How @garyimbibe grew his coffee roaster business on Twitter
Focus on what you do and not what your competitors are doing. You can’t change their plans, only yours.
As part of our Small Business Resources series, we spoke to Gary from specialty coffee roaster Imbibe Coffee Roasters (@garyimbibe). Started in 2018, Imbibe is an Irish-based roasting company with an active Twitter account and a strong ethos of doing the right thing.
The Imbibe Twitter account mixes product posts with business video updates right from the source and more personal posts. In this Q&A Gary shares his advice on how to grow your business on Twitter and his most successful Tweets to date.
Your business - @garyimbibe
Tell us about your business.
We’re a specialty coffee roaster based in Dublin 8, Ireland. When we started roasting in 2018 our goal was to bring coffees of a standard that had never been seen to Ireland and to do it in a way that gave back.
From the beginning, we’ve given 1% of our sales (not just profits), to Women’s Aid (@womensaid), a national organization that has been working in Ireland to stop domestic violence against women and children. In year two we gave a further 1% to projects at origin and a further 1% to staff.
Where is your following based?
Most are probably in Dublin but many are in other areas across Ireland. This is reflected in our online sales.
As a business, how do you utilise Twitter?
Every weekend I post a Tweet about the Imbibe coffee I’m drinking and the music I’m listening to. I also talk about what we’ve done as a business.
I don’t think people like a hard sell and it’s something I run away from personally. I try to put a bit of my own personality into Twitter too.
Compared to other platforms, why does Twitter work for you and your business?
Twitter has been fantastic for our business. We didn’t really have a retail operation before the pandemic but we do now and I believe it can be traced to a single Tweet.
People were incredibly supportive. I think people get a better understanding of Imbibe and me personally through Twitter too, rather than say Instagram. There’s a conversation, a back and forth.
Tweets and Creatives
From your experience, what makes a good Tweet? Where do you find your inspiration?
One of my most liked/Retweeted Tweets is my pinned one. I think it was my first Twitter thread and was written on our 3rd Birthday. It enabled me to really tell the story of the business and set out all of our achievements. It was very honest.
Tell us about the kind of creative / imagery that works best for you on Twitter?
I try to sometimes bring people into the roastery with videos of the equipment in use or photos of my colleagues.
I also post lots of images of our coffee and photos of things we’ve done such as a footbridge we funded in a co-op we buy from in Colombia.
Tell us about the kind of creative / imagery that works best for you on Twitter?
I try to sometimes bring people into the roastery with videos of the equipment in use or photos of my colleagues.
I also post lots of images of our coffee and photos of things we’ve done such as a footbridge we funded in a co-op we buy from in Colombia.
Followers
You have nearly 3,000 followers which is pretty impressive, how did you grow your following?
By trying to give an honest appraisal of what we do and by informing as to the reasons why we’re different from other businesses.
Your engagement is great too, what do you put this down to?
I think I’m good at interacting with people. I always try to respond to Tweets and I think a lot of people like what we stand for and have been really supportive.
Any tips for someone else struggling to grow their audience?
Keep posting, don’t lie about what you’re doing, and don’t hard sell! Mix it up. I try not to make it “all” about coffee and throw in other interests from time to time.
Sharing the love
Any other small businesses on Twitter you’d like to give a shout out to?
Síológ (@siolog_ie) is a small business run by my wife, selling ethically made kids’ clothing. She donates 1% of her sales to Laura Lynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice (@LauraLynnHouse).
Do you have any tips for others balancing running a business with posting on social media?
Keep posting. Be consistent, but you don’t need to overdo it. Make sure your Twitter bio sets out what you do and contains as much relevant info as fits.
If you could give just one piece of advice to another business on Twitter, what would it be?
Be positive, not controversial. Try to be honest about what you do and have some self-awareness.
If you’re a small business on Twitter looking to grow, check out our Small Business Resources. Follow us on Twitter too (@TwitterBusiness), to keep up to date with product updates and content designed to help you.
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