful social media post by an alcohol brand in March 2020 was a Facebook post by Diageo’s Guinness that generated 82,918 responses about the brand committing $500,000 to give back to the community on St. Patrick’s Day.

The second and third most successful posts by alcohol brands during the month were both from Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser. The brand generated 51,858 responses around a Facebook pun showing the beautiful buds of spring outside a lockdown window, and 33,396 responses around a Facebook post asking for names of people who are going above and beyond in doing the right thing.

Both beer and wine has seen increased conversation online. There were 4,043,688 tweets mentioning beer in March 2020, which is 40% more than the volume of tweets than mentioned beer in March 2019.

 

Social engagement with alcohol brands

 

Meanwhile, there were 3,007,145 tweets mentioning wine in March 2020, which is an increase of 66% from March 2019.

The exception was Corona beer: negativity around the brand on Twitter went from 7% in March 2019 to 19% negative in March 2020, according to ListenFirst. Why? Because people wrongly associate Corona beer with the coronavirus. Have you seen the memes across social media platforms with a Corona bottle and another branded beer bottle wearing a mask?

Tito’s Handmade Vodka generated 31,487 responses to a Facebook post on its production of hand sanitizer at its distillery. Another spirits brand, Fireball, created 24,450 responses from a post on its $400,000 in match money to a tip jar fund for out-of-work bartenders.