Blogging your way into the big time – Using internet contacts can lead to myriad opportunities for small firms

Soon after starting up, Scottish beer business Brewdog was struggling to sell its product until its co-founders hit on the idea of using the internet to market their distinctive beers.

“It was a hard sell locally at first,” said co-founder James Watt. “People had grown up with lager, and a lot of the pubs in Scotland are tied. So we decided to see if we could interest overseas beer enthusiasts online. We could see an opportunity in places like Sweden and America where specialist beers are popular,” he said.

Watt found the most popular bloggers in each country and sent free samples to them. Having built a following, they convinced local importers to sell their beer and international orders took off. Today exports account for 80% of sales.

FullStory: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article5536292.ece