by J. Bednarski @pjbtweet

A new report from Engagement Labs  makes the interesting point that what consumers may say about liquor, wine and beer brands “offline” -- that is, in face-to-face conversations -- may be very different from what they say on social media sites online.

“Indeed, there is reason to believe that for the beverage alcohol industry, social media may be a particularly poor predictor of offline behavior,” says a new Engagement Lab report.

One reason, it says, is that some marketers may hold back on social media because of complicated rules within their industries.

But another reason is that “many social media users will be wary of sharing too many posts about alcohol, for fear of implying they have a drinking problem, or simply to avoid the risk of offending friends and family who are confirmed non-drinkers.”

The subject comes up in an Engagement Labs blog because a new report out this month from a competitor, Social Standards, warns brands that consumer interest in alcoholic beverages is down, based on tabulation of online mentions on social media. But Social Standards is only measuring online attention.

Engagement Labs' tabulation of both online and offline conversations -- basically, those are “word of mouth” chats -- reveals that over the last four years, the volume of conversations has held steady for the biggest beer, spirits, and wine brands.

Read the full MediaPost article, here.

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