How Carnsmedia Uncorked a New Crowd for Pinkerton Wine Bar, a Natural Wine Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

How do I get more people to know about my wine bar?

Post the strongest thing on your list, over and over, where local people will see it. For one Williamsburg bar, that was orange wine. We posted reels of the pours, aimed the posts at people in the neighborhood, and had influencers share them. More people nearby learned the bar’s name, saw what to order, and came in to try it.

I’ve never paid for advertising. Is it too late to start — and where do I begin?

Not too late. The bar in this case study went 13 years without spending a dime on marketing. Begin with what’s free: post the hero pour consistently, target the neighborhood, and invite the right creators in. Add a small paid push later, behind the posts that already work.

Do wine influencers actually bring people into a small bar?

Yes — if they’re the right ones. The creators who cover a bar like yours don’t just post wine; they cover food and cocktails too, so their followers are people actively choosing where to eat and drink. Dozens of them posted reels from this bar, and one trusted recommendation fills more seats than any boosted post.

What are some creative promotions for a wine bar?

Build the promotion around the hours you need to fill. This bar emptied out when its early happy hour ended, so we created a late-night special — $1.50 oysters from 8 PM to midnight — and promoted it to oyster and seafood lovers. The bar stayed packed till midnight. The same thinking works with a pour: pick one wine, make it the reason to come in, and promote that.

Do I need paid ads, or is posting on Instagram enough?

Posting builds the audience; a little paid spend aims it. The ads here targeted local wine drinkers — the people who can actually walk in this week. Posting without targeting hopes the right people find you. Targeting goes and gets them.