How Alcohol brands use social media to influence drinking

Like most industries the alcohol industry has been reaping the benefits of the evolving world of social media. Unlike most industries however, The alcohol indsutry has come under fire for using it. The legal age to drink througout the world ranges from 16-21 in most countries and on social media its argued that people who are underage are being exposed to advertisng from some alcohol brands. A recent study carried out by Michigan state university  has found that the advertising of alcohol online can influence young people to engage in underage drinking and can also significantly influence adults to drink. The study found that the advertising of alcohol online had a greater power to entice drinking then a similiar advertiement for water. The Drinks business knows how influencial messages online can be and be it right or wrong they act on it and this is causing concern among parents and guardians that there children are being bombarded with alcohol themed messages online and there have been calls for the advertisment of alcohol to be banned online. There are certain guidelines and rules the drink industry has to abide by to advertise online, They have to make it clear throughout there social media platforms that whoever is accessing there content is of age

if they do this they can legally advertise and promote themselves online this however does not stop minors from accessing the content which is what is causing a high degrees of concern among people. The industry also uses very enticing imagery for there online campaigns to make the product look as enticing as possible

This causes temptation to the viewer and encourages them to go out and buy the product. Some brands also use events promoted online to sell there product, Heineken, in particular uses this method on a regualr basis

By creating events brands can spread there pages to a wider audience and not just anyone who has liked or followed there page. This inturn however can be viewed ny those who are underage and that is the area that causes most controversy. Social media has given these brands an outlet to advertise and promote themsleves in a way that gives them a huge amount of exposure, they however have to be careful online as young, underage people can be exposed to there messages and the companies need to do more to better control themsleves online.

    References 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526115649.htm

http://alcoholireland.ie/world_news/alcohol-giants-pour-into-social-medias-digital-drinking-spaces/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2016/05/29/alcohol-ads-on-social-media-encourage-drinking-but-whats-an-alcohol-ad-on-social-media/#53e82978449a